Mining Unexpected Breadcrumbs For Subtle Cues of Epidemic Proportions

Quote of the day: “You’re one interesting cat.” That was what Janet Ginsberg of germtales said to me in an email exchange we had on social networks, disaster recovery and infectious outbreaks. I liked the description of me, and Janet agreed to let me share it here.… Read the rest

My Trip To Google Chicago

I just got back from keynoting Google’s Moms Know Tech, a conference held for their CPG clients in Chicago. It was a half-day event with about a hundred marketers and advertising agency folks. I talked about the motivations and behaviors of mommies across social media platforms, highlighting emerging forms of digital expression, most-discussed categories in mom communities, and a drilldown into nutrition issues (one of the most passionate mommy topics).… Read the rest

Sanjaya Voted Off American Idol…Please Say It’s Not So!

Just when I got all excited over Freakonomics’ coverage of the analysis we did on American Idol contestant Sanjaya Malakar, my favorite contestant got voted off. Darn! I really wanted him to win. For what he lacked in talent, he more than made up for in charisma and humor.… Read the rest

Go Sanjaya! (And Mapping Mental Associations In The Blogosphere)

sanjaya_malakar


Have you ever wondered what consumer sentiment and mental associations look like among members of a distributed community of stakeholders? That question is on the ephemeral side. However, it’s an important one marketers should be asking constantly, relative to their own brands, competitors and categories.… Read the rest

Television Voting Contains Valuable Lessons For Market Researchers

In my latest MediaPost column, I propose that television voting contains some key lessons for the market research industry, especially the practice of luring respondents. And what better example than American Idol? There is some passionate discussion at the MediaPost blog.… Read the rest