Thanks to the explosion of the social channel, companies now have more insight into consumer perception of their brands than ever before. We know, for example, that social interactions are causing companies to try and navigate this new medium both reactively and proactively; we also know that companies are no longer in control of their brands – consumers are. Lastly, we know technology is simply an enabling tool to better understand the social channel and subsequently, the social revolution. And what a revolution it is:

• Twitter has grown more than 1,300% in one year
• More than 10 million users create over 1,700 new “Tweets” every second
• More than 133 million blogs have been indexed since 2002
• The 35-year-old-plus demographic on Facebook has grown to 12 million users in the first quarter of 2009

Why is this such a new era and paradigm for business owners today? Though social media is a collective action, in actuality it’s the result of millions of individual monologues and dialogues. Listening to, learning from, measuring and engaging in the millions of conversations, are the keys to continued success in today's changing environment. If we grasp the context and mindset of these back-and-forth exchanges, as well as their relevance and sentiment, we’ll be able to gauge consumer passion in a new and multi-dimensional way.