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When Bedford, Mass.-based iRobot Corp. released their circular vacuum robots to the market, they expected customers would use the Roomba to clean their homes, not name them and teach them how to do tricks.

But iRobot is just one example of how companies are being surprised by their customers' response at a time when feedback is flowing over the Web's social networks.

Technology author Paul Gillin told attendees at an interactive marketing conference in Toronto they need to tap into their customers' creativity.

“iRobot realized they hadn't introduced an appliance, they'd introduced a new type of family pet,” Gillin says.

Once the company realized their robots were being named and dressed up like a house cat, they reacted on the trend to cash in. They now sell accessories and even attachable robotic arms for their robots over their Web site.

“People have now programmed their Roomba to go to the fridge and get a beer and bring it back to the chair in front of the TV,” Gillin says.

iRobot was able to capitalize on a customer-driven trend they wouldn't have known about without listening, the author adds. More companies can stand to benefit by turning their ears to socially-driven sites on the Web.

Customers are talking directly to one another about products on social networks and bloggers can be just as effective at distributing a message as traditional media companies, if not better.

Companies can use these tools to their advantage and realize they've changed the rules of the game, Gillin says.

“For the last 20 years we've cut down on our customer service, we've put people out there who are the least trained to put a positive image on our companies,” he says. “Customers don't just want to talk to marketers; they want to talk to the developers and the CEO. You have to deputize everyone in your company to become a marketer.”

Gillin's message is particularly important in Canada.

Canadian Internet users are the most likely to access social networks, and also spend the most time and view the most pages on average, according to Reston, Va.-based comScore Inc.

“Canada is a Facebook nation,” says Bryan Segal, director of business development at comScore Media Metrix Canada. “Some people think it is just for college students, but they are actually wrong.”

Almost 85 per cent of Canadians access a social networking site at least once a month, Segal told the crowd at the event hosted by Montreal-based Infopresse Inc. On average, Canadians spend nearly 350 minutes a month on the sites and look at 828 pages.

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