The week-old Google Sidewiki has a potentially far-reaching impact for brands.



Of note:

1. A Sidewiki comment can be left to any web page of any brand site. All that's needed to use Sidewiki is a relatively simple download of the free product (for Firefox and Internet Explorer now, with Google Chrome still to come) and keeping the Google Toolbar open in the web browser. From there, all websites become instantly social, with a comment window appearing alongside each page enabling commenting and voting.

2. Brands don't have much say over the content that appears in a Sidewiki. Apart from an initial post that a publisher/content creator can leave in a Sidewiki, all comments are ultimately displayed according to a Google algorithm. Users--and site owners--can rate comments as not "useful" and flag spam comments/hate speech for abuse, but at least so far, doing so will not necessarily make those comments disappear. There are also no moderation controls or options for brands and publishers in Sitewiki.

3. Brand monitoring is as important as ever. Sidewiki is the latest product giving consumers the power to talk about brands in a public space online. Brand managers, agencies, and community managers should be diligent in reviewing Sidewiki commentary to key pages on their websites to gauge customer, fan, and detractor sentiment, and then engage when and where appropriate. Robust monitoring tools haven't yet been developed, but since an API is available, expect that to change soon.

I've also written a less brand-centric analysis of Google Sidewiki on my personal blog.