Personal ad

 
A somewhat more personal post today.  Excuse the indulgence.
Modest and mundane overload
It’s been very hard to be online much in the last couple of weeks, what with child illness, half-term and major home refurbishment all requiring time and attention, before we even consider actual day-to-day work.  I like (and value) puttering about on Twitter and [...]

Can market researchers have an opinion?

Robert Bain of Research Magazine has a blog post today about the way that business people pick on market research as a way of underlining their modern business credentials.  He quotes a piece by Marc Babej, a marketer writing in Forbes magazine who fixes the passing blog reader with a flinty stare and declares:  ‘You [...]

Evidence and belief

This morning, news came in from the inquest into the death of a 14-year old girl, Natalie Morton, who died shortly after receiving a vaccination against HPV (human papilloma virus).  In short: the poor girl had a malignant tumour in her chest which was undoubtedly the cause of death.
This hasn’t stopped the anti-vaccination squads from [...]

On hating Ryanair: We hate to serve and it shows

Back from holiday.  I’ve been sceptical of the whole value of the ‘brand conversation’ movement for a while now, and if my recent holiday taught me anything, it’s that brands are about the harsh (or sundappled) reality of the brand experience…
So. Ryanair.
Is there such a thing as a toxic brand?  Ryanair seems to embody the [...]

Communicating science: some highlights from the BSA conference, part 1

I just spent 2 days at the British Science Association’s Science Communication Conference.  I haven’t been to this particular shindig in quite a few years; it’s quite a mixture of folk: academics, science popularisers, PR officers, evaluators, artists, you name it.  Five highlights:
1. Tackling obesity through an evidence-based campaign

The ‘Behaviour and Choice’ plenary examined the [...]

The meaning of silence in an online context

I’ve been pondering a few of the discussions I’ve seen on online versus offline research approaches:  Zebrabites’ thoughts on the need to understand users in person as well as hypertext;  Matt Rhodes of Freshnetworks’ recommendation that we understand people in natural online communities as well as specially-constructed research communities.   People share themselves and their opinions [...]

The business of making communities

On Tuesday I went to Freshnetworks’ session on online communities in retail. Incredibly interesting morning, with 3 different speakers talking about the use of social media from different perspectives:  Helen Trim from Freshnetworks giving her top tips on what to do (and what not to do) in terms of social media;  Joanne Jacobs on measuring [...]

Paradigms in research; or, how your worldview shapes your methodology

In the introductory lectures for my master’s in organisational behaviour, we heard a great deal about paradigms. Indeed, we heard so much about paradigms that several of my classmates were quite keen to go back and get a refund on the course.
We – researchers, embryonic management consultants, careers counsellors and human resources managers – wished [...]

Market research opinion: a contradiction in terms?

About 4 years ago, I did a master’s degree in organisational psychology.  I started off with the intention of changing career quite radically; I ended up (in the manner of many career changers) by making a more gentle change, to focus on science, new technology and (where possible) applying all that newly-updated knowledge of psychological [...]

Twitter; and women in technology, for Ada Lovelace Day

I started using Twitter properly a couple of days ago, prompted by some of my friends taking it on, and so far I’m enjoying it way more than I expected. It’s also thrown me into contact with various market researchers working in new media.    It is brilliant to uncover some kind of community in this [...]