We Need Auditing

In traditional media an entire industry rose out of advertisers' need to audit emerging formats. We have ABC for print, Arbitron for radio, Nielsen for TV, comScore and Nielsen-Netratings for Web sites. These companies have built a multi-billion dollar syndicated research industry because marketers need data on which they base their ad buys.

Today another shift is taking place in the media world. Consumers are creating their own content - blogs, podcasts and the like - and distributing it via RSS. Some of the larger consumer-generated properties are being grouped into networks and sold like media. These include Federated Media, 9Rules, Know More Media, Weblogs Inc, Podshow, Podtech, Gawker Media and others. These too must be audited, but so far they're not.

Everyone tries hard to spin data a certain way to make it seem like they're delivering more qualified eyeballs/ears than their competitors. Auditing keeps publishers humble. With social media networks, however, the game is more than just about numbers. It's about reaching influencers. This means that marketers need auditing that goes beyond reach and explores influence meterics. So far, Nielsen BuzzMetrics is best positioned to develop the kind of syndicated research marketers crave, but I think this could be anyone's game to grab if they act fast.

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Comments

[Simon McDermott]

Hi Steve, The company I co-founded is focusing on this for the European market. I completely agree that getting to the core of online buzz is about understanding more than just reach but the impact of influence. Paradoxically one unit of buzz is not the same as another.

If the TNS/Siemens Horizons2020 report is even close to the mark, in the next 5-10 years most people will have their own online presence and online communities will have their own behaviour, ethics and rules. It will be even more important for new measurement methodologies to arrive and better understand how this will impact companies, organisations and governments.

Regards,

Simon McDermott,
Co-founder,
www.attentio.com

[Easton Ellsworth]

Steve, it sounds like you're talking about pumped-up versions of stats tools like Performancing Metrics or the Blog Network List. Hey, if someone would just come out with an eye-popping "auditor," I'm sure networks like the ones you mentioned would pony up a few bucks to access their services.

[Steve Rubel]

Easton, I am really talking about third parties auditing the blog networks. We need this kind oversight if bloggers are going to get bigi name advertisers.

[Joe Agliozzo]

What stats do you envision beyond verifying impressions, uniques, etc. as is common among all tracking software? How do you get "influencer" data? I don't think survey type info will be that valuable in the blog medium because of the sheer size of the blogosphere, do you?

[Easton Ellsworth]

I agree with your idea, Steve. I think it's ahead of its time by a few months ... but soon we should see some third-party players fill the space you've identified.

[PJ]

Why are you concerned about who isn't humble?

A waste of time. If you're an advertiser your ads are not being served by the blog(s) anyway so you have access to the same realtime visitor data as the publisher(s). Advertisers know what they are doing, if they are not happy they can buy ads somewhere else--simple.

You would be better off auditing the auditors.

[Matt]

There are also services like our Blog Network List that use available APIs to mashup statistics and provide advertisers with information about those properties and blog networks.