Web 2.What?

When I embarked on the exploration of social media monitoring tools, I surveyed my Twitter friends, I posted about it on this blog, I even wrote about it in my LinkedIn and Facebook statuses. Throughout all that, one name that came up again and again was Radian6.

So I was delighted when they offered to give me a demo. One distinct difference between the first tool I looked at, social radar, is that Radian6 is targeted specifically to PR firms (or large multi-unit company). Which is good, because now I don’t feel I have to compare the two.

So if you happen to be a good size PR firm or a large company searching for a social media monitoring tools, than I urge you to check out Radian6. Somehow it’s complex and detailed, yet manages to stay very user friendly. One of its strength lies in the ease and simplicity of managing multiple profiles–something that can be tricky to pull off, but a necessity when you have multiple clients or business units.

Also I love how it’s layout is based on widget style functionality. So essentially you “build” the tool how you’d like to use it. Very Web 2.0 friendly!

I can go on, but a picture says a lot more, so let’s take a look (click for larger):

The middle boxes top and bottom (behind) are examples of a “river of news” which is essentially the search results for whichever terms you’ve chosen, the river also includes media like microblogging (Twitter, etc), video and podcasts. Very cool!

As well, you can build a tag cloud around your search terms, as viewable in the bottom left corner. Aside from the fact that everyone loves a tag cloud, it visually gives you an idea of what else people are talking about along with your search terms. Very handy!

But wait– how do you know how influencial these people talking about you are? Well they’ve got a widget for that too, which is best explained in this shot:

The middle box shows a list of blogs/web sites that mentioned your search terms, and when you click on one, the dashboard below pops up and tells you all about its links.

So essentially, the dashboard is completely customizable via the widget icons (pictured on the left) you can set it all up the way you like it and leave it as is, or you can switch it up at will. It’s clear these guys understand social media and the specific needs of their target audience. Being a PR gal myself I can easily see how well this could work in an agency as well as how it can also help educate users who may not be totally up to speed with all this social media stuff. (hey it is still pretty new!)

And the final kicker why I really love Radian6–they’re Canadian! Yup, based out of New Brunswick, these guys are taking the social media monitoring world by storm. Keep up the great work!

Every used Radian6 before? Or another social media monitoring tools. Please leave a comment!

**UPDATE**

One really cool thing about Radian6 I forgot to mention is its “Twebinars” which obviously is a webinar that’s discussed in tandem on Twitter! Each one features leading experts in social media. Unfortunately I had to miss the first (silly work getting in the way!) but fortunately more are on the way. As far as I know this they are the first to initiate something like this, so major points for that.

Just a quick post to give you a sneak peek at what I’ve been up to and what you might expect to see coming up here on Web 2.What?

• I’ve been reading Groundswell, perhaps why it’s so quiet around here since I just can’t seem to get my nose out of it! Almost done and a full review will come shortly.
• Been loving Nathania Johnson’s blog Social Media Butterfly, who–I will admit enviously–posts much more than I do. Be sure to check it out.
• Blogging about my first love, email marketing, over at Tamara Gielen’s Be Relevant! Blog. In fact, you might enjoy my latest post, which explains why I believe email should be treated more like a social media tool instead of direct mail.
• I went out to the first Social Media Breakfast in Ottawa, and not only had a fantastic time but was able to meet some twitter friends in real life. Exciting! Also, Adrian of DNA 11 (a company which makes art out of DNA) presented about how his company leveraged social media channels to make it into some impressive mainstream media.
• Have you tried a real social media monitoring tool? I have been testing, demoing and talking to all sorts of folks in this essential area. So far I’ve already reviewed Infegy’s Social Radar. I’m still testing it, but soon I will write about Radian6.
• As always I’m hopelessly addicted to Twitter, so be sure to follow me. I’m also dabbling in Plurk, if you’re a little more adventurous. Also, I’m on FriendFeed but having a hard time really getting into it, please drop a comment and tell me why you love FriendFeed so I can perhaps see the light!

Well, those are my excuses for not blogging more often. I am trying to post at least 3 times per week, but I’m sure you’ll understand I don’t just want to post garbage for the sake of posting!

Also I’d love your suggestions for how I can improve this blog, or what you’d like to hear about that’s not being represented elsewhere. Please drop a comment or email me at kelly(at)web2dotwhat.com!

Photo by emdot on Flickr.