Can social media predict election results?

A recent SSRN paper from Cardiff University developed a model using Twitter and considers how it could be applied to the UK 2015 general election.

Compare this with the latest analysis from the Oxford Internet Institute.

UK Election Analysis 2015: Media, Voters and the Campaign which contains 73 contributions from UK academics issued just 10 days after the result!  It includes a paper from Professor Charlie Beckett, LSE . A number of articles cover the use of social media as a campaign tool

Cardiff University has also released the preliminary  results of its TV election coverage project.