Article Comments, the battle zone carries some valuable information…no really it's true

I've let my feelings about the combat zone of Technology fandom be known in the past, Others I have talked to and articles I've read have all made the statement that they cant be bothered to read the comments sections of posted articles now a days because it is just too much back and forth between respective camps (XBOX is better than Playstation, Apple users are Sheep and Android is better…and back and forth both ways)

I say some of the best information you can get, valuable information that might just help your company present better products and services, is actually to dive in there (with protection and a strong backbone) and READ IT!

Why, you might ask?  While a lot of these type of articles are commented on by people who have their own preferences, and perhaps a "My way or nothing" mentality. every so often, you can actually get comments left by people who have valuable input, or questions pertaining to your Products / Services.  Maybe you can find that there is a new way for your product to be used, like what happened with one company I interacted with, let me tell you a brief story

Here in Canada, it's a known fact that Hockey is a major part of our world, and with the change from Wooden to Composite Hockey sticks a company called Blade Tape created a new product that replaced traditional Hockey tape.  Since the Leg Brace I wear is made of the same material as modern Hockey Sticks, I keep an eye on these worlds to  think outside the box when it comes to repairs and wearability.  

Blade Tape, through their Website and Social Media wanted to know how people were putting their product to use. So I commented my use of it.  It was not 24 hours later that the company was contacting Me for more detail, detail that potentially gave them a new market for their product, and all because they read the comments on a posting.

Keep this in mind with your Social Networking setup, You never know, through all that "My side is better than your side" back and forth of the Technology Fanatic battles, you just might find the nugget of information that lets you improve your business.