Bloggers' buzz tells what consumers think

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Bloggers' buzz tells what consumers think

Bloggers' unsolicited opinions and offhand comments are a source of invaluable insights that are hard to get elsewhere.

Marketers are using new technology to analyze blogs to hear what is being said online about new products and aging brands. Blog-watching can be cheaper, faster and less biased than focus groups and consumer research surveys.

Cellphone companies find out that teens fear exceeding their minutes, camera and film companies learn that consumers want long-lasting photos and drug makers discover that poor drug trials are not necessarily negative.

Walter Carl, a professor at Boston's Northeastern University who has studied "word-of-mouth" communication and marketing, says blog-watching services "are very useful for quickly getting the lay of the land" in trends and consumer reactions. Still, he says, it isn't clear how closely online comments mimic the 80% of "word-of-mouth" that still occurs face-to-face.