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I just came across a really interesting article from the Dailymail online from yesterday (via @abisignorelli) that (mis?) informs readers of secret new software that allows companies such  as BT to spy on disgruntled users.

The “secret software” they are talking about is a kind of buzz monitoring tool, which monitors particular keywords across Social platforms and feeds this data back to the brand paying for it. This allows brands to keep track of how they are perceived, but also provides the opportunity for them to engage in conversation with their customers.

This “secret software” is nothing new, buzz monitoring tools have been around for a while, and before this people were able to use services such as google alerts, and even the built in search functionality of many of these platforms (ie Twitter search).

The big questions is: Should people worry about this?

Well the first point to make is that surely people would like help with their problems, no? If I can’t get through to BT customer service, I rant about it on Twitter and someone from BT customer service gets back to me, then they have opened the dialogue. This lets me know that my problem is at least being heard.

Secondly, if you are scared that brands are watching your every move, maybe you need to think a little bit harder about what you share online? Open social spaces are open, and anyone can view your comments, photos, videos etc. You should bear this in mind and change your privacy settings if you want to be more private.

Thirdly and most importantly is that yes, people will use what you say online to try and sell things to you, but people have been doing this for years anyway. It is called targeting, and it is why when you watch a commercial during a football match you get advertisements for beer, shaving cream and sports equipment. Men watch and play football, men drink beer, men shave = targeted ad. If I am complaining about how hard using a pestle and mortar is on Facebook and someone from Magimix gets in touch with me to let me know about an offer they have on their blenders then this is surely a good thing? If I’m not interested I don’t look at it, the same way that I don’t look at the hundreds of adverts I get in my email inbox for Viagra and cheap medicine. When something is highly targeted to a specific concern of yours, is it really spam?

Not everyone has time to sit on hold or find the email contact form. Smart brands know that people are talking about them online and are using buzz monitoring tools to help embrace customers in the conversation. Smart consumers should welcome this opportunity to have their voices heard. The more feedback and suggestions a brand takes on board the better. This pro-active customer care is helping to shape a service that is ultimately better for the customer.

If you just want to rant and don’t want a brand to get involved in a conversation with you, then either don’t post it on social networks, or change your privacy settings.

In both my work and leisure time I spend a lot of time looking at online discussions about videogames. I see a lot of things said that suggest there are a huge amount of gamers being poorly served by the industry.

The home console’s birth in the 80s has grown into a monstrous entertainment industry. Everyone is now a gamer. But while the industry has got broader in appeal how much has it evolved for those 80s and 90s kids, who now have families, jobs and responsibilities?

Take for example Final Fantasy. A game that gained huge popularity in the west with Final Fantasy 7, selling just shy of 10m copies worldwide and a game that is so culturally important that it is still talked about today. Released in ’97 when gaming was just beginning to flex its adolescent muscles and reach beyond being “just for kids.” Much loved for a variety of things especially its (at the time) visual flair and length.

When you don’t have your own source of income a game that can last up to a 100 hours is great value for money. But those cash rich time poor kids have grown up over the last 13 years. They now have the money to buy all the games they ever wanted, but not the time to play them all, certainly not to completion!

13 years on Final Fantasy XIII is just hitting the shelves and do those 90s teens have the time anymore? Many reviews are citing 20 hours of play are required before the game “gets good”. When many of the audience barely have the time to play a game for more than a few hours, will they be willing to invest almost a day of their life to get to the fun part?

Gamers are also now surrounded by opportunities and social choices that they didn’t have to worry about before. Many of the “hardcore” games are exclusive not inclusive, alienating partners and children. If you are looking for an opportunity to make a lot of money and a lot of people happy I would invest in creating games that those hardcore gamers of yester-year can play with their friends and family, be they the most dye in the wool elite hardcore gamer or a Farmville loving Wii waggler.

The gaming industry needs to start listening beyond the buzz. Stop just monitoring the discussions around your brand and start really examining the communities in their entirety. Look for trends in how people are playing and what they are saying. There is a big opportunity to listen beyond your remit and spot opportunities before anyone else does.

Additional notes:

For some insight into how the audience is maturing and how the industry may end up losing players I recommend checking out this recent forum discussion.

And for some steps in the right direction I would look at how games like Guitar hero have added independently scalable difficulties. How New Super Mario Bros Wii creates an environment for hardcore and casual gamers to have a good time. I would also look at how Portal and Braid created those complex and deep experiences much loved by “hardcore gamers” but presented in a shorter time frame or with bite sized chunks.

The growing sophistication of buzz monitoring tools is leading many to suggest we don’t need traditional research analysis skills.

Tools such as Brandwatch and  Scoutlabs can gather huge amounts of data so you can keep up with what your customers are saying online – not just about you but about your competitors. It’s a fundamental part of modern day business.

They search across a huge range of communities and websites to pull out information relevant to your brand. This makes them perfect for collecting huge amounts of data that would take forever to do manually.

Machines don’t think like people

What they can’t do is tell you what it all means for your business. Buzz tools still require people, because analysis is a job for people. Machines can’t think like us yet and until they can, the technological part of buzz monitoring is just part of the mix. And this is where many companies get it wrong.

Tools can offer a variety of ways to track buzz, such as sentiment analysis, but they can’t interpret things like a human being. They can’t understand sarcasm and social nuances like we can.

Pulling out key quotes relevant to you, recognising top online influencers and  spotting marketing and research opportunities requires a personal touch. A human touch. Analysing what people are interested in, what they like, what they don’t like in the context of your business goals requires research expertise, not technology.

Each buzz monitoring tool has its own set of strengths and weaknesses and by using a combination of them alongside human analysis, you can gain valuable insight into your target audience; you can develop new and improved ways to market to them and even develop new products that will appeal to them. You can also discover ways to differentiate yourselves from your competitors.

Stats, info, words and numbers

Without the human, buzz tools spew out stats and info, words and numbers. These need conversion to something meaningful. Buzz tools pull in huge amounts of information but they also create a lot of white noise.

Working out who your key communities are and how their internal cultures work takes time. Your buzz tools will help you find some – but not all – of them. They also won’t help you to prioritise which communities you should pay more attention to.

If you spend the time really listening to the communities that have the most value to you by combining your buzz tools with manual research and analysis, you’ll truly reap the benefits of buzz monitoring – but don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you can pay simply for a key terms to be tracked and that’s it. Job done. You’ll just be wasting your money. True buzz monitoring requires financial investment – but it reaps real business rewards.

Listen, listen and listen again

The only way to get a true feel of what a community is like and what they are talking about is to have an expert in there really looking at it. Use buzz tools to help identify communities and comments but you should always spend the time to get the context from the community.

Social media – including buzz monitoring – is all about people. It doesn’t just stop at choosing a tool and letting it get on with it. Get an expert to spend the time delving into what the results mean in the grander scheme of things and you’ll see the true value of buzz monitoring.