• by Seana Mulcahy , March 31, 2008

I'm always super-happy when the buzz is something worthwhile. It's even better when I already have a brand affinity. If you haven't heard about Yahoo Buzz then you must have been underwater and news was white noise.

So for those of you who haven't heard, it's a new initiative that was announced  back toward the end of February. It's a  brand extension to Yahoo..com Simply put, it collectively measures search patterns and consumer votes in order to find and display timely content. I like it because it takes social media, search, editorial, video and images all into the funnel. Who doesn't like to look at what's new and what's hot?

Think about it. If you wear a brand strategy or media hat you have already addressed or are trying to address how to market, advertise and promote via some form of social media. Those of us (like me) who have been swimming in this space for a while now have been taxed with finding the next "next" in the space. I've personally erased the line drawn in the sand between social media and social PR. Take a look at Yahoo Buzz and you'll see why.

Sure, the chatter seems spot-on when it comes to brand launches, rebrands or brand extensions. But what about the day-to-day life of advertising and media?

I guess I'd defer to my discussions with my media classes. It's all about media planning. When I delve into the sliding landscape of media shifting, I see bored faces. This mainly 18- to 24-year-old crowd has a been-there-done-that attitude. So I empathize on the impact of news, information and entertainment on media. I try to teach them that no matter how locked up and solid a media plan is, things could be turned upside down on a whim. Does an earthquake in a third-world country, a cornflake in the shape of a state, or a jail sentence of another fallen young DWIed celebrity impact our plans? Hell, yeah. Just think about it, you could have one of the biggest product launches in history -- only to have your advertising and marketing messages dulled, if not erased, by such banter.

We all want the good -- but have to take into account the bad and the ugly.  Maybe the voyeurs can learn from such a service. After all, we have been looking at the top-searched words of the month or the year on the Lycos Top 50  and Google Zeitgeist.

So back to Yahoo Buzz. I was reading Heather Hopkin's blog coverage (she's Hitwise vice president of Research, U.K.).  She indicates that two weeks ago Digg.com only accounted for 10% more traffic than Yahoo Buzz news and media Web sites. Right now Digg still accounts for the bulk of the traffic to personal Web sites and blogs.

Do you think this will change? I have to think about the big picture a little bit. I'm convinced some early-search nerd that used to work out of his/her parent's basement and is now loaded will resurrect himself or herself. She'll find some way that common chatter can be tied to predictive algorithms. In the sidelines, if not forefront, will be the other side of the equation: the hmmm, what should we call it? The... low life will come up with a way to, how shall we say, "F" the system. If more people talk about it, rankings and popularity go up.

Why is it that the cool factor is also the scary factor nowadays? Writers beware, there's a whole new tornado a'comin -- so batten down the hatches, and don't say I didn't warn ya .