I found an interesting Malayan proverb on the label of the Honest Tea I drank for lunch today: “Don’t think there are no crocodiles because the water is calm.”

The proverb appeals to me because it gets to the core of what we do at Nielsen Online. Determining if crocodiles are lurking, regardless of how placid the water looks, is similar to how marketers and media researchers seek to understand their online customers, stay steps ahead of their competition, and anticipate the next big thing that could turn their business models upside down. Everyone sees the same market, but not everyone is a market winner.

This has everything to do with why we are launching the Nielsen Online blog: “Connecting the Dots.” We have a bright team of analysts and researchers at Nielsen Online collectively working with our clients to connect the many dots of data we have to answer their specific strategic questions. But each and every one of these analysts is also developing a unique perspective on how the online market is unfolding. Many of these perspectives are shared with the industry via press releases, events and presentations and webinars, but we’d like to give this team an opportunity to more regularly, and seamlessly, share their insights and perspectives with you. Here are the kinds of topics we expect to be addressing in the days, weeks and months ahead:

- Is the “long tail” going to continue to be the tail?
- How is the meteoric rise in consumer-generated media transforming the search market – and vice versa?
- What relatively unknown sites are creating best-of-breed experiences that are confounding the experts?
- How is the blogosphere transforming the ability to track satisfaction and brand loyalty?
- Why will online advertising continue to grow at healthy double-digit rates for at least the next 5 years?

Welcome to “Connecting the Dots,” where we hope to share online market perspectives that give you an appreciation for what may not be apparent from the water’s surface.