Ed Keller, coauthor of The Influentials and a former CEO of Roper ASW, has founded, along with former managing director at Roper ASW Brad Fay, a word-of-mouth research firm, the Keller Fay Group, reports MediaPost. The company will track and measure online conversations beyond blogs and message boards - specifically, those that take place via email and in private chat rooms - as well as offline buzz.

For the initiative, dubbed TalkTrack, Keller Fay will daily interview 100 people about products and brands they talk about, recommendations they receive, and any related actions they might take.

First to sign up for TalkTrack is Starcom Mediavest Group, which represents clients such as Coca-Cola, Kraft, Kellogg's, and Procter & Gamble.