In 13 years of covering technology, I’ve evolved into the journalistic equivalent of Blanche DuBois; I’ve always depended on the kindness of analysts. Whether they were securities analysts working for the big Wall Street firms or technology analysts toiling for the major research companies targeting CIOs and IT-types, I’ve benefited from their tireless hours of research, their trendcasting, their ability to synthesize their analyses in a pithy quote or a 20-second soundbite.
Great story. It's no irony that the industry that technology analysts helped create is also helping chip away at their power and influence. This is not to take anything away from the quality of their pricey analysis, but more in recognizing that there is an ocean of great information courtesy of experienced technology professionals who write about their 1st hand experiences. The true spirit of cooperation and passing along the benefit of their experience is rewarding in itself.
There's also a certain amount of celebrity one can garner through blogging on relevant subject matter. Value is manifest directly in the number of hits, downloads and comments. It's perhaps a better measure of worth compared to the 30 page research paper, asking price $3,500.00 dollars.
I appreciate that there so many great technologists and good people on the Internet. They share thoughts, debate and jibe one another. It's seems it's in the spirit of advancing a greater cause and they're willing drag people along kicking and screaming. All of it without the need for signed contract or retainer. I guess I'd call it virtual unconditional love.
Hi Renay! You're dead on. The big analyst firms used to have greater control over share of voice when (online) publishing required massive infrastructure. That barrier is gone, and now the smartest voices rise to the top, no matter where thy come from. Moreover, some bigger analyst firms drown out their analyst's voices by anonymizing and homogenizing their online presence (errr...most of the big ones you note come to mind).
Importantly, there's a big benefit to analyst bloggers who don't work at midsize or big analyst firms. A new breed has emerged, ones that work at real companies, in the trenches. Consequently, these "real working executives" often bring far more practical and grounded perspective to issues. I find them to be very credible, and they have less incentive to drive home the sensational quote.
And there's another big force threatening the traditional syndicated analyst business: that of online aggregators and weak firewalls (which is similarly challenging the news business). Moreover, analyst firms often will often release and publicize their best work, because it will drive headlines. Conversely, a lot of the poorer work goes unpublicized.
Still, there are a few analyst from traditional firms I still admire. But, overall, the importance of the industry is diminishing, particularly for the syndicated business lines. I suspect more effort will go into consulting and custom research.
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The Bane of Technology Analysts Is ... Technology?
Posted by: Renay San Miguel January 15, 2010 05:00 AMIn 13 years of covering technology, I’ve evolved into the journalistic equivalent of Blanche DuBois; I’ve always depended on the kindness of analysts. Whether they were securities analysts working for the big Wall Street firms or technology analysts toiling for the major research companies targeting CIOs and IT-types, I’ve benefited from their tireless hours of research, their trendcasting, their ability to synthesize their analyses in a pithy quote or a 20-second soundbite.
There's also a certain amount of celebrity one can garner through blogging on relevant subject matter. Value is manifest directly in the number of hits, downloads and comments. It's perhaps a better measure of worth compared to the 30 page research paper, asking price $3,500.00 dollars.
I appreciate that there so many great technologists and good people on the Internet. They share thoughts, debate and jibe one another. It's seems it's in the spirit of advancing a greater cause and they're willing drag people along kicking and screaming. All of it without the need for signed contract or retainer. I guess I'd call it virtual unconditional love.
I like that.
Importantly, there's a big benefit to analyst bloggers who don't work at midsize or big analyst firms. A new breed has emerged, ones that work at real companies, in the trenches. Consequently, these "real working executives" often bring far more practical and grounded perspective to issues. I find them to be very credible, and they have less incentive to drive home the sensational quote.
And there's another big force threatening the traditional syndicated analyst business: that of online aggregators and weak firewalls (which is similarly challenging the news business). Moreover, analyst firms often will often release and publicize their best work, because it will drive headlines. Conversely, a lot of the poorer work goes unpublicized.
Still, there are a few analyst from traditional firms I still admire. But, overall, the importance of the industry is diminishing, particularly for the syndicated business lines. I suspect more effort will go into consulting and custom research.
Warm regards.