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Hey Nielsen is a new online community that launches Monday from a somewhat unexpected player – The Nielsen Company – best known for its research reports and statistics like the Nielsen NetRatings. However, once you take a look at the site, it’s pretty clear how the service fits into the company’s main business, and it’s an interesting play.
The service allows users to share opinions on movies, music, TV, internet, and personalities – the same things Nielsen currently produces reports on. For example, looking at the current ranking for “Internet”, you can see that Facebook has the highest rating, with YouTube, Digg, and MySpace following it up. The score is determined by analyzing the opinions, comments, and ratings users have provided to the respective brand.
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For rating an individual item, Hey Neilsen provides you with the option to vote on poll questions and leave comments. In the example below for the television show “Entourage,” the site asks you whether or not you watch the show regularly. Meanwhile, users leave comments that others can either agree or disagree with, further influencing the ratings.
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The site also adds social elements such as member profiles that keep track of the opinions a user has shared in the respective categories. There are also widgets for sharing your activities and ratings from Hey Nielsen on your other social networking profiles and blogs.
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