Be Careful...They Are Watching
I read an interesting article in yesterday's WSJ about marketers using blog postings as a way to learn more about consumer habits and opinions in order to shape their marketing campaigns. According to the article, "A growing number of marketers are using new technology to analyze blogs and other consumer-generated-media (a category that includes chat groups, message boards, and electronic forums) to hear what is being said online about new products, old ad campaigns and aging brands." One of the primary targets for this type of "research" are teens who are more vocal about their opinions and habits in their chats. This reminds me of Amy's daughter posting her thoughts online.
Blog-monitoring services typically charge their clients who range from Burger King to P&G $30K - $100K per year. Not a bad retainer!
As a marketer, I am slightly troubled by this tactic and I feel it's an invasion of privacy, especially since there's no mechanism to tell a consumer they are being watched. The good news is that there are over 12 Million active online diarists and obtaining useful information is hard to come by.
1 Comments:
Emi warned us several times before starting our blogs, the Internet is a public forum. Anything said becomes a part of public record that might not ever disappear.
We put our blogs out there for people to read it. Mostly, those people are our classmates, but who knows who else is lurking out there? Probably just other people interested in politcs, but there is no guarantee.
Parents need to add this to the list of things to warn their children and teens about when using the Internet.
Post a Comment
<< Home