Update: It seems that Nielsen wasn't the only one looking... Andiamo Systems was also checking out the site. During my research, I found a great blog entry on data mining and social networking. It was created by Matthew Hurst; a Scientist at Microsoft's Live Labs and the co-creator of BlogPulse. His work can be found here <link>.

It all started with a hit on my blog entry...

December 11, 2007 at 7:58 AM (GMT) someone was accessing my blog article "THE WAYS OF WALL STREET: CIRCLES WITHIN CIRCLES" from a most curious web address:

What is going on?

A researcher using the logon name of "cgoldstein" was searching through blogs looking for the those with content relating to "Merrill Lynch" between the dates of 11/27/2007 and 12/07/2007 for some mysterious purpose.

And why were they looking?

It was a very short trip to the website in question to find out that it was owned by Nielsen, the people who provide television ratings, market research and who will attempt to answer any question you would care to ask.

Nielsen's  BuzzMetrics project is their way of tracking consumer-generated media which they conveniently define on their website.

"Consumer-Generated Media" (CGM) encompasses the millions of consumer-generated comments, opinions and personal experiences posted in publicly available online sources on a wide range of issues, topics, products and brands. CGM is also referred to as Online Consumer Word-of-Mouth or Online Consumer Buzz. CGM originates from:

• Blogs
• Message boards and forums
• Public discussions (Usenet newsgroups)
• Discussions and forums on large email portals (Yahoo!,AOL, MSN)
• Online opinion/review sites and services
• Online feedback/complaint sites"

And which they believe possesses great commercial value. But let's let them tell the story in their own words...

Why is CGM Important?

"First, consumers place far more trust in their fellow consumers than they do in traditional marketers and advertisers, according to research. For any marketer, advertiser or business professional trying to be heard or break through the clutter, understanding and managing this high-impact CGM is critical for marketplace understanding and success. "

"Secondly, CGM is prolific and increasingly easy and inexpensive to create. Online discussion forms, membership groups, boards and Usenet newsgroups represented the first CGM wave. Blogs and online videos represent the latest wave of CGM that's easy and inexpensive to distribute…and influential in its impact."

"Likewise, CGM influences traditional marketing in wholly new ways. Because CGM data is easy to find on search engines, marketers and advertisers no longer "control" the message or the medium. When a consumer types a company name, brand or product into a search engine, it's almost certain that some of the first results—good or bad—will be posted and created by other consumers. In addition, the media, analysts, regulators, competitors and other stakeholders encounter this readily available CGM “reference material” when they’re researching issues, topics and trends online."

"CGM is dramatically altering the marketing landscape, and Nielsen BuzzMetrics gives marketers and intelligence professionals an advantage by locating, measuring and analyzing CGM in wholly new ways so that it's understandable, real-time and actionable."

So someone apparently was compiling a consensus public opinion on the blogosphere's perceptions of Merrill-Lynch; either for Merrill-Lynch or one of their competitors. Or perhaps a stock analyst trying to "price in" consumer sentiment to determine their price direction and tendency? Perhaps a takeover artist looking to see if their was residual core value to their "Merrill-Lynch" brand name? Or a Merrill-Lynch executive trying to determine when the ruckus over their subprime fiasco might be over. Or perhaps it was someone associated with BlackRock to find out if anyone noticed and commented on the fact that Merrill-Lynch owns approximately 50% of the firm that was touted to administer a bank-led $100 BILLION dollar SIV (Structured Investment Vehicle) fund even though Merrill-Lynch was an apparent contributor to the subprime mess and had to write down at least $8 billion of securities  in their third quarter.

Or?

Well the use of the mined data and its relative algorithmic rankings are limited only by the imagination and resourcefulness of the client and researchers.

But I would tend to believe that they just wanted another look at they lyrics to my little Wall Street ditty which is set to the tune of "Windmills Of My Mind"

Circles within circles, wheels within wheels

It all keeps on spinning, with ever increasing deals

Until the model is broken and it reaches some unplanned end

When all the investors are broke and the game begins again.

What can YOU do?

Recognize that your blog entries and participation in the blogosphere does have an impact on commercial and political events.

Continue to share your opinion with your fellow bloggers via blog posts or comments to blog posts.

Never, never be silent when you believe that your ideas deserve to be heard or you just want to stand up and be counted.

Make an effort to make a difference.

-- steve

A reminder from OneCitizenSpeaking.com: a large improvement can result from a small change…

The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane. -- Marcus Aurelius

Reference Links:

BuzzMetrics|Nielsen

THE WAYS OF WALL STREET: CIRCLES WITHIN CIRCLES|onecitizenspeaking