Searching and Defining Consumer Panels

The search terms you type into the search box define panels of consumers that you want to research. For example, Coke defines a panel of people who talk about coke.
If you're using a term that's composed of multiple words, surround it with quotation marks, for example: "The Lord of the Rings".

You can compare panels by separating them with "vs". For example, Coke vs Pepsi defines two panels - coke drinkers and pepsi drinkers, and compares the two.
There is no limit on the number of separate panels you can compare at a time - for example: "Bob Marley" vs "Led Zeppelin" vs "Pink Floyd" vs U2

You can use conjunctions in defining your panels, for example: "Bob Marley" and "Led Zeppelin" shows information on people who discuss both; "Pink Floyd" or U2 queries for people who discuss either.
Multiple terms default to "OR", so "Pink Floyd" or U2 and "Pink Floyd" U2 are equivalent.

Using the Panel Builder

The panel builder provides an easy way to define sophisticated consumer panels. It's a simple alternative for building a panel using the search box. You can combine multiple consumer interests and demographics.

If you're a subscriber, use the save button to save the panel you just defined for quick access in the future.

Saved Panels and Search History

HiveSight makes it easy to track your favorite consumer panels over time. Once you define a panel you can save it by clicking "save" inside the panel builder screen. We recommend that your panel a meaningful name.
After you login to HiveSight you access all your saved panel from the home page or the dropdown list inside the panel builder.

For your convenience, the home page lists all your recent searches.

Filtering by Demographics

While it's possible to use demographics in panel definition, sometimes it's convenient to add quick demographic filters to all the panels in the current view.

Click on the bars to filter by demographic categories. The other bars now appear in a faded tone. For example, clicking the "18-24" bar in the Ages graph removes consumers of all other age groups from the panels in your query.

You may click multiple bars to select several groups. Clicking a bar again de-selects it.
You can also remove a filter by clicking the small 'x' next to it in the Active Filters bar.

Note that the filter applies to all the panels in your query.

Using the map

The map displays panel sizes for different geographic areas.
Click on the markers for a detailed view.

Initially the map displays state-level data. You can zoom-in up to city-level.

Looking for consumer interests correlations

With this chart you can detect correlations between the panels defined in your query and other consumer interests.

Your panels are represented by the colored squares.
The size of the red circle represents its relative volume of conversation and its distance from the squares representing the panels indicate the relative correlation of that consumer interest with the panel.

Clicking any of the circles displays interests further down the hierarchy. For example, clicking "Entertainment" shows entertainment categories such as "Movies" and "Television", and "Music", clicking "Music" shows musical genres, such as "Rock", "Pop" and "Country". Clicking further eventually results in the names of specific musicians.

Another view of consumer interests correlations

Sometimes it's easier to research correlations via a list interface.
On the left you are shown the names of hierarchically organized consumer interests. Clicking any of them displays interests further down the hierarchy.
Clicking on a column title sorts by that column. On the right you are shown the percentage of consumers in each panel who share that interest.

Consumer Sentiments

The consumer sentiments tab shows your panel's attitude towards various consumer interests.
The green bar represents consumers who displayed a favorable attitude towards that interest. The red bar represents unfavorable attitudes. The grey area represents the instances where we could not detect a definitive positive or negative sentiment.

Your panel's favorite online videos

Consumers embed, upload and comment on online videos in websites such as YouTube, MySpace, Vimeo etc.
This report displays your panel favorite videos.

Your panel's most linked to websites

Consumers link to other websites from their social network profile or blog.
This report displays your panel most linked to websites.

Share your findings with your colleges

Use this button to generate a link that points to your specific view of HiveSight at the moment. Share this link with your colleges.

Q: What is a HiveSight consumer panel?

A HiveSight panel consists of all consumers whose profile in the HiveSight database matches a search.

Q: What is a HiveSight consumer profile?

HiveSight constructs consumer profiles by combining together all the information that consumers supply about themselves on various social media web sites. For example, if a person has a MySpace profile, a Twitter account, a Wordpress blog etc. we collect their demographics, likes and dislikes, tweets, apps, widget, blogs, links and everything else they discuss. We then create a single profile that describes that person through the lens of their social media activity.

Q: What happens when I search?

We search our database for all the consumer profiles that match your query and use them to construct a consumer panel.

For example if your search for: hybrid cars and video games we'll build a panel that includes all consumers who discuss any hybrid car model and any video game title.

Q: What is HiveSight good for?

HiveSight is a great way to conduct fundamental consumer market research quickly and easily.

Q: What makes us different?

On top of being the fastest and most user-friendly tool for market research? A lot!

• We have a huge huge panel, that also includes hard to reach demographics.
• We do passive research - based on what people say on their own, without us asking them anything, so there's no issue with guiding questions.
• We're very good at helping you detect and research market niches.
• We specialize in detecting connections between interests (people who like X also like Y and Z).
• Since we collect information passively, we're uniquely capable at delivering information on all the things you can't ask - such as sexual preferences.

And all of that is available 24x7 from the comfort of your web browser - no need to install anything, or call the IT department.

Q: Who should use it?

Anyone who needs to learn more about consumer characteristics and preferences. We designed HiveSight with marketing and advertising professionals in mind, but we believe that the fast, easy and inexpensive nature of our solution should appeal to smaller businesses, reporters, analysts and academia as well.

Q: Where's the data coming from?

We collect our data from the social web - social networks, blogs etc.

Here are some of our sources: Blogger, Buzznet, CafeMom, Delicious, Deviant Art, Digg, Facebook, Flickr, Friendfeed, Friendster, Furl, Gaia, Google, Hi5, ICQ, Imeem, LinkedIn, LiveJournal, MySpace, MyYearbook, NetLog, StumbleUppon, Twitter, TypePad, Vox, Wordpress, Xanga, Yahoo, YouTube.

Q: What's the size of your panel?

At the moment our panel contains over 40 million profiles of North American consumers, and is growing.

Q: Does it only include consumers in North America?

Yes. Our panel contains US and Canada residents only at the moment.
We plan to introduce similar websites that focus on other markets in the future, beginning with the UK.

Q: What about privacy?

Let's divide the answer in two: (A₁) the privacy of the people we collect information on (e.g. owners of social network profiles), and (A₂) the privacy of our customers (who use this website).

A₁: Our information is completely anonymized. We remove any personally identifiable information such as names, email addresses and IM user names as soon as we retrieve it. We never store it in our systems, and thus can never give it to anyone. Our reports show aggregate information from thousands of people or more - we avoid providing reports based on a smaller number, so we believe that it is impossible to recognize individuals based on our reports.

A₂: Our privacy policy states that we collect a minimum amount of information on how people use our site in order to improve it, and never ever use it for any other purpose, or give to third parties.