When we saw this headline on Mashable.com, we marveled at how quickly Twitter and its stable of spinoff sites has grown. Were we really reading a M&A story about the conflation of rival Twitter Analytics sites? Yep.

In reading about the two sites featured in this merger story, we learned that early adapters are using them to compare the size of their rival companies' Twitter followings with that of their own. Before rolling our eyes and dismissing this practice as nothing but a high-tech popularity contest, let's examine the rationale underpinning the behavior. Rather than an indication of egomania or superficiality, the practice of using Twitter analytics in this fashion probably sprung from an urgent desire to seek a competitive edge.

Our bet is that many of these same early adopters will soon be using ClearGears. Why? The ClearGears system offers an internal version of what these Twitter analytic sites target externally: insight into the present health and future prospects  of a company. Using Twitter Counter may give the early adapter a picture of how he stacks up against rival companies in terms of patronage and followership. Interest, in other words. Conversely, ClearGears gives your company real-time feedback from its staff, allowing it to gage the performance and sentiment of its talent. Again: interest. Knowing what your top talent really thinks of your company, and knowing how they're performing in real-time, clearly outmatches Twitter stat comparisons as the best indicator of your continued success.