ChasNote

Today’s Washington Post discusses blog comments as an unfiltered early warning system for consumer trends:

“The comments are particularly valuable for measuring customer sentiment because they’re gut-level and spontaneous. ‘Internet word of mouth is extremely important,’ said Steve Rubel, a marketing expert and senior vice president at Edelman public relations. ‘You see what the most vocal consumers have to say about you and about your competitors — and they’re saying it without necessarily knowing you’re watching them.’”

BuzzMetrics scoured user comments on behalf of ConAgra & tipped them off to the end of the low-carb diet phenomenon. That’s over?! Boy, what a relief.