Blogware

Blogging with the Whales

Joey deVilla — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 10:59:58 -0400

Over at the internet marketing blog One Degree, Toronto-based online business guru Bill Sweetman writes about how a non-computer, non-tech, non-internet business is making use of a corporate blog. The article, titled Blogging with the Whales, covers the blog run by a New Brunswick company that offers whale-watching cruises. Bill writes:

The blog is maintained by Danielle, a marine biology graduate in charge of photographing, identifying and recording the whales and sharing that information with various marine research organizations. Danielle’s blog chronicles through words and photos (by Danielle) the recent whale sightings and had been updated earlier the day I first looked at the blog with photos of whales that had been spotted that morning.
I was immediately captivated by the near-immediacy of this information and the fact it chronicled the spontaneous nature of whale watching. The “Sightings and Updates” blog also demonstrated to me that Quoddy Link Marine really cared about whales and the environment, not just selling whale tour tickets. Thanks to their blog, I also felt one degree closer to the people behind this tour company than with those from any of their competitors.

If you're wondering if having a corporate blog can help your company attract new business, you might want to read the article.

New Report Says There are 12 Million U.S. Bloggers, 57 Million U.S. Blog Readers

Joey deVilla — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 15:15:46 -0400

According to a report on blogging released by the Pew Internet and American Life Project titled Bloggers: A Portrait of the Internet's New Storytellers [260K PDF], 8 percent of internet users -- that's about 12 million American adults -- keep a blog. An even larger segment of internet users, 39 percent, or about 57 million American adults, read blogs.

Among the report's findings:

Here's what bloggers blog about:
- 37% of bloggers use them as personal journals
- 11% blog about government and politics
- 7% blog about entertainment
- 6% blog about sports
- 5% blog about general news and current events.
54% of bloggers are under 30, evenly split between men and women.
Where bloggers live:
- More than half live in the suburbs
- One-third live in urban areas
- 13% live in rural areas.
Bloggers are less likely to be white than the general internet population, which is 74% white. Of bloggers:
- 60% are white
- 19% are Hispanic
- 11% are African-American
- 10% identified themselves as members of some other race.
52% of bloggers said that they are blogging for themselves.
52% of bloggers said that their major reason for blogging was to express themselves creatively.
50% of bloggers said that their major reason for blogging was to document and share personal experiences.

If you'd like to read the report itself, you can download both the report and the questionnaire used to make the report from this page.

If you'd like to read some of the reportage on the report, check out these links:

Blogging Like it's 1799

Joey deVilla — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 11:32:39 -0400

Tedra Osell, a professor of English Literature at the University of Guelph, says that blogging began back in the 1700s, when people published their own writing and circulated them around the coffee houses and homes of England. In a Montreal Gazette article titled Blogs a hit in the cafes of the 1700s, she says that these self-published works, "often just a single sheet, brought about social change by highlighting debates over politics, women's roles, fashions and behaviour".

The phenomenon was not limited to one side of the Atlantic. In the colonial U.S., the Pamphleteers did the same as the self-publishers in England. The most famous of them, Thomas Paine, wrote what were essentially blog entries on why the colonies should seek independence. According to the blog Eric's Grumbles before the Grave:

His pamphlet was printed enough times that virtually every adult man and woman in the Colonies potentially owned a copy, and very likely 80% of them did. He laid the case so well that, by the time the Continental Congress met in June to take up the case of What To Do™, popular support had shifted from reconciliation to independence. He did all this without being a major publisher, having the support of a major newspaper, being backed by any government or other organization or even being particularly wealthy. Indeed, he did such a good job that John Adams is known to have said, after the Declaration of Independence, "History is to ascribe the American Revolution to Thomas Paine."

The idea of bloggers-as-pamphleteers isn't a new one. Here are some other articles that put forth this idea:

Bloggers: The Pamphleteers of Today
Attack of the Printing Press! A good comeback to Daniel Lyons' poorly-reasoned Forbes attack piece on blogs in which the blogging/pamphleteer parallel is used well.
400 years of Blogging

Blogs Changing Political Discourse

Joey deVilla — Fri, 26 May 2006 16:27:07 -0400

The Daily Advertiser, which is based in Lafayette, Louisiana, has an article on how blogs are changing political discourse:

Ben Domenech, a former Bush administration intern who launched the conservative RedState.com, was dumped in late March as a blogger at Washingtonpost.com after liberal rivals unearthed plagiarism in his work, triggering a flurry of Internet commentary, known as a "swarm."
Then late last month, the Los Angeles Times suspended columnist Michael Hiltzik's blog after a conservative critic exposed Hiltzik's practice of using pseudonyms to post provocative comments on other blogs.

It's probably a combination of these polticially-charged times coupled with blogs' ability to act as an amplifier for word-of-mouth, which was traditionally had the same limits as your ability to physically travel. Your blog speaks for you even when you're asleep, and thanks to the fact that search engines rank them highly (since search engines "feed" off links and blogs are an excellent source of them), it's considerably more "findable" than you are.

The article has a list of politcal and news events in which blogs have played an important role:

Recent episodes dramatize how swiftly and powerfully they may react, sometimes rivaling mainstream media in their ability to track events and connect the dots in real time, and influencing traditional news coverage. Consider:
Blogs applied the pressure that led to Trent Lott's 2002 resignation from the U.S. Senate after making what some construed as racist remarks.

It was a blogger dubbed "Buckhead" who in 2004 exposed forged documents used by CBS News and Dan Rather in stories about President Bush's National Guard service.

Former Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., was unseated two years ago after conservative bloggers attacked him and forced the state's largest newspaper to modify its coverage of the race.

Blogs raised early questions about the Bush administration's handling of the Hurricane Katrina crisis. A study by Loyola University Chicago sociologist Lauren Langman concludes that the blogs forced critical mainstream news coverage that weakened support for the president.

Last year's U.S. Supreme Court nomination of Harriet Miers was withdrawn after conservative blogs derided her qualifications. Bush took the unprecedented step of holding a conference call with the bloggers in an unsuccessful attempt to quell criticism.

Newest Age bracket to blog: Senior Citizens!

Kim Phelan — Thu, 10 Nov 2005 13:56:02 -0500

They say that you can learn many a thing at the foot of your grandparents. They have been through many an event, and had a lifetime of experiences. CNN would also agree. There is a new bracket of blogger out there: The Seniors.

They blog like the rest of us, about life, politics, religion, and interests. Proves again that blogging is for everyone, with every interest. Take a read!

Blogs and Business from E-marketer

Kim Phelan — Mon, 07 Nov 2005 11:47:29 -0500

E-marketer presents some good data related to why people blog, how often, and how they are viewed by their readers, take a look!

A key finding of the survey is that the blogger respondents are, to a large degree, seeking to position themselves as authorities in their field. That was the number one reason they gave for blogging.

You can read more about this article at; emarketer

(article will be available until December 4th)

Blogging in Katrina's Wake

Joey deVilla — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 15:05:19 -0400

Some more Katrina-related blogging stories:

Washington Post: Blogs Provide Storm Evacuees with Neighborhood-Specific News
eWeek: An article about Michael "The Interdictor" Barnett (whom we covered earlier): Former Green Beret Stays Online in Katrina's Wake
San Diego's North County Times: Web Sites Come of Age in Times of Trouble
Ernie the Attorney is the blog of a New Orleans-based lawyer. Ernie has evacuated to Houston, where he's been posting a number of Hurrican Katrina-related entries.

The Donald Trump Blog

Joey deVilla — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 21:07:52 -0400

He's been at it for a month, but just in case you hadn't heard, The Donald has his own blog, called -- as one might expect -- The Trump Blog. Its subtitle: "Ideas and opinions from Donald Trump and his circle of experts". As Jupiter Research's Michael Gartenberg says, this means that blogging is pretty mainstream now.

"Blogs Help Students Think For Themselves"

Joey deVilla — Tue, 06 Sep 2005 16:20:33 -0400

From an article on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's site:

Blogging is helping students to think and write more critically, says an Australian researcher, and can help draw out people who would otherwise not engage in debate.

These are the preliminary findings of PhD research by Anne Bartlett-Bragg, a lecturer at the University of Technology, Sydney, who has been using weblogs or blogs in her own teaching since 2001.

"[The students] are thinking more critically," she says. "They are learning to be responsible and they're communicating outside the boundaries of the classroom and the institution, and they like that."

Don't Mess with the Interdictor!

Joey deVilla — Fri, 02 Sep 2005 18:30:24 -0400

The most fascinating blog to emerge from Hurricane Katrina is Michael "The Interdictor" Barnett's blog, in which he documents what's happening in New Orleans from the 10th floor of a downtown New Orleans building. Barnett is the "crisis manager" at the domain name registrar DirectNIC, which shares its space with its sister company, Zipa, and in a prior life, he was a soldier in the U.S. Army Special Forces seem to have served him well. He's been helping keep the company's servers up and running since the start of the storm last week and blogging about his experience. It's a fascinating read, and I suggest you read it from his first Katrina entry, which simply reads:

Hmm. This could actually be a nasty storm.

Wired has a short piece on Barnett.

Blogging Katrina #3

Joey deVilla — Thu, 01 Sep 2005 13:09:46 -0400

HoustonChronicle.com: News, Rage, Needs in New Orleans blogs.

ZDNet: Bloggers Record Katrina Destruction

Slate: Into the Breach

BlogCritics.org: Blogging Katrina

Marketing Vox: Websites, Blogs Fill News Media Void Left by Katrina

Reuters: Web is Bulletin Board for Katrina Victims

Hurricane Katrina Blog for Relief Day

Joey deVilla — Thu, 01 Sep 2005 11:28:29 -0400

This blog, along with the others for which I write (The Farm, IndieGameDev, The Adventures of Accordion Guy in the 21st Century) is joining with Instapundit, The Truth Laid Bear and several others in the Hurricane Katrina Blog for Relief Day drive. If you're reading this blog, the chances are that you're probably able to spare even the equivalent of your lunch money.

How badly off are people there? According to this blog entry by author Cherie Priest (I got the link from the Neilsen Hayden's Making Light blog), quite badly off.

There are a number of charities from which to choose (here's a list from FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency). Choose the one you think appropriate. I'm sending my money to the Canadian Red Cross, who are sending aid and accept tax-deductible donations from Canadians). If you're in the United States, the American Red Cross will take your donations.

Blogging Katrina, Continued

Joey deVilla — Wed, 31 Aug 2005 12:53:06 -0400

From the BBC: Storm Blogs Offer Katrina Insight

Los Angeles Times: Newspapers Improvise with Web Editions and Blogs

New York Times: Flooding Stops Presses and Broadcasts, So Journalists Turn to the Web

MSNBC: Blog Links for Katrina Survivors and Families

Katrina Blog Relief Day: The blogger "N.Z. Bear" from The Truth Laid Bear is organizing this blogging event, which will take place on tomorrow -- Thursday, September 1st. He's asking bloggers to post an article asking their readers to send donations to charities to assist those who've been hit by the storm.

Cricket Blogs

Joey deVilla — Tue, 30 Aug 2005 12:29:32 -0400

While we in North America don't talk much about cricket (with the exception of a few pockets, such as Silicon Valley, where a number of Indian and Pakistani techies have started leagues), it is a beloved sport played in many Commonwealth countries. As with anything else that has a devoted following, cricket too has a number of blogs devoted to it.

"If you think that people get passionate about the War On Terror," writes Alan Connor in the BBC article Blog Before Wicket, "they've got nothing on cricket writers." Go check out the article for links to some notable cricket blogs.

Blogging Katrina [Updated]

Joey deVilla — Mon, 29 Aug 2005 11:44:52 -0400

[Last updated Monday, August 29, 5:49 pm EDT] Before I begin, I'd like to send my prayers and good thoughts to those of you who are either in Hurricane Katrina's path or have friends or loved ones there.

Here are some blogs that have been reporting on Katrina:

For more blogs reporting on Hurricane Katrina, try this Technorati search.

For photos, try this flickr search.

The CBC Lockout Blog

Joey deVilla — Mon, 29 Aug 2005 11:13:12 -0400

Blogware blogger Tod "I Love Radio.org" Maffin has a weblog devoted to coverage of the lockout at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (Canada's public broadcaster) called CBCunplugged.com. It's already one of the 10 most-read Blogware blogs.

"51% of journalists are using weblogs regularly"

Joey deVilla — Fri, 26 Aug 2005 17:52:14 -0400

Some interesting statistics from editorsweblog.org:

According to the latest Annual Euro RSCG Magnet and Columbia University Survey of the Media, 51% of journalists, combared to 11% of all US internet users (according to eWeek), are using weblogs regularly and 28% rely on them for their daily reporting.

Also notable:

By contrast, only 1% of journalists believe in their credibility.

Hmm.

Blogging in China

Joey deVilla — Wed, 24 Aug 2005 10:56:27 -0400

From a BusinessWeek interview with Hu Zhiguang, who runs one of the leading blog service providers in China:

Q: What do you think is the biggest difference between the blogosphere in the U.S. and in China?
A: The difference between China and the U.S. is quite large. The U.S. has many famous bloggers, and they have a big influence. In China, because of the political environment problem, it's not possible to have that sort of thing.

So [Chinese blogs are] more lifestyle- and entertainment-oriented. But Chinese bloggers are more willing to express themselves than American bloggers. Because elsewhere in America there's more freedom, so the methods of expression are more [varied].

Q: But, as you say, the political environment in China means there's a lot that people can't express in their blogs.
A: Sometimes there are people who write about Taiwanese independence and the Falun Gong.

Q: And what happens when they try to do that?
A: We set up keywords for our programs, like "Falun Gong," and when you type in those keywords, you cannot post them. It just shows up as stars. Everybody has that.

How Journalists Use Blogs

Joey deVilla — Tue, 23 Aug 2005 14:58:13 -0400

MediaChannel.org points to an interview with Wall Street Journal tech reporter Nick Wingfield who talks about how journalists use blogs in their jobs. It boils down to these four points:

Journalists use blogs as tickler files when researching stories.
Journalists use blogs as sounding boards.
Journalists use blogs as digests of the day's news.
Journalists don't "flog the blog" - they see blogs as useful websites.

Animation Blogs

Joey deVilla — Tue, 16 Aug 2005 11:47:30 -0400

If you love animation, check out these blogs!

Oh, that's freakin' sweet! The creative team behind the hilarious animated television series Family Guy have their own blog: Family Guy Freakn' Blog. Not only do the contributors talk about the show, they also tell some interesting stories about the animation industry and the choices they made that led them to their careers in animation.

Luxo is a blog that covers events, upcoming films and peope at Pixar Studios, the creator of the feature films Toy Story, Toy Story 2, A Bug's Life, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo and The Incredibles.

Cartoon Brew covers the world of animation from all sorts of angles. If you want to keep up with what's going on in the world of animation, this place always has the goods.

You might not know what Macromedia Flash is, but you probably seen all sorts of animations on the web -- and even on TV! -- created with it. Cold Hard Flash is a blog created by Aaron Simpson, who works in television animation and follows the explosion in animation created using Flash.

Steven den Beste established his reputation as a dedicated right-wing blogger who wrote long-form blog entries that analysed his topics with an engineer's eye for detail. He got into anime -- Japanese animation -- not too long ago and he's been blogging a storm about it on Chizumatic. Although he's changed his blogging subject, he still writes with that same dedication to details.

Boeing's Business Blog

Joey deVilla — Fri, 12 Aug 2005 14:53:58 -0400

Having grown up in the Philippines, the United States and Canada, I've been flying since the age of one and have always been fascinated by airplanes. I used to be a bit of a "planespotter", always trying to identify any jet I saw, and I collected as much memorabilia from any flight I took (including the safety cards, which you're not really supposed to take). I still love hanging out in airports and getting a good look at the jets, and I do miss the days when you were allowed to get a tour of the cockpit.

Randy Baseler is the VP of Marketing for Boeing's commercial airliner division, and I make it a point to check his blog, Randy's Journal, from time to time. Randy uses his blog as a way to promote the company and let people get a look at the world of aircraft design and manufacturing. He's written articles about having a full schedule promoting Boeing at the Paris Air Show, the sleek designs of Boeing's upcoming aircraft and a recent demo flight for their new Connexion service, which provides broadband internet access to airplane passengers.

One of most notable things about Randy's Journal is its honesty. It doesn't feel as if it's been vetted by a PR department or a team of marketers. He's not afraid to talk about deals that didn't go through or missteps that his company has made. Can you imagine either of these griups writing a line like this?

What we're trying to do with the Dreamliner is bring back a little of that magic we lost along the way.

If you're considering using a blog to promote your business, you might want to borrow a few pages from Randy's book.

"With This Blog, I Thee Wed"

Joey deVilla — Wed, 10 Aug 2005 17:45:27 -0400

[via Marginal Revolution via Kottke] The marriage wasn't official until they blogged it! There's an obscure law in texas that says that a marriage isn't official until it's announced in public. Blog entries are considered to be public announcements, so he blogged and she blogged and it became legal. Congrats!

The Business of Blogging

Joey deVilla — Thu, 04 Aug 2005 11:02:33 -0400

MIT's Technology Review has an article titled The Business of Blogging, which looks at Brian Alvey's and Jason Calacanis' attempt (in the form of Weblogs Inc.) to answer the question "Can blogs make money?"

The Blogs of War

Joey deVilla — Wed, 03 Aug 2005 12:00:00 -0400

"On the 21st-century battlefield," goes the introduction to the article The Blogs of War in Wired magazine, "the campfire glow comes from a laptop. It's a real-time window on life behind the lines - and suddenly the Pentagon is on the defensive."

The article looks at "milbloggers" -- bloggers who also happen to be serving or have served in the military and write about the war and the service. In today's global conflict and the highly politicized atmosphere, milbloggers provide interesting, if sometimes controversial, perspectives. With today's blogging technology, "letters home" are far more immediate, and the "soldier's-eye view" is available to more people than ever before.

Here's an excerpt from the article:

Milbloggers constitute a rich subculture with a refreshing candor about the war, expressing views ranging from far right to far left. They also offer helpful tips about tearing down an M16, recipes for beef stew (hint: lots of red wine), reviews of the latest episode of 24, extremely technical discussions of Humvee armor configurations, and exceptionally raw accounts of field hospital chaos, gore, and heroism.

For now, the Pentagon officially tolerates this free-form online journalism and in-house peanut gallery, even as the brass takes cautious steps to control it. A new policy instituted this spring requires all military bloggers inside Iraq to register with their units. It directs commanders to conduct quarterly reviews to make sure bloggers aren't giving out casualty information or violating operational security or privacy rules. Commanding officers shut down a blog that reported on the medical response to a suicide bombing late last year in Mosul. The Army has also created the Army Web Risk Assessment Cell to monitor compliance. And Wired has learned that a Pentagon review is under way to better understand the overall implications of blogging and other Internet communications in combat zones.
"It's a new world out there," says Christopher Conway, a lieutenant colonel and DOD spokesperson.

You can read the entire article here.

Meet Tom Reynolds, Blogware's "Ambulance Blogger"

Joey deVilla — Mon, 25 Jul 2005 14:50:22 -0400

One of the most popular Blogware-based blogs out there is Random Acts of Reality, written by a blogger who goes by the name of Tom Reynolds, an ambulance driver with the London Ambulance Service. Tom often writes about his experiences at work, which are sometimes funny, sometimes harrowing, but often interesting to read.

I had the pleasure of meeting Tom last November, when he flew from London to Toronto to attend my birthday/engagement party (among other things). We met by reading each other's blogs, a testament to the fact that you'll never know who'll you'll meet by blogging.

Tom's blog has garnered him a fair bit of media exposure, the latest being BBC News' piece on him titled Ambulance Blogger Tells All.

Increasing Your Blog Readership: Lots of Short Entries?

Joey deVilla — Mon, 13 Jun 2005 16:08:35 -0400

Tristan Louis has been looking at the "A-List" of bloggers: those people with blogs who get the largest readerships, in order to determine what made them so. In analyzing some of the most popular blogs -- BoingBoing, Instapundit, Engadget and Daily Kos -- and one thing that many of them have in common is that they post short entries several times a day.

Posting often works because there's a strong correlation between frequent posting and repeat visits. The short-entry format works well for blogs that are "linkers": blogs that consistently point out interesting things online and link to them before most people have even heard of them. These blogs tend to function as news services for people who like to keep up with interesting developments. If you're new to blogging and are looking to build your readership, the short-format/post-often approach is the easiest way to do so.

Keep in mind that there are a number of equally popular bloggers who prefer "single long form entry per day or couple of days" entries: Heather "Dooce" Armstrong, James "The Daily Bleat" Lileks and Wil "Formerly Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation" Wheaton. These blogs take a different tack than "linkers": rather than link to interesting content elsewhere, they produce interesting content. Heather Armstrong tells hilarious stories about her life, James Lileks writes editorials that are interesting and engaging, even if you don't agree with his views, and Wil Wheaton has a unique view of the world, speaking as someone who's gone from the most hated Star Trek character to the series' most beloved alumnus.

Each approach has its own strengths and trade-offs. The best approach for you should be determined by your writing style, the sort of topics you'd like to cover in your blog and the amount of time you want to devote to blogging.

He's Paid $100,000 -- to blog!

Joey deVilla — Fri, 10 Jun 2005 11:31:43 -0400

Here's a sweet job: Chris Nelson, pictured above, beat 2,000 other applicants for a one-year contract with the Country Music Television cable television channel. He will be paid US$100,000..

His position? Vice President of the Dukes of Hazzard Institute.

His job? To watch reruns of The Dukes of Hazzard weeknights on the Country Music Television cable channel and write blog postings for the network's Web site.

How can I get a job like that?

Pennsylvania Posts Tourist Blogs

Joey deVilla — Fri, 03 Jun 2005 11:32:46 -0400

Here's an interesting use for weblogs: the Pennsylvania Tourism Office is posting blogs written by road-tripping travellers passing through the state on its web site. They say that this is the first marketing campaign of its kind.

From the article on this story:

"Travelers are looking for authentic experiences, so we found travel consumers with a wide range of interests who will share their experiences traveling through Pennsylvania this summer," said Mickey Rowley, deputy secretary of tourism in the Department of Community and Economic Development. "We hope to reach travelers through other consumers who share the same interests."

The blogs will report cover topics in six categories:

All the blogs appear on the Pennsylvania Tourism Office's site, VisitPA.com.

BlogHer Conference: July 30th, 2005

Joey deVilla — Mon, 02 May 2005 10:39:46 -0400

From the BlogHer blog:

BlogHer is a network for women bloggers to draw on for exposure, education, and community. By holding a day-long conference on July 30, 2005, and establishing an online hub, BlogHer is initiating an opportunity for greater visibility, learning and success for individual women bloggers and for the community of bloggers as a whole.

BlogHer plans to achieve this goal by providing three key items: exposure, education and community:

Exposure for women bloggers
BlogHer's goal is helping women bloggers identify, reach and grow the audience they seek by raising their visibility and searchability. Once women bloggers build relationships with each other -- online and in person –- it will be easier for Web users to find more quality, relevant bloggers. A broader diversity of top-trafficked bloggers will follow.
Education for women bloggers
BlogHer's conference schedule is being designed as an opportunity for women to educate themselves and each other, both technically and conversationally. Via scheduled talks, panels and applied training sessions, everyone who attends BlogHer's conference, either online or in person, will have the opportunity to learn new technoilogies and best practives that help bloggers better express and market themselves. At the same time, participants will explore opportunities, challenges and key questions facing women bloggers, both those writing about professional sectors (such as journalism and technology) and those exploring issues fundamental to female identity online (such as motherhood and dating). An essential feature of BlogHer's approach to these discussions is the "Room of Your Own" track, where women in the BlogHer community can host their own seminars.
Community for women bloggers
BlogHer’s conference and online hub are opportunities for women bloggers to develop a network of colleagues they trust and support. Only this kind of social network, steeped in shared interests and experience, will create a sustainable community capable of delivering ongoing, mutual exposure and education. That’s why the conference agenda and the site will afford plenty of time for discussion, formal meet-ups, ad-hoc conversations and fun. Because community begins at the conference, and we expect it to continue at BlogHer.org all year long.

For more information about this conference, visit the BlogHer blog.

Exploring Blogs for Brand Insight

Tanja — Tue, 26 Apr 2005 14:08:31 -0400

MarketingProfs.com

Existing brand health measures rely almost exclusively on survey data to gather their findings. While surveys are insightful, they are also prone to collection errors through inaccurate recall and distorted response by surveyed consumers.

Marketers can do better by creating more-direct and less-biased approaches. Rather than relying solely on survey data, we should find additional methods that seek to analyze consumers' relationship to brands in the field by observing real-world consumer attitudes.

We can start with blogs.
Read the rest of the article here.