Social Media Analytics: Techniques and Insights for Extracting Business Value Out of Social Media

Preface: Mining for Gold (or Digging in the Mud)

In The Adventure of the Six Napoleons by Arthur Conan Doyle, the famous sleuth Sherlock Holmes remarks to his sidekick, Watson:

“The Press, Watson, is a most valuable institution, if you only know how to use it.”

That statement, when applied to the wealth of data in social media channels today (loosely, “the press”), has never been more true. Companies are always looking for an “edge” in an attempt to find ways to remain relevant to their ever more vocal set of constituents. They are struggling to position themselves as trusted advisors or suppliers in a cut-throat environment of competitors, where consumers use public opinion (both good and bad) to share information and experiences at the speed ...