December 2008 Archives

links for 2008-12-22

News from the companies of social media analysis. Things are quiet going into the holidays.

Layoffs are spreading, but social media analysis companies are hiring. Use the discount code 4QSMAV for $10 job listings through the end of the year. Job board / Post a job

Companies and services

Call for papers
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What do you want that you can't have today? Specifically, what would you like to see in a social media analysis tool or service that you can't get (as far as you know)? Most of the vendors are probably reading this blog, so here's a chance to air your wish list while I get out of the way. I'll start with one that Lee Odden mentioned on Twitter yesterday.

SMA for SEM
Lee wants an automated keyword analysis tool for social media sites (process described by Marty Weintraub):

Really need to the social media monitoring industry to step up and come up with a good keyword analysis tool specific to social media sites
@leeodden
Lee heard from three companies in response (ok, the rest of you need to monitor social media keywords on Twitter). Is anyone else working on that application or want to talk about it (publicly or privately)?

What else do you need in 2009?
Open mic time. What's on your wish list? Mention it in the comments, and I can guarantee that companies in a position to offer it will see your suggestions. You might even hear from someone who already does it.

links for 2008-12-12

links for 2008-12-11

News from the companies of social media analysis. Were you expecting a year-end slowdown?

Companies and services

New research and papers
Events
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links for 2008-12-09

links for 2008-12-05

Chief Twits on Twitter

Paul Dunay (@PaulDunay) mentioned this morning that he's developing a "ctweet" list of company chiefs on Twitter. If your card says something like CEO, COO, CFO, CMO or CIO, Paul wants to add you to his list. Which reminds me. Are we connected on Twitter (@gilliatt)?

News from the companies of social media analysis, Attack of the White Papers edition. There will be a quiz on Monday.

Companies and services

  • 2 December - Leximancer announced that Polecat will incorporate Leximancer technology into the Polecat Intelligence Application. press release

  • 1 December - Jodange received a Small Business Innovation Research grant from the (US) National Science Foundation to support research into linking automatically extracted opinions to business outcomes. press release

  • 4 December - SentimentMetrics launched version 2 of their web interface. Radian6 announced new features.

    Question: Should I link to software update posts here? Most vendors aren't using version numbers in public, and there are few major launches to trigger coverage.

People
  • Geoff Farris has joined Visible Technologies as senior vice president of sales. Farris was previously president and CEO of Bueller's, a private investment firm. press release
New research and papers
That should keep you busy. :-)

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When you listen to social media, what paradigm do you bring with you? Are you thinking about measuring media, or are you thinking about people sharing their thoughts? Listening to the discussions at the recent Word of Mouth Research Symposium, this finally came together for me: part of the reason social media measurement is confusing people is the cross-functional impact of social media, and measurement—like everything else—is stuck in silos. Looking at familiar faces at WOMMA, I realized that each silo has its measurement club, and I'm not sure they know about each other.

Measuring Media or People?
As I've posted before, social media measurement means different things to different people. They're bringing assumptions, goals and metrics from work they did before social media, but they don't usually declare their perspective when they set out to "measure social media." That's left as an exercise for the reader, who may not realize that a particular measurement silo is at work.

I'm seeing at least four different measurement silos intersecting with social media:

  • PR/media measurement
    Viewing social media as media for their ability to reach an audience.

  • Word of mouth measurement
    Viewing social media as online interactions among people (customers, if you're lucky).

  • Web analytics
    Interested in people's usage patterns, as both audience and customers.

  • Opinion research
    Mining online opinions as the world's largest focus group.
Now, I'm not questioning the validity of these approches; each can be a valuable way to look at what's happening online. The challenge is that the blurring of media and people—evidenced in terms like "consumer-generated media"—blurs the boundaries between traditional research objectives. So we have ongoing debates about AVE, NPS and engagement as the measurement silos try to wrap their arms around the social media challenge (and ROI) in isolation.

Today's measurement discussions recall the blind men and an elephant. Social media content represents both media and people, depending on what's happening and how you want to look at it. Recommendations to start measurement with an understanding of objectives are obviously on the right track. I wonder if we can introduce the measurement clubs from the separate silos and stop talking past each other?

links for 2008-12-02

links for 2008-12-01

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About Nathan Gilliatt

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  • Voracious learner and explorer. Analyst tracking technologies and markets in intelligence, analytics and social media. Advisor to buyers, sellers and investors. Writing my next book.
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