Evesdropping into blog conversations

Interesting article on how organizations are dogging bloggers (I wonder if the words were chosen due to alliteration ;-)

So-called "marketing and business intelligence" firms have developed sophisticated software and other technologies to detect, categorize and analyze specific words, phrases and even emotions expressed by those typing away on Internet blogs about anything and everything.

But Corporate America sees them as nothing but a "huge unsolicited focus group" in which people speak their minds with passion, said Sue MacDonald, marketing manager of Intelliseek Inc. in Ohio. Marketing companies have been intrigued for years with the whole "word of mouth" component of individuals making good or bad recommendations for a product. A Hollywood movie can become a blockbuster or a monumental dud if word is passed along that other viewers like or dislike it - professional critics be damned. Now companies see blogs - as
well as other components of the Internet - as a way to actually listen in, so to
speak, on what word- of-mouth recommendations or complaints people are making The Internet and blogs, in particular, have so revolutionized market
research that a new Word of Mouth Marketing Association was formed about nine months ago. The group of marketing folks met last week in Chicago. The intent: to drill farther into the "consumer-generated media" of the Internet to mine as much data as possible.