Mining Social Networks for Marketing, Competitive Intelligence

by Curt Hall

Back in March, I discussed the need for tools that can mine social networking sites, such as LinkedIn, MySpace, YouTube, and Facebook (see "Mining Internet Social Media: Tomorrow's Tools Needed Today," 18 March 2008). Basically, I said that social media sites have become one of the leading mediums for publishing content on the Web. I added that they are also the preferred forum for consumers to praise or disparage everything from banks and cars and video games to politicians, CEOs, and the "environmental sensitivity" of leading corporations. I would also add that social networking sites are rapidly becoming the platform for people to reach out to, and communicate and collaborate with, colleagues and others with similar interests and needs.