Taking part in a time honored tradition, as we launch our 2010 blogging effort, we resolve to be more deliberate about sharing information that tells the story of Collective Intellect, the social media research industry, as well as social media marketing and social media in general. We are expecting many things to change in 2010, and we will strive to make predictions and insights on these changes throughout the year. Using our knowledge and experience (along with a little luck on the predictions side) we hope to be right most of the time. Our biggest goal is to generate conversations. We invite you to join in our conversation by interacting with us through comments on our blog as well as by following us on Twitter @Collectual.

Our industry is still a new one. In the annals of sales and marketing, social media is still in its infancy. I remember growing up on a farm in Central Illinois where our main exposure to marketing every year was the bi-annual edition of the Sears-Roebuck catalog and the very special Christmas edition.

We would read through it like a novel, focusing mostly on the toy section. These days when my kids want some new Lego’s, they hop on the internet and a few days later a box shows up at our door. Sales and marketing have come a long way since the Direct Marketing Association was formed back in 1917 and the Advertising Research Foundation was founded in 1937. The social media industry is evolving and growing rapidly, and we feel that we’re on the cutting edge of the changes happening in our industry. We are thrilled to be able to push the boundaries of the industry where we encounter them as we continue to learn and grow as a company.

To communicate with a focus, we will be publishing information based on monthly industry themes relevant to our client base. We’ll also be publishing current events (including our own product launches) and Special Features highlighting leadership in our burgeoning industry.

We’ve decided that 2010 will start with a focus on the world of Media & Entertainment. In February, we plan to spotlight CPG. We debated about where to begin and it was a tough call. In 2009 our revenue emerged from six key industries – Media & Entertainment, CPG, Technology, Consumer Electronics, Pharmaceuticals and Finance. We continue to grow in each market, but we decided to begin our 2010 blogging venture with the Media & Entertainment industry because of the expanded role it will be playing here at CI in the near future with some interesting projects we are not ready to unwrap just yet.

We hope you enjoy sharing your thoughts about the new frontier of social media as much as we do. We invite you to learn along with us as we continue to explore the ever evolving world of social media.