A system and method for collecting and analyzing electronic discussion messages to categorize the message communications and the identify trends and patterns in pre-determined markets. Electronic messages are collected and analyzed according to characteristics and data inherent in the messages. Objective data is collected by the system for use in analyzing the electronic discussion data against real-world events to facilitate trend analysis and event forecasting based on the volume, nature and content of messages posted to electronic discussion forums. The message posting activity of a plurality of posters can be tracked to identify opinion leaders, and patterns in the messages can be identified using at least one of the following techniques: chaos theory; complexity theory; social network theory; and neural network theory.