People are writing reports about us. They’re analyzing us. And we don’t even have to pay them!

First up: Tippingpoint Labs. According to their Web site, Tippingpoint Labs is a “digital content creation shop.” I think they’re selling themselves short. In addition to creating content, they release very interesting, very free reports that are designed to help companies make smart decisions about where — and how — to participate in online spaces.

From reading their recently released report about Get Satisfaction, I’d say they’re a pretty savvy bunch of marketing folks. What impresses me about them, apart from their obvious design sensibilities (to be expected from a firm that creates content), is the system they’ve created to analyze businesses and trends. They call their methodology “New Media Lifecycle Analysis.” It’s similar to the kind of thing you’ll get from Gartner, although it’s more approachable and granular — and definitely more readable — than a Gartner Hype Cycle analysis.

I notice that New Media Lifecycle Analysis is a trademarked term. Lots of companies try to trademark a methodology or system like this, but many of them are, well, lame. Not this one. Their take on marketing is a bit more thoughtful than most, and I think that’s exactly what’s needed in today’s social-media-obsessed business climate. If you’re in charge of your company’s marketing or PR or customer-facing projects, you need smart, tailored advice — not just boilerplate social-media consulting advice. These guys seem to do what they do pretty well.

Here’s a collection of reports and other valuable documents they’ve shared on Scribd.

Here’s their report about us, as a downloadable PDF.

I think it’s well-written and provides a different take on customer service and social media. You could use it as a model for a report about your own business.

Or, why not hire them? Someone needs to pay them for all this valuable content.