Twitter Acquires Bluefin Labs to Step Up Its Social Analytics

If you didn’t think Twitter was serious about getting involved in social analytics, think again.  Twitter is acquiring Bluefin Labs according to a report by Business Insider.  Bluefin raised a reported $20.5 million over its four-year life, the deal is rumored to be for more than $70 million and will turn Bluefin’s headquarters in Boston into a Twitter office.  Apparently, Bluefin had trouble selling its services to big brands, which was a big reason for selling now, according to All Things D.

The deal makes a lot of sense given Twitter’s recent partnership with Nielsen to provide social analytics for TV, something Bluefin specializes in.  The idea being that Bluefin will be able help Twitter lure back advertisers with its analytics and data.

The social TV analytics space is definitely a hot one right now, in addition to measuring potential audience and reach, media companies want to know and understand what people are saying about their content.  While many companies have technology that can count mentions and impressions, when it comes to actually understanding what people are saying about a particular show or brand it is a whole different story.

I’ve said it before, the best social analytics will be ones that can truly understand what people are saying because that’s where the real additional value is for these companies.

Two other companies that I’m familiar in this space are Mashwork and Trenderr.  Both of which I’m sure are working hard to build even better social analytic platforms.