Companies that harness social media to collect customers’ feedback on products and services aren’t just ahead of the curve — they’re part of the “contribution revolution,” Pete Blackshaw, Nielsen Online Executive Vice President, argues in his latest Ad Age column.
Blackshaw cites a recent Harvard Business Review article by Scott Cook, founder-chairman of software developer Intuit, that credits customer participation with generating “tangible enterprise value.”
Intuit, Blackshaw notes, has created an innovative user-participation model that places “Live Community” user forums on every page of its TurboTax software.
Intuit has also put company resources …

Women ages 25 to 54 with at least one child are nearly twice as likely as the average American Internet user to provide frequent online advice about parenting and family issues (88% more likely), non-food household products (84% more likely), and beauty/cosmetics (82% more likely).
These “power moms” are also 51% more likely than average Web users to provide frequent online advice on clothes and fashion, food and beverage products (39% more likely than average), home decorating (36% more likely than average), and health, dieting and exercise (27% more likely than …

Small businesses are especially dependent on favorable testimonials — and for many consumers, online forums have become the favored means of sharing feedback about businesses and products.
“About 60% of Americans are putting content on the Web, and it can affect how your product or service is perceived in the marketplace,” Pete Blackshaw, Nielsen Online’s EVP of Digital Strategic Services, told Fortune Small Business in a recent Q&A.  “Consumers trust each other more than they trust advertisers or businesses.  The question is, how do you turn it to your advantage?”
In general, …

Australians feeling the economic pinch are increasingly going online to discuss soaring fuel prices, a recent Nielsen Online study found.  
The study noted that online conversations about fuel price increases shot up by 150% since March 2008, when oil prices hit a record $110 per barrel.  Fuel discussions in online forums continued at high levels throughout the spring, peaking in May and June.
Nielsen found that 13% of those discussing fuel online say they have converted or are considering converting their car’s gasoline engine into a Liquiefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) engine as …