I'm writing a piece for the November FT Connected Business on the true extent to which web and social media activity have altered the world of the recruitment agency and the recruitment practices of large businesses.
As ever, I'm happy to hear dissenting voices. If a business wants to declare these channels unsuitable for certain roles/levels in a company then I'd like to speak to them. And the more international the perspective, the better.

If you're an online recruiter and you want to blow your own trumpet then fine, but I'm after hard facts and economic validation for a serious business readership.

My deadlines are extremely tight. All interviews to be concluded by close of play on Friday October 25 at the very latest, and preference will be given to sources who turn up well before then.

The formal brief for this article is as follows.
The traditional role of the recruitment agency has been transformed by the web and social media. How have agencies responded to these technology changes? Sites like Monster.com and LinkedIn now play a key role in the recruitment process. How are companies using these online resources to fill vacancies?  What are the benefits and risks of online recruiting.

I'm about to launch into research for an FT piece looking at Sentiment Analysis*. It's for the November Connected Business and lies within a section dedicated to Branding and Reputation Management.

Brand is a very big word. All too often it gets flung around by people who have little regard for its true meaning. So I'll be seeking the truth about the value of Sentiment Analysis in the real world and looking to talk to anyone with hard practical experience of this line of work.

Yes, I can already hear tech firms jumping up and down and waving the Big Data banner. I know that this subject is a spin-off from Big Data analytics. But within the space constraints I'm working to I want to concentrate on how advertising agencies and marketing departments are using Sentiment Analysis to drill down into a better understanding of customer emotions and what this means for the bottom line.

When it comes to the value of social media I find that Adland often has a sharper grasp of the worth of these tools than Techville. So opinions from advertising agencies will be very welcome.

*The full brief I'm writing to? Sentiment analysis is one of the fastest growing segments of the new market for corporate social media tools. How does it work and is it worth investing in?

As ever with the FT I'm very keen to get an international perspective so opinions from around the globe are welcome.

I'll be talking to people across this week, commencing today,  Monday 7 October. And I'd like to conduct all interviews by close of play on Monday 14 October at the latest.