In the word-of-mouth business, there’s no guarantee the people who chatter about the various products and brands they use have nice things to say. But companies want to listen in and customers want to be heard, and that’s where BzzAgent comes into play, according to Laurie Burkitt’s May 21, 2009, article “The Business of Hype: Word-of-Mouth Marketing Evolution,” on Forbes.com. Since 2001 the Boston word-of-mouth marketing firm has tapped 550,000 consumers to test out and talk about products from companies like Philips, Walgreens, Ford, Clorox and Procter & Gamble. These volunteers (bzz agents, in company parlance) sign on for eight-week stints when they are given products to try out and, ideally, tout to their friends. They also provide feedback through BzzAgent to the companies that supply them. When those eight weeks are over, the online chatterboxes move on to new products that BzzAgent helps pitch.But BzzAgent is finding that eight weeks sometimes just isn’t long enough, and consumers can feel abandoned once they lose their direct line to the companies. Their answer? BzzScapes, a social networking site in which online regulars can rant and rave and companies can directly respond back with pictures, comments, coupons and even private conversation.BzzAgent CEO Dave Balter claims BzzScapes differs from MySpace and Twitter in that it doesn’t aim to put users in touch with one another. Instead, users follow and interact with brands, creating brand communities, where they can upload pictures, create links and add video to a brand’s profile.For a monthly fee of $5,000 (or $3,500 a month for a six-month agreement), BzzAgent hands over trend reports and detailed personal profiles of agents. If communities don’t grow organically, BzzAgent can also help craft them, first by setting up a profile, then by posting one or two pictures. If brands need help growing their communities, BzzAgent sends out e-mails, inviting a few fro...