August 4, 2011

I find it amazing how far the media world has come in the last five or ten years. Twitter and Facebook, in particular, have forever changed the way opinions are spread and purchasing decisions are made. Influence is digital, opinions are social and viral is "for sale". We'll soon be sharing literally billions of thoughts daily online as a global society.

At General Sentiment, we consider this new paradigm on a daily basis. Implications are everywhere. Our stream of data grows in real-time. We measure it all: the new (Social) and the old (Radio, TV), using cutting-edge NLP and text analytics -- not keyword search. But monitoring and analytics are only as good as the size of the problems they are used to solve.

General Sentiment is unique in how we help companies apply social analytics to big business challenges. We believe that the concept of an engagement platform, or so-called "social phone," is a relatively small opportunity. The real opportunity is in discovering social insights and delivering the "500 Million Person Focus Group."

While the media world has transformed, the market research world is nearly the same. Big problems are still being solved with slow methods like surveys by traditional and expensive firms like Nielsen. While there may always be a place for this kind of research, the development of the social space presents us with a better way. In fact, there's not just a better way; there is a better goal. It's simple: Create a response.

The future of the product launch and marketing campaign is all about the social response. If you are designing a product or campaign without that as a primary goal, then you are completely missing the point. That's what drives decisions. That's what drives sales. That's what drives the stock price. That's the reality.

Our vision at General Sentiment is to change the way brands make product and marketing decisions, based on this new and simple goal. "Create a positive response." We are very fortunate to work with dozens of Enterprise brands, TV networks, celebrities, politicians and agencies that really "get it." Here's what we do:

1. Brand Within Industry – We provide a contextual view of your brand perception.
2. Marketing Campaigns – We grade them based on response.
3. Daily Trends – We inform what's hot or not within your industry.
4. Media Planning – We advise on suitability based on shared social interests.
5. Micro Targeting – We identify and analyze your advocates and influencers.

Big problems. Easy solutions.

For decades, companies have deafly spent millions of dollars building products and running campaigns. Finally, with social analytics, we can open their eyes and ears to the millions of voices just aching to be heard. It is time for the customer to affect real change.

Thanks to all of our clients, partners and investors for your continued support.

Best regards,
Greg Artzt
Founder, General Sentiment