CNET news reported yesterday on JupiterResearch's warning to keep a close eye on blogs. I've written before about the need to keep an eye on who is talking about your company and what they are saying, but it's always good to have that backed up.

Analyst house JupiterResearch tells marketing professionals to keep their eye on blogs, where opinions that can harm brands can be easily and quickly circulated.

JupiterResearch also notes that because so few of us actually make our opinions known online, those who do--typically, young men--are exerting a disproportionate influence across the blogosphere.

It's an important point to remember. Things can blow up at an astoundingly fast rate in the blog world, as best demonstrated by the Thomas Hawk/PriceRitePhoto incident. In a matter of weeks a simple blog posting about a bad buying experience escalated into a giant news story that was covered by major news outlets and that ultimately resulted in a pretty much completely destroyed business.






About the Author

Jennifer Laycock is the Editor of Search Engine Guide, an educational web site aimed at translating the search marketing world into something that small business owners can understand. Jennifer specializes in common sense search engine marketing, viral marketing and customer outreach via social media and blogs. A former search marketing consultant and in-house trainer, Jennifer’s clients have included companies like Verizon, American Greetings and Highlights for Children. Her primary clients now are a little girl named Elnora and a little boy named Emmitt.

Jennifer Laycock is the Editor of Search Engine Guide, an educational web site aimed at translating the search marketing world into something that small business owners can understand. Jennifer specializes in common sense search engine marketing, viral marketing and customer outreach via social media and blogs. A former search marketing consultant and in-house trainer, Jennifer’s clients have included companies like Verizon, American Greetings and Highlights for Children. Her primary clients now are a little girl named Elnora and a little boy named Emmitt.