But from a marketing standpoint — and we’re in the business of providing consumer intelligence — his point is academic or even wrong. With media channels fragmenting at a staggering pace, the Holy Grail of marketing is the unifying insight. We seek a truth or message that can transcend media, that we can plug into an integrated campaign, from a Facebook fan page to a billboard on the highway.

I chose this topic for our first ARF webinar because I see too many marketers looking to social media  to inform only their social media efforts. Insights from social can drive every aspect of marketing: campaign strategy to product innovation.

To get the whole story, view the webinar here:

Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9oKoBE1veY

Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJ_8G9w8pkY

Part 3:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTgav1bmDhc

Part 4:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y80XV3ZxJHI

ARF members can view it on their site, but we’re pleased to make this freely available to anyone who’s interested. The full description is at bottom of this post. But first, a word on why we recently joined ARF, who co-presented the webinar…

The Advertising Research Foundation is a pillar of the research community. They’ve helped move the industry forward and set standards for the last 74 years. The field of social media analytics is coming of age, and we’re pleased to have a seat at the table to move the industry forward and guide its development alongside the other members of ARF.

The Medium Is NOT the Message: Social Media Analytics Deliver Insights Beyond Social Monitoring
Presented by: Dan Neely, Founder and CEO of Networked Insights

This informative webinar will describe the current state of social media analytics and provide case studies to illustrate real-world applications of analytics for market research. Learn:

• How analytics can deliver insights to provide core marketing research and drive strategy.
• The difference between listening (strategic and proactive) and monitoring (tactical and reactive).
• How analytics contrast with and complement traditional market research.
• How analytics can inform essential marketing use cases, such as campaign strategy, campaign evaluation, advising digital ad spend, and driving innovation.
• How the world has changed since Marshall McLuhan’s proclamation that “the medium is the message.”

If you’re just listening to consumers in social media online to drive social media tactics, you’re missing out on the real value of social media data: the largest focus group that’s ever existed. (And if you’re not yet listening online, learn why you should be.)

Share elsewhere...

• Money for nothing, and the tweets for a fee.  A salary of $100K to schmooze with artists and engage, educate, and entertain using Twitter? Where do I sign up? MTV hires its first TJ (Twitter Jockey).
• I’m as mad as hell, and I not going to take it anymore. A fed up  flight attendant grabs a couple beers and takes a stroll down an airport runway. Jet Blue’s response to Slater’s rant? Silence.
• I need help … now! When facing an emergency situation call 9-1-1 (Duh!). But what if that option is unavailable? People are using social media when they’ve fallen and can’t get up.
• Women begin  planning their wedding the day from the moment they say yes. I’m certain most don’t envision a social media proposal of epic geekdom.
• Going for the gold. Increased focus on the acquisition of companies that will form Google’s social initiatives continues to… umm increase (I guess). Google buys Jambool.
• Travel the world. Delta Air Lines opens a social commerce channel. You can go anywhere, but the journey starts on Facebook.

• Is the “Torch” being passed, or passed by? RIM releases the Blackberry Torch 9800 and it’s full of new features. Will it rival the iPhone?
• Could someone please turn on a light? Whether you are looking for bright ideas or are just afraid of being left in the dark, social media can be challenging and &%!@ing scary.
• What costs the British $22 billion a year? No, not extensive dental work. I’m talking about loss of productivity due to social media.
• What goes up, must continue to go up? Time spent social networking is up 7% from a year ago and it doesn’t show any signs of slowing. The same can’t be said for e-mail.
• I’ll take one of those. Two of those. And a couple of those. Zuckerberg goes shopping for social media dominance. Facebook purchases the rights to 18 patents from Friendster.
• Good bye, I never want to see you most of you again. Google Wave is no longer, but its memory lives on. Google Me to incorporate best features from lessons learned?

• The Explorer’s new clothes. Ford Motor Company uses Facebook to reveal the newest edition of one of its most iconic models. The Ford Explorer is reinvented.
• Time to grow up and play some big-boy games. Google and Disney are entering the social gaming market. Big business antes up.
• A picture is worth 140 characters. No longer willing to maintain self restraint, Twitter begins testing inline photos and videos.
• In case you didn’t hear me the first time, I’d recommend checking your Facebook privacy settings. Grabbing private information from 170 million people is not as hard to get as you might think.
• “Fascinating is a word I use for the unexpected. In this case, I should think ‘interesting’ would suffice.” — Spock. James T. Kirk leaves Star Fleet and joins… Twitter? William Shatner set to star in social media inspired “$#*! My Dad Says.”
• Why do feet smell and noses run? What was the best thing prior to sliced bread? Why does rain drop and snow fall? If you got a question, Facebook has the answer (potentially).
• Help take a bite out of crime. The FBI outlines the most serious “cyber” crimes and tries to take down social networking’s scam syndicate.
• 140 at 104. After composing more than 1,000 tweets and amassing some 56,000 followers, Twitter’s oldest Tweeter passes away. R.I.P. Ivey Bean.

• The handshake. The high-five. The chest bump. The bro hug. The “social checkin?” SCVNGR introduces a “challenging” way to say hello.
• Social services (or lack thereof). Social networking sites are being likened to airlines and cable television when it comes to customer (dis)satisfaction. Is the commercialization of social media impacting the experience?
• Divisions are so divisive. Are separate business units for social media necessary?  A heated debate in the comments of an Adage blog post erupts.
• “Michael Knight, a lone crusader in a dangerous world. The world… of the Knight Rider.” Ford Motor Company unveils “AJ” (I prefer K.I.T.T.), the social networking car. We are a “David Hasselhoff” away from reliving the 80s?
• You don’t get to 500 million friends, without making a few enemies. Mr. Zuckerberg doesn’t think much of the new Facebook movie. What?!? Yep, it’s called The Social Network and there’s a trailer.
• I pledge allegiance to the “emotional states” of America. Is the west coast truly happier than the east? Twitter study reveals the pulse of a nation.

• Hello ladies. How are you? Fantastic. Does your man look like me? No. Can he smell like me? Yes. Old Spice sets the social standard.
• It’s social… if you can pay. And it certainly won’t be anonymous.  The Sun Chronicle is now charging to comment.
• The @earlybird gets the worm. Or does it? Twitter tries to monetizing their growing traffic numbers by tweeting out deals. Will it work?
• Mobile users of Facebook are taking it to the street. Facebook has 150 million mobile users, up 50% from 3 months ago.
• I always feel like somebody’s watching me (but it’s my fault). Friends (and criminals, I suppose) can know your every move, but only if you let them. Geolocation is causing growing  concern about security in a mobile world.
• This land is your land. This land my land. However, it’s only your land if you have the proper documentation to prove you are a citizen. Despite the public’s willingness to blame immigrants for the nonexistent Arizona crime wave, most Americans are embarrassed by the nation’s “political class.”
• Looking for a job? Get ready to compete with recent college grads, over-qualified applicants, and an aging population on the verge of retirement (or so they thought). Get you and your resume through the virtual front door to the person doing the hiring.

Paul the Octopus
This clairvoyant cephalopod not only predicted the World Cup winner, he correctly called all seven of Germany’s games preceding the final. (His prognostications were interpreted by his choice of a tasty morsel associated with one of two flags from opposing teams.) His engagement saw a sharp spike after he achieved a 5-for-5 record when he correctly predicted Germany over Argentina on July 3. We’ll recommend Paul and his online buzz as a celebrity endorser for a brand in the business of forecasting: Merrill Lynch or the Weather Channel?

Cute & Clairvoyant

And now on to the highly engaged humans…

Lionel Messi of Argentina tops the chart for engagement over the course of the tournament. His raw talent —and fans’ recognition thereof — cannot be dismissed, despite his team’s elimination from the tournament. Has he overtaken Ronaldo for the poster boy of international soccer? They’re very close in age, skill, and appeal…

Sample post… “But the World Cup is about the superstars. And the two biggest superstars this tournament are Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. These two are the best soccer players.” Read the post…

If a brand were to choose Messi as a spokesperson, what audience would he appeal to? That’s a question we can answer by aggregating the demographics on the sites where he’s most vigorously discussed.

To sum up, Messi’s following is largely male, fairly well educated, and (with 32% making 75k+) has some money to spend.

Landon Donovan “breaks the internet”
Could his stunning 91st-minute goal be the event that captured America’s imagination for good? We know he made an impact in social media (He crashed Twitter—Fail Whale! and he created a huge spike in engagement/positive sentiment.)

Big spike in positive sentiment around Landon Donovan

The against-all-odds, down-to-the-wire goal may have provided a welcome, if temporary, distraction from the BP oil-spill tragedy. The oil spill was and is discussed all over social media — including in our workspace around the World Cup. But the discussion around Donovan’s goal seems to replace conversation around the spill.

Drop off in "BP Oil Spill" discussion

Moving on from the players to other topics…
The most engaged insight overall is “England.” People were extremely let down by their poor performance.

Sample post…“Too many England players looked tired, fed up and as if they didn’t care. Blaming the pressure and exertion of the Premiership for their woes is fine … except that several other countries have players who operate in the EPL (including Australia) and their experiences did not seem to dim their effectiveness at the World Cup.” Read the post…

Vuvuzelas
We talked about the vuvuzela meme and it’s popularity on gamer sites. When we look at the latest meme craze (Paul the Octopus), we see the same game-centric sites popping up. This points to the gamer community as a great place to kick a viral campaign into overdrive.

Vuvuzelas were a hot topic in the early stages of the tournament. Our discussion ranged from its impact on brand image (see: Coke) to the broader public’s opinion, fans and otherwise , on the South African cultural icon and its incessant buzz. If you’re wondering when people learned to tune out the noise, we saw a precipitous drop-off in “Vuvuzela” engagement after June 21. Well, if you can’t beat ‘em, join em…

What’s the NBA doing in the World Cup?
Engagement around the topic of “NBA” was substantial in World Cup discussion. For perspective, the level of buzz about the NBA would place it in roughly the middle of our top-ten buzzing World Cup players. But what are they saying? There’s talk of the NBA draft, LeBron’s drama around choosing a team… and talk about how the NBA can’t match the World Cup in some ways.

The following post was found in the discussion “Is the World Cup upstaging the NBA Finals?”

Sample posts…
“The World Cup is the one sporting event that can upstage the Olympics worldwide. Despite being the second biggest sport in the world, basketball can’t touch the WC even with the NBA’s two flagship teams going at it.” Read the post…

Some noted even Kobe is jumping on the “WC over NBA Finals” bandwagon:
“I’m glad to see that the best player in the NBA recognizes and is in South Africa watching the World Cup. In an interview on ESPN Kobe said that the NBA championship is not a true world championship like the World Cup. Kobe also said that the NBA finals does not compare to the World Cup and that he loves the game of soccer. Great words from a great champion!”

“Kobe’s right. No way does the NBA finals compare to the World Cup.” Read the post…

Lebron Verbatim: “Radio host said to Kobe that Lebron said July 1 2010
will be the biggest day in NBA history. Kobe laughed and
said I am off to South Africa for the World cup.”

We’ll resume this line of reporting in four years at the next World Cup. Social media will change dramatically in that time, while soccer and its culture while continue to evolve. But the world’s post popular game will still engender fierce passion, fans will talk, and whatever the technology that enables digital interaction, we’ll be there to mine the data and deliver insights.

It’s Netherlands vs. Spain!

• So, which team is most engaged?
  Spain: 41.9K
  Netherlands: 21.6K
• And the top engaged players?
  Most buzzed Netherlands player: midfielder Wesley Sneijder, who scored a late-game goal against Uruguay to send them to the World Cup Final.When drilling down into the insight of Wesley Sneijder, striker Arjen Robben comes up a lot in the same conversation. Could these two be seen as the “Dynamic Dutch Duo”? In the game against Uruguay, Sneijder scored in the 70th minute, and Robben scored immediately after in the 73rd minute. The two are dangerously effective when working in tandem!

Sample post...
“Looking at the Oranje’s star players, Gullit was full of praise for the dynamic Dutch midfield duo of Inter Milan’s Wesley Sneijder, who has scored four goals, and Robben.”

We also continue to update our chart tracking overall buzz on top World Cup players.

• Most buzzed about player for Spain: midfielder Cesc Fabregas.
  The two most buzzed about players of each respective team are midfielders, not strikers. Maybe midfielders are now earning more respect than the flashy strikers? To win the World Cup, you need sound teamwork, not just flash and fame…

• The handball heard ’round the world:
  There is a lot of discussion around the decision by Luis Suarez of Uruguay to purposefully block a ball going into the goal with his hand. So, the question is: was he a hero or villain? If he didn’t, they lose; however, because he did, it gave his team a fighting chance (it gave Ghana a penalty kick, which they missed, and Ghana lost.). So, what do the people think?

Sample posts…
“Hero. It’s either 1) let it go through and lose or 2) stop it and still have a shot at winning. Yeah, I’d think everyone goes with 2, even as a reflex.” Read the post…

“But don’t blame Suarez, blame the rules. Such a situation should be red card and goal, not PK.” Read the post…

Could the volume of conversation around the “handball heard (seen) ’round the world” reach fever pitch and have an impact on future FIFA rules? If so, that would be a huge testament to the power of social media.

The insight of “handball” itself has 6.4K engagement… almost as much as our athletes. And guess whose name keeps popping up? You guessed it: Luis Suarez. Has he created a name for himself as “The Dream Thief”?

SocialSense buzz: “bad call.” Fans online (and SocialSense) generally decry the poor officiating of this World Cup.

Watch for our wrap up of World Cup 2010 later this week!

• Is there somebody following you? Social media has affected relationships and radically changed dating. Facebook is perfect for hooking up or breaking up in case you didn’t know.
• If your employer thinks your tweet compromises your credibility, you could lose your job, especially when there’s a political agenda.  An experienced CNN journalist loses her job.
• The “King of Akron” must also be the “King of Procrastination and Reluctance.” Everybody bow before the king as he enters the 21st century. Lebron James joins Twitter.
• To sweeten its bottom line, a Cold Stone turns its focus away from traditional advertising methods to create the Ultimate Ice Cream Experience.
• There may be world peace in the future, but you may not have any friends or meaningful relationships. Social media is making the room smaller, but building a lot of cubicles as well. What will the social world be like in 2020?
• As thousands of barrels of oil spill into the Gulf of Mexico, social media fills up with widespread disgust for  BP’s chief executive.

Once again we’re going to first check in on the buzz around the players before going on to our ever-evolving coverage of the ubiquitous vuvuzela.

General Trends and Analysis

• Currently only 4 out of the top 10 most buzzed about players still remain within the tournament! However during the time that this data was collected, both the American and English teams lost crucial matches that removed them from the tournament. Needless to say, if some of those eliminated players manage to hold more dominance in online conversations then they did on the field, they could be solid choices as future brand endorsers.
• Lionel Messi’s recent birthday contributed to some his buzz this week. Fans proved that they loved him for more than his astounding athleticism as they wished him a happy 23rd birthday.

Sample Post…
“C’mon everyone, wish a Happy Birthday to #ARG footballer Lionel Messi, who turns 23 today.W00t! #worldcup” Read the post…

• The hot online gossip with Landon Donovan at the moment is that an unnamed woman has come forward claiming to have had his “love child.” Clearly instant celebrity status isn’t always fun.

Sample Post…
“Ok, so I’m reading reports that Landon Donovan isn’t officially divorced from his wife and may reconcile?” Read the post…

• Fans are also buzzing about potential future careers for their favorite players with the Premier and Champion’s League clubs.

Sample Posts…

“Oh. Manchester *CITY* not Manchester United is looking at Landon Donovan. This is perhaps the difference between the Lakers & the Clippers.” Read the post…

“@CMcArdle Fabiano is deadly. I would love if United bought him. Above any other player.” Read the post…

• Landon Donovan’s astounding last-minute goal against Algeria resulted in excited fans swarming Twitter, and causing the ‘fail whale’ to appear. As a result fans claimed that Donovan “broke the Internet.” However, as much as Twitter might see itself as the “kingmaker” of social media, it’s not. Because if we were to just base all of our opinions solely on Twitter-based conversation volume and how many times the ‘fail whale’ appears, we’d be missing what’s really happening across the entire spectrum of social media. This is evident in our top 10 list, which ranked Donovan this week in 6th place with over 1,500-related tweets, well below Lionel Messi, who holds 1st place on our list with only some 500+ Tweets; a mere third of what Donovan amassed!

Vuvuzelas have refused to silence…
We’ve followed some of the stories behind vuvuzelas — from angry Coke fans to deep discussions about vuvuzelas’ cultural importance. This week we want to look at why tracing internet memes, such as vuvuzelas, can provide keys to uncovering potential audiences for your own brands.

Memes are important to follow because, though they don’t always add  new content to the conversation (what’s the content in a vuvuzela-referencing comment that just says “BUZZZZZZZ”?) they do add value. This is because memes are excellent at pointing toward where user awareness, engagement, and affinity hide; which is the secret recipe for communities with strong brand loyalty.

The off-topic sites with the most vuvuzela-related conversations were primarily male-dominated spaces around videogames! The top-ranking related site was penny-arcade, a videogame-based webcomic; another top site was twoplustwo, an online poker strategy site. Other listed sites included ign and gamespot (which are both videogame review sites) and steampowered and bungie (which are both videogame producers). Some great examples of attempting to connect with the vuvuzela-buzzing audience can be seen in both the iPhone vuvuzela app, and YouTube adding the ability to dub vuvuzela sounds over popular videos. So vuvuzela lovers aren’t necessarily football fans, Coke consumers, or nationalists; they are also  videogame enthusiasts, and a previously untapped market!

We’ll first check in on the buzz around players, and then continue our unraveling narrative about vuvuzelas.

General Trends and Analysis

• As the final matches of the first round are coming to a close the online buzz is trending away from the players expected to excel, and transferring instead to those who are actually placing the ball in the net. The ESPN best player rankings we quoted last week became nearly irrelevant.
• If your team is underperforming, not even a scandal can save your place in our top 10 list: Franck Ribery, the 7th most buzzed player last week, fell right off the chart this week. We may see him again once he finally gets charged for his role in a prostitution scandal in Paris.
• Wayne Rooney stays atop our chart this week due to his “slagging off” of the English fans for publicly booing his team’s poor performance. And because of his subsequent half-hearted apology for doing so. What can Rooney do next week to maintain his position in our top 10?

Sample post…
“What’s more annoying, that whining noise that Wayne Rooney makes or a Vuvuzela?” Read the post…

Recent buzz around the U.S. team

• This data was collected from just before the U.S. lost against Ghana, so the U.S. was riding high… We find the emergence of the humbling Landon Donovan and our boy from Texas, Clint Dempsey, claiming a foothold in the online buzz.
• Michael Bradley didn’t make our top 10 list, but his last-minute penalty kick to even the score with Slovenia earned him 12th place in our social ranking with a social index of 3.2. That’s only .1 short of Landon Donovan’s current score.
• Landon Donovan is becoming increasingly popular.

Sample posts…
“Landon Donovan is USA’s Chuck Norris” Read the post.

“Landon Donovan doesn’t kick the ball, it rockets toward the goal out of FEAR.” Read the post.

• Fans worry about Clint Dempsey’s temper after he was hit in the face by the Algerian defender.

Sample posts…
”Clint Dempsey just gave millions of fans heart attacks across America just now.” Read the post.

“DEMPSEY WTF are you doing? Relax for god sakes please!” Read the post.

And finally returning back to our continued coverage of the ‘buzzing’ Vuvuzelas…
Last week we discovered a group on Coke’s Facebook page advocating a boycott of Coke in hopes that it would help ban vuvuzelas (Coke is suffering some guilt by association because they had incorporated vuvuzelas into their World Cup advertising well before the instrument started annoying some fans). But this week, digging deeper, we’re actually finding rich positive sentiment for vuvuzelas that is outweighing the negative.

Many posting online see vuvuzela bashing as a kind of cultural imperialism, an attempt to impose Western football/soccer traditions on South African fans, who don’t want to be told what should and shouldn’t be included within the definition of the sport they all love. In fact according to the online conversations, banning vuvuzelas would be the equivalent of outlawing English chanting, or songs, during a match. Vuvuzela defenders note that the instrument has played an important role throughout the entire spectacle of this World Cup — from the vuvuzela day celebration in honor of the first World Cup to ever be held in Africa, to the vuvuzelas’ appearance at the newly reconstructed stadium in Soweto during the recent anniversary of the anti-apartheid uprising in Soweto 36 years ago.

Vuvuzelas are one of the top trending topics on Twitter (and has so early on established itself as the foremost Internet meme of the 2010 World Cup). We do have a new angle on this well-known irritant, but first we’ll block out the noise to focus on the players. We measured the relative online buzz for the top players and also noted their ESPN skill ranking. See the “Top 10 World Cup Buzzing Players,” below.

General Trends and Analysis

• Skill and popularity don’t always go hand in hand. Fernando Torres is the leader in Social Rank, but ranked 8th by ESPN in Skill. Chris Dempsey has a Social Rank of 6 but didn’t make ESPN’s Top 25 for Skill.
• There’s a new rooster in the yard: Fernando Torres beats out heartthrob Cristiano Ronaldo in percentage of women buzzing about him. Overall, it’s not surprising that 62% of the online conversation is generated by men. But Torres and Ronaldo both attract more women than men (See chart below, “World Cup Players — Buzz by Gender”).
• The World Cup is so low scoring so far, anyone who scores can become a country’s — and the internet’s — hero. Clint Dempsey ranks primarily because of the one goal he scored in the England vs. USA match.
• The strikers are the most buzzed about players — despite the lull in scoring so far. In fact the only two in our Top 10 list that do not typically play a forward position (Frank Lampard and Dani Alves) are both involved in negatively trending discussions.

Trending Themes Around Top 3 Players
1. Fernando Torres, Spain: Conversation trending POSITIVE
The buzz…

• Torres has been coming off the bench. Fans can’t wait to see him start and increase his playing time. (We’ll watch to see if his already substantial buzz increases as his minutes increase.)
• Including Torres, Spain possesses a bench filled with players that are better than most World Cup teams
• He’s talked about as part of the Spanish dream team, with Xavi, David Villa, David Silva, and Fabregas
• Spain will garner more supporters because Torres is a fan favorite from the Liverpool FC, his regular-season team
• Torres is the hottest/best looking footballer

Sample post…
“I just got an email from a coworker & all it says is “I love Fernando Torres. The End.” Hahahaha”

2. Lionel Messi, Argentina: Conversation trending POSITIVE
The buzz…

• Best player, best moves, best save so far this World Cup (he is ESPN’s #1 ranked player)
• Argentina relies upon him more than Barcelona does.
• He’s been playing great; it’s the team’s fault he’s not scoring more.

Sample post…
“Vamos Messi Vamos Argentina !!!”

3. David Villa, Spain: Conversation trending POSITIVE
The buzz…

• Great for Spain
• 3rd best striker in the world
• Good player

Sample post…
“The hairstyle gods really don’t like Villa today”

We’ve got similar data for the other players in the Top 10 of online buzz. Just contact me and I’m happy to share.

Fans can be fickle and fortunes change with the bounce of a ball. Watch for our weekly updates of the buzz around key players.

And to bring it full circle…
It all comes back to vuvuzelas… Using our discovery-based insights to uncover emerging conversations, we found that Coca-Cola might have “blown it” with their campaign graphics for the World Cup. Last month when Coke’s vuvuzela-inspired designs were released, they were praised for their sleek appropriation of a cultural artifact dear to South African football. However this association became a liability as soon as the first vuvuzela was blown, because frustrated World Cup fans are doing whatever they can to lower the noise level on the pitch. Many fans are publicly protesting on Coke’s Facebook Page to stop purchasing Coke products until Coke helps ban vuvuzelas!

See the discussion topic “Pepsi until vuvuzela is banned” for more.

• Most of us get it, but apparently there are some people who don’t understand the difference between social networks and social media.  There’s more to it than Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. No duh.
• 800 million reasons to believe. In a year filled with bad press, Facebook has some good news. Does a higher-than-expected 2009 revenue have Facebook heading toward an IPO?
• Temporarily unavailable. The World Cup is wreaking havoc on Twitter’s servers and forcing them to adjust quickly.
• I need a vacation, please tell me where I should go. Friends can share their travel experiences, wisdom, and  advice using TripAdvisor’s Facebook integration.
• Being connected comes with a hefty price.  Technology has brought the world closer together, but has it pushed the closest ones away? Parents struggle with today’s social lifestyles.
• Shot through the heart, and you’re to blame. Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff tweets the go-ahead to execute Ronnie Lee Gardner.

• Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, BP’s social-media oil spill spews out onto the web.
• Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day. Fritter and waste the hours in an off-hand way. Are small business owners are wasting time on social media?
• Mongolian Empire. Ottoman Empire. Roman Empire. UFC Empire? The fastest growing sport in the world was built by connecting directly with fans without mainstream-media support.
• Coupon clippers rejoice.  Companies use Facebook to reward frugal fans for their loyalty.
• Divorce is contagious and  spreads through social media.
• The room is getting smaller. Especially when you put 32 people in it. Budweiser’s “Bud United” campaign is putting the world in a box.
• The tie that binds. Big players continue to converge.  Yahoo integrates with Facebook’s news feed.

What do these new hires say about where we’re going? We’re improving the depth and breadth of our products. And we’re expanding the sales pipeline to keep up with ever-increasing demand.

Here’s a quick overview of these stellar additions to the team:

Brad Burke
With more than 15 years of technology development and leadership experience, Brad has a proven record of delivering results for data-centric companies. Prior to Networked Insights, he served as CTO of The Patent Board, where he was responsible for company development, technology operations, and all data services. Prior to that, he was the director of technology at QInteractive. He previously held technology leadership positions at SBI and Company and Accenture. Brad holds a Bachelor of Science in manufacturing management from Purdue University.

Paul DePinto
With 20+ years experience in sales, Paul has been instrumental in the early stage growth of several technology and marketing services companies. As vice president of sales at Ripple6 and Invoke Solutions he spearheaded the building of world-class sales organizations leading to the turnaround and growth of both organizations. He also held sales leadership and sales positions at Sightward, Entrust Technologies, Red Brick Systems (now part of IBM), and Information Builders. Paul holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from Seton Hall University.

Both Brad and Paul step in at a time of unprecedented growth for Networked Insights and social media analytics in general. Their combined talents are exactly what we need to take the company to the next level.

Share elsewhere...

I don’t trust you. I want a divorce.

• Consumers have a severe lack of faith in financial institutions (and for good reason). Banks look to improve their “loyalty rates” through social media.
• Careful what you write on your girlfriend’s wall, your wife might read it. Divorce attorneys build their case on Facebook.

Small businesses, big opportunities. Big problem, little conversation.

• Never underestimate the power of word of mouth. Five companies that are capitalizing right now.
• Mainstream media is focused on the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, while social-media conversations are aimed elsewhere. Technology news grabs online headlines away from natural disaster.

The best defense is a good offense. He shoots. He scores.

• The NBA gets the social-media ball rolling as the Celtics and Lakers take center stage. The starting lineup is filled with social-media superstars.
• The World Cup is only days away, and citizens across the globe will be tuning in. The biggest sporting event in the world and big brands are along for the ride.

Smart. Very smart… Stupid.

• In three-month span, 73 million people used mobile browsers, and 30 million accessed a social network. Smartphone users are getting more social.
• After a  security fiasco, a PR nightmare, and privacy settings that would make even the most confident man blush, Facebook is at is again.

I consider myself more of a dog person. Teaching an old dog new tricks.

• Sometimes words can’t adequately describe the mind of a cat lover, but Sony has taken the obsession to a whole new level. A little bird told me about Tweeting cat collars.
• Ever the trend-setter (?!?), George W. Bush has joined Twitter and Facebook. Get anex-president to join 21st century – Mission Accomplished!

• 2010 has been the year of unwanted attention for many technology companies.  The 10 most controversial technology stories of 2010 — so far.
• Dr. Suess said, ”The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”  The social media data set is expanding beyond the bounds of comprehension. Just imagine what YOU can learn…
• Houston we have NO problems with beta launch. Big brands embrace the tech-industry mentality and use social media as the fuel. Ford, P&G and Pepsi build the buzz.
• Pew, that stinks. Trends in traditional and social-media news rarely intersect. Short attention spans and the ever-expanding web pose difficult challenges for mainstream media according to a new Pew study.
• Facebook opened an all-you-can-eat buffet full of user data and now needs a healthier approach to privacy. Facebook’s “instant personalization” gets “simplified”.
• Stalking your virtual self. 18–29 year olds value their privacy online and are actively doing something about it. Reputation management is a big deal to young internet users.
• You may be a little nervous about investing in the real stock market, but maybe the virtual one is more to your liking.  Revenues for virtual goods continue to grow.

• You don’t know the power of the Dark (chocolate) Side. Nestle used products grown on illegally deforested lands to create its chocolaty confections, but no longer. Greenpeace gets social to save the planet.
• Wow! That’s a low price! The benefits of being a contradiction: stinginess and impulsive buying. Airline travel deals target the Twitter generation.
• Peaks and valleys. The heights of social-media popularity aren’t being matched by advertising budgets. Razorfish report reveals social ad spend is low.
• On the other hand, maybe “it’s a pretty big deal.”  Ford’s focus on social media seems to have started a movement. The launch of the new Fiesta represents a paradigm shift.
• Let the games begin. ESPN signs a lucrative two-year deal with social gaming company Playdom.
• Changing disposable diapers. Despite the lingering odor from the their Dry Max diaper launch, Pampers steps up its social-media efforts.
• Use it, or lose it. To find the next big thing or for research, promotion, and analysis, venture capitalists get results with social media.

The disparity between shows high in viewership and shows high in engagement is reflected in the fact that more than half the shows in the SocialSenseTV Top 20 don’t appear in Nielsen’s top 20. The Hollywood Reporter covered the report and noted how ratings and fan-base don’t always match up. (digiday:DAILY also wrote about the report and our new SocialSenseTV offering.)

So how does this help a media buyer or a network? What can social engagement tell us that matters to the bottom line of those engaged in this spring rite of traditional media?

This is the time of year when networks, agencies, and brands all try to assess what a TV show is worth — and what it’s likely to be worth months later — so they can buy inventory now, at upfront prices. “Scatters,” or ads bought closer to air date, can cost 20 to 30% more than upfront buys. Shrewd, informed buying now saves agencies and brands a lot of money. Bad, misinformed choices will stick them with ads on shows that are dogs.

Social media provides a rich vein of conversation to mine that can measure engagement and passion around a show, an actor, or any other topic you care to explore. We can listen to the social conversation to discover why a show is popular, which shows are a good match for a brand, and ultimately, where to buy or sell TV inventory.

We can even analyze and “rate” shows that haven’t aired yet, by listening in on the early buzz about new shows and their stars.

Advertisers are seeking highly engaged audiences with the idea that they are more likely to watch live, see commercials, and appreciate the connection of brands to their favorite shows. Social media listening provides the perfect platform to find those engaged audiences and then discover what they are talking about.

For networks, the same dynamics are at play. If a network is cultivating shows with highly engaged fans, they’ll want to measure that and capitalize on it. They can use the data to prove value and legitimately increase the cost of TV ads. They can also find good matches between brands and shows by finding those shows with fans that care about a given product or category. Note (in the chart below) how network ranking changes when measured by social media ranking or Nielsen ranking of shows.

In a time when advertisers are worried about viewers skipping over commercials, branded content is a hot topic. We looked at two instances. It’s well known that Subway rescued “Chuck” from cancellation. And the fans seem grateful. They’re still talking about Subway when they talk about the show.

We also looked at the “Modern Family” iPad brand integration episode. Though iPad brought a lot more equity to the partnership (word is Apple didn’t pay cash for the deal, but their buzz is much higher online than that of the show), they did get a substantial lift: $516K in earned media.

These are just examples of the kind of campaign evaluation that social media analytics can provide. It’s a powerful new way to measure the impact of a campaign or tv event, because it aggregates effects from multiple channels: if you saw it live or delayed, on TV or on Hulu, in a bar or on a plane, the buzz registers the same online.

The full report includes more analysis of the uses of social media in informing upfront buying and selling, and more insights around specific shows. Please download it and let us know what you think. And if you are ready to enlist social media in your media buying or selling, check out SocialSenseTV, our new listening platform and custom reports services tailored to television.

• I think someone is following me. A couple 100 someones. And I made them do it.  Twitter’s “auto-follow” bug is real.
• How quickly we forget. Social media’s contribution to the Obama campaign was undeniable. Now, the President has labeled the very devices that facilitated his social election as a “distraction, a diversion, a form of entertainment.” Is Barack being hypocritical?
• Evidence of the latest musical savant spreads like a social-media infection and lands him a spot on The Ellen Degeneres Show. Greyson Michael Chance, dude you rock!
• A geek, a dweeb, a nerd, and a dork walk into a computer lab… (insert punchline here). Facebook took away your privacy. “Four talented young nerds” aim to give it back (for free). Diaspora claims it will give users control.
• Preaching by the converted. TV networks, hotels, airlines and restaurants are all using social media to improve CRM and reward their loyal followers. Social media is turning fans into brand evangelists.
• An 88-year-old Golden Girl hosts a 35-year-old TV show, helping it grab its highest ratings in 18 months. 500,000+ Facebook users love Betty White.