Social media platforms have become the perfect catalyst for those people who are only willing to engage in the simplest of measures to voice their opinion, and are not truly engaged in making changes to the world around them. You don’t have to look hard on Twitter, Youtube comments, and Facebook fan page comments to see what I mean.

So, with today being the day where we vote on whether we should adopt the Alternative voting system in the UK, I thought it would be interesting to perform a little experiment: To see if the popular opinion on Twitter on the the vote is a true reflection of the people who actually vote.

To achieve this; I’ve harvested Twitter for the frequency of the two most popular hashtags on the alternative vote: #yestoAV and #notoAV.

‘Yes’ tweets by frequency

‘No’ tweets by frequency

The Results

#yestoAV

16,973 Tweets

#notoAV

12,191 Tweets

From the harvested data we can see that the ‘Yes’ vote is set for a win, but there’s not much in it. When the results are in for the actual vote we should be able to compare to see just how many people are quick to voice their opinion, but not so fast on getting out to help make a change. If the results of the vote comeback near enough the same as the data, then social media could provide an effective new tool for assessing the voting public’s opinion.

On the other hand, if the data doesn’t match up, it could either tell us that those who use Twitter don’t vote,  or that the amount of people who don’t use Twitter in this country is far larger than those who do. Either way, this experiment could reveal some interesting facts about the voting population, and discover whether social media is an accurate tool to rely on.

Data Source: http://archivist.visitmix.com – correct as of approx 5am 05/05/2011

Ok so we’ve given in; after months of trying to avoid the Royal Wedding and the constant stream of news stories on what Kate’s dress might look like, and whether the cake will contain nuts (hardly breaking news…) we’ve decided to embrace the national celebration, which is quickly turning out to be the most interactive event in history.

The occasion has taken over our TV’s, our newspapers, our phones, and our computers. It is expected that a staggering one billion people will watch the ceremony worldwide on their televisions, and that’s not even considering the number of internet users who will watch the wedding streamed live on YouTube.

Whilst the world will be embracing all platforms of technology to get closer to the event; the actual wedding itself will be a tech-free zone, with signal-blocking technology being installed at Westminster Abbey; so don’t expect any Tweets from best-man Prince Harry.

If you’re yet to be sucked into the Royal Wedding mania; we reckon these five recommendations might get you pinning-up bunting and waving union jacks out of your car window before you know it:

1. Send your own wedding pictures to Microsoft

To ease you into the hysteria gently, this is a really simple way to get involved. Microsoft and MSN are asking enthusiasts to send in their wedding day pictures so they can use them to create an image of Prince William and Kate. It’s basically a tool for Microsoft to showcase the power of the HTML5 capacity in IE9, but as the proceeds of buying the picture go to charity, it creates the perfect excuse to get involved.

2. Download some regal apps

• Dress the Royals: For the slightly immature smartphone users, this app allows you to dress the Queen and her grandsons in whatever you fancy. So if you’ve ever wanted to see Royals in their bathing suits, this app’s for you.
• Royal Wedding Weakest Link: This adaptation of the popular TV show tests your knowledge on the Royals, and will have you submerged in the famous family’s facts in no time.
• Receive a Royal invite: Again, this is probably directed at the less serious users out there, but this app lets you pretend you’ve been invited to the prestigious event by downloading an onscreen invitation. It’s probably not worth showing it to anyone who’s actually seen the official invite, as it’s safe to say it hasn’t quite hit the nail on the head.

3. Share eye-witness pictures:

The Telegraph has joined forces with Color to provide a live stream of photos taken using the app, anywhere in Britain. So even if you’re not one of the enthusiasts already camping by the side of the wedding route, you can take pictures using the Color app of whatever you’re doing to celebrate the Royal Wedding, and they’ll be included in a mosaic of images on telegraph.co.uk/color.

4. Buy a Royal Wedding phone:

Yes, you knew it was coming; a Royal Wedding special edition mobile phone. So what ‘special features’ do you get from this device? Well, how does a phone engraved with the couple’s initials and emblazoned with the Union Jack sound? If you’re still interested, then perhaps the wedding march ringtone and royal-themed wallpaper will intrigue you. I’m sure the Queen would be more than proud that 15 of her English pounds would bestow this patriotic gadget upon one of her countrymen.

5. Listen to the soundtrack:

So by now you should be fully prepared to celebrate the event whilst enjoying every minute, but the enjoyment doesn’t have to stop there. Within hours of the ceremony finishing, you’ll be able to download the soundtrack from iTunes and keep the merriment alive in your ears. This is sure to be on the Branded3 playlist when we return to the office on Tuesday, and I for one, can’t wait.

EXCLUSIVE: Being the technical wizards that we are, we’ve figured out a way to find out just how enjoyable Kate and William’s big wedding night will be (or won’t be…) and you can watch the LIVE stream of their hotel suite.

Yes, it’s April Fool’s Day, and for us; that means a day of the best tricks and pranks online flying around the office, each one exceeding the one before it. So we thought we’d share our top five April Fool’s with you:

5. YouTube steps back in time

YouTube has celebrated the day by going back 100 years – showing us what YouTube would have looked like in 1911. They’ve transformed the clips with sepia video footage, no audio footage, and title cards in place of comments. Although the transformation only lasts for today, personally, we think watching Rebecca Black without the music is a much nicer experience.

4. Embracing the popularity of Angry Birds; CNET UK rebrands

Everyone’s favourite app game is quite literally taking over the world; giving up on the gadget talk and succumbing to the demand for Angry Birds, CNET UK have decided to rebrand themselves as Angry Birds UK. A portal to all things Angry Birds; the new site will include reviews, news, features, and videos. Why spend wasted hours on high-tech and researched gadget reviews, when all anybody cares about is flinging birds at nasty pigs?

3. Standing firm as the King of the ‘like’ button – Facebook competes with Google’s +1

Not putting up with any competition from Google, Facebook announced its +2 button – claiming to be “twice as good” as Google’s button. So what new features will it have? Well, it will instantly send all of your personal information to the owners of the page you’ve liked. Saving companies the hassle of delicately stealing your information, and saving you the effort of trying to keep your details private; we think this would create more honest customer relationships. A perfect world!

2. Integrating the power of man – Google advertises for an Autocompleter

Yes, Google wants to reinstate the human brain power to its searches. They’re looking for an intuitive, passionate, and psychic individual to take over the work of autocomplete. Duties include predicting and typing the completions when somebody makes a search, and suggesting spelling corrections. Think you’ve got what it takes? Well providing you’re willing to travel to obscure places to provide local searches, and you’ve perfected your typing skills to 32,000 wpm; the job’s yours.

1. Forget archaic emails; Gmail introduces a revolutionary form of communication

Leading the laughter in the office today is Gmail Motion; replacing the ancient mouse and keyboard for something altogether more innovative. Using your webcam and Google’s patented spatial tracking technology; Gmail Motion detects your movements and translates them into commands. So, say you wanted to open an email; stand in front of your computer, and make the actions of opening an envelope, simple. Revolutionising offices across the country; we’re actually hoping this one isn’t a joke.