DEMO: Traackr figures out who’s who on the web for marketers
Inside social networks, blogs and Twitter is a veritable gold mine of information on who’s influential and how people distribute messages through a community.
Traackr wants to harness that by launching its “A-list” or “Authority List,” which can return the most influential people online for any given subject. It’s announcing the service today at DEMOfall 09, the technology conference co-produced by VentureBeat. Traackr hasn’t released any details on its algorithms but other Twitter searching services usually incorporate factors like the ratio of a user’s followers to how many people they follow and how often their ideas are retweeted or shared.
It’s an idea that if done correctly, could turn conventional public relations and marketing on its head. The advertising industry has made steps in this direction by courting bloggers and influential Twitterers for campaigns, but a market leader that makes it easy and efficient to figure out who to reach out to hasn’t emerged yet. Traackr has built up a consulting business with clients like Honda, but its “A List” represents a step toward a more scalable answer to the problem. The Boston-based startup is self-funded.
