Alex Mann's first business was brought to a halt by the economy, but he is determined to keep his second idea afloat -- even during the recession.

Mann (senior-finance) said he plans on providing "market intelligence" to consumers and businesses, searching social networks like Twitter and Facebook for customer opinions of companies.

Bad economy or not, he believes he has an idea that works.

"I see the down market as an opportunity," he said. "If I don't do it, someone else is going to."

The young businessman visited Silicon Valley Saturday to attend ETech, the O'Reilly Emerging Technology conference. He is searching for potential business partners and -- most importantly -- a lead developer.

Although he hasn't found who he was looking for just yet, he said he met possible business partners and scheduled meetings with interested companies. Being in Silicon Valley taught him an important lesson, he said.

"I learned guiding principles for the new economy," Mann said. "I opened my eyes to business principles I wasn't aware of."

Penn State engineering entrepreneurship instructor Frank Koe said the bad economy shouldn't stop students from pursuing their own businesses.

"As long as you take a critical look, and really look at it in depth, there is no bad time to start a particular business," Mann said.

"Take a look at Google. They are flourishing and they did not necessarily start in the best of times," Mann added.

Despite that, many students are cautious, Penn State engineering professor Liz Kisenwether said.

A mentor of Mann's, she said the senior is probably one of the few students who doesn't want to work for a company after graduation. More students could follow his example, she said.

"Now is as good a time as ever to launch his idea," Kisenwether said. "Companies are trying to tighten their belts ... and are always interested in these tools."

After his plans to create a mutual fund fell through, Mann spoke to his mentors and decided to create a Web application, AM Analytics.

The software will use free online services to track consumer opinions and translate it visually into geographic maps, showing where people are talking and how it changes over time.

"It will show chatter in certain areas for given products and provide data to marketers, so they know where to market their products," Mann said.

A product manager for BlackBerry can go on the system and get live consumer sentiment on what people are feeling at the moment, he said. This helps marketers target certain groups of people, he said.

So far, Mann said he has been in touch with other budding companies working with social media in creative ways.

He said he's had meetings with Stock Twits, a company trading stocks on Twitter, and Buddy Media, a media company that builds social media applications for big brands.

"It's getting a lot of buzz," Mann said.

"There may be partnerships down the line," he said.

Although Mann's idea is still developing, he is beginning to set up methods of raising revenue -- like fundraising -- to keep the business from going under.

If his finances are secure, Mann may move to Silicon Valley to pursue his dream.

"I'm dedicated to make this happen," he said.