BuzzLogic Acquires BlogRovr

BuzzLogic is one of several companies that seeks to monitor “conversations” on blogs to determine their influence on particular topics. Nielsen’s BlogPulse, for example, offers a somewhat less precise version of this capability. The company however is also a burgeoning ad network and describes itself as follows: “an online influence-targeting company and growing social media ad network.”

The clever (and logical) thing that BuzzLogic did some time ago was to recognize that once marketers and brands discovered who was influencing “conversations” online they would then want to place ads on those very same properties. And BuzzLogic is currently doing that through AdSense (which most of these blogs use). (I had not remembered this but AdSense offers specific site targeting.) However the company is quickly expanding beyond the Google content network to include other networks and direct sales.

The thing that’s different about BuzzLogic is that it’s capable of identifying issues and topics with great precision. During a briefing they used “iPod battery life” as an example with me. In other words, the blog or blogs most influential (as determined by the company’s algorithm) on that precise subtopic can be identified. Apple can then target those blogs for advertising. BuzzLogic refers to this as “conversational targeting.”

In order to further improve the company’s algorithms it has recently acquired the assets of Activweave, which operates the “browser companion” BlogRovr. BlogRovr is a browser plug-in that enables people to monitor coverage of issues on blogs that they select. Once installed a “tray” appears from the side of the browser that shows coverage about content appearing on pages the user is visiting, whether other blogs or not. Data from both the blog selections that people make and their subsequent click-stream information will now factor into the BuzzLogic algorithm for greater accuracy.

Below are screenshots of its analytics display, showing influence and its ad-buying interface:

In contrast to a more conventional blog-ad network such as Federated Media or the new Six Apart ad network, BuzzLogic offers analysis of “influence,” which isn’t always synonymous with traffic.