Techdirt Brings Together Expert Bloggers To Provide Insight To Businesses
Techdirt Insight Community helps companies get feedback, test ideas, gain competitive advantage
SAN FRANCISCO–Oct. 11, 2006 – Recognizing the need for better, faster, more honest analysis in the marketplace as well as the untapped raw knowledge within the growing blogosphere, Techdirt, Inc. (www.techdirtci.com) today unveiled a new service that allows companies to raise issues and receive customized, direct insight from the blogging community. The Techdirt Insight Community (www.insightcommunity.com) is expected to bring together smart, insightful expert bloggers with companies looking for expert analysis and opinions to test new ideas at internet speed. The new service fills a gap between broad consumer testing services and expensive traditional industry analyst services.
“Companies are looking for better ways to understand and engage with bloggers, knowing that those individuals are often the most influential and knowledgeable experts in their space,” said Michael Masnick, President and CEO of Techdirt, Inc. “The Techdirt Insight Community gives companies a true alternative to traditional analyst services, by allowing them to tap the insight, experience and knowledge of a group of experts who are passionate followers of their markets. Just as people have realized the power of the community in new offerings from open source software to Wikipedia to Digg, the Techdirt Insight Community allows companies a way to gain the insight of the larger community, comprised of some of the smartest opinion makers in their space.”
Companies can use the Techdirt Insight Community on an as-needed basis to access a confidential instant focus group of experts to gain feedback, test ideas, review products, make strategy suggestions, help with purchasing decisions or any number of other services. Techdirt also offers a subscription service, where Techdirt’s in-house analyst team will regularly engage expert bloggers for their thoughts on how major current events impact Techdirt customers. Major corporations are stepping up to test the waters of the Techdirt Insight Community.
“The analysis that came out of the Techdirt Insight Community was clear, concise and brutally honest,” said Brian O’Shaughnessy, VeriSign’s director of corporate communications, a Techdirt customer who has been using Techdirt Insight Community while in development. “It’s a great way to dig deep on complex topics, getting the viewpoints of multiple experts who have all been thinking about and discussing issues to a level far beyond what you would see elsewhere.”
“SAP is excited about the possibilities Techdirt is creating. By bringing together a collection of bloggers it opens the door to an entirely new level of discussion with the market and provides a way to engage with bloggers not previously available,” said Mike Prosceno, vice president, Marketplace Communications at SAP. “SAP has experienced first hand that the analysis and insight bloggers can add is invaluable and is eager to interact with the Techdirt Insight Community going forward.”
The Techdirt Insight Community is currently in closed beta testing. To learn more about joining the Techdirt Insight Community, visit http://www.insightcommunity.com/.
About Techdirt
Techdirt, Inc. (www.techdirtci.com) harnesses blogs, other new media as well as traditional news and content to deliver targeted, relevant, and meaningful information and analysis to both corporations and individuals. Techdirt’s Corporate Intelligence service focuses on providing the right information to the right people at the right time within companies. The company also produces the award-winning Techdirt blog (www.techdirt.com), to foster debate and keep individuals informed about important events shaping the world of business and technology. Techdirt is privately held and based in Belmont, California.
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