Beyond just demographics

(contributed by Pat)

John Williams gives a good example of why we need to look beyond demographics…

This [...] highlights what researchers refer to as psychographics – emotions, beliefs, attitudes that explore why people do what they do. It adds an important dimension, giving you much deeper insight into consumer motivation – it helps you understand what makes shoppers open their wallets…

A nice overview that you should show clients who fail to look deeper than age, sex and income to see the real people they are describing with market segmentation. Hat tip to the Next Gen Market Research group on LinkedIn for this and lots of other useful research tidbits.

Physiological responses in user research

(contributed by Pat)

A new report from One to One Interactive on user generated content (video and flash animation) gives a good glimpse of the more sophisticated research methods being employed across market research and user research today.

Some of the findings in the report are quite interesting (such as “57% of Internet video viewers intentionally watch Internet videos to change their current emotional state” and “Supporting viewers in the creation of the right expectations for your digital media may be more important than simply getting them to watch your material”) but it is the approach used to study engagement with UGC media that is most intriguing…

While watching their media, participants were connected to OTOinsight’s Quantemo™ neuromarketing research system. Quantemo™ simultaneously records multiple biophysical signals (breath rate, galvanic skin response, heart rate, body temperature) in addition to eye and click tracking information. After recording the biophysical measures, Quantemo™ combines the measures into a single representative measure of physiological engagement. The Quantemo™ Physiological Index or QPI serves as a single point of reference of the overall level of physical engagement (or disengagement) exhibited by a research participant. Positive QPI scores represent stronger physiological engagement while negative QPI scores represent weaker physiological engagement.

A thinly disguised piece of PR for their product it might be, but very interesting nonetheless.

Norman replies to Nussbaum

(contributed by Pat)

There have been many reactions, rebukes and arguments generated by Don Norman’s blog post Technology First, Needs Last (which we mentioned a few weeks ago) but one quite prominent response came from Bruce Nussbaum at Business Week…

Norman tells designers to get over themselves. It is science and technology that drive truly disruptive innovation, not Design’s focus on the needs and wants of people. Ethnographic research, Norman says, can generate small, incremental innovations but the blockbuster game-changing stuff, comes from the lab, not the village or the mall.

Don Norman himself appears in the comments, in an attempt to clarify his position (which I happen to agree with)…

Sorry folks, but I think you miss the point. I too bristled at Norman’s conclusion — and I happen to be Norman. I have long argued that we should seek out the fundamental needs and afterwards build the relevant technologies and products. But as a scientist, I rely upon data, and the data have convinced me that this is simply not the way things happen. I resisted this conclusion for a long time, but the more i examined the evidence, the more I decided that I had no alternative but to embrace this controversial position.

One of the issues at the heart of this debate is ambiguous terminology. For example “design research”, “ethnography”, “design” and “innovation” are some of the most widely misused and abused terms, so much so that many of the (quite often heated) discussions concerning Norman’s post are based on a straightforward misunderstanding. There are many cases of people being “outraged” and disagreeing with Norman, but if you read further it seems they actually agree with him but are reacting to what they think he was saying based on their interpretation of the terminology used.

Value and nostalgia are top consumer trends for 2010

(contributed by Pat)

The folks over at trendwatching.com have given us their predictions for 2010, with consumer-centricity playing a big part:

It is always important to know where consumers are headed, as that is what business is all about – serving changing consumer needs. It is extra-important in 2010 because consumers are insecure and thus any brand that can help them solve their worries, any brand that shows they understand their situation, will be remembered when times are good again.

Market for mobile internet will be huge

Richard MacManus of ReadWriteWeb provides a great summary of a report released by Morgan Stanley that says the mobile internet market will be twice the size of desktop internet…

Perhaps the most remarkable statement in the report is that the Mobile Internet market will be “at least 2x size of Desktop Internet,” which Morgan Stanley bases on analysis comparing Internet users with mobile subscribers.

The report starts out by saying that Apple’s iPhone/iTouch/iTunes ecosystem “may prove to be the fastest ramping and most disruptive technology product / service launch the world has ever seen.” It goes on to state that “a handful of incumbents (like Apple, Google, Amazon.com and Skype) appear especially well positioned for mobile changes.”

This is a very interesting for the UX and media communities, since it means there will be many opportunities for mobile work in the future.
(forwarded by Sophie)

Digital magazine prototype

Bonnier have released a video showing off their concept for how digital magazines might look and work…

The concept aims to capture the essence of magazine reading, which people have been enjoying for decades: an engaging and unique reading experience in which high-quality writing and stunning imagery build up immersive stories.

If this is what magazines will be like in the future, it’s very exciting! The production and polish of the video itself is fascinating too; makes for a very convincing and understandable deliverable/marketing tool.
(forwarded by Angus)

You don’t have the power

Seth Godin talks about getting past the old school thinking that you can control users/customers…

You don’t have the power. Maybe if every person who has ever published a book or is ever considering publishing a book got together and made a pact, then they’d have enough power to fight the market. But solo? Exhort all you want, it’s not going to do anything but make you hoarse.

Movie execs thought they had the power to fight TV. Record execs thought they had the power to fight iTunes. Magazine execs thought they had the power to fight the web. Newspaper execs thought they had the power to fight Craigslist.

This is why we must understand what our audience wants and work with that, instead of fabricating an “opportunity” in our own minds and trying—or should that be hoping?—to get people to come and use it.
(forwarded by Pat)

Twitter and the media (2009 wrap-up)

Ross Dawson picks his top blog posts for the year on the topic of Twitter and the media…

1. Twitter on ABC TV – the impact on politics, media and socializing
2. How Twitter impacts media and journalism: Five Fundamental Factors
3. Event review: Twitter’s Impact on Media & Journalism
4. Twitter and the ever-faster moving news landscape
5. Who will provide the credibility ratings for the journalists of the planet?
6. Twitter’s impact on the news and media cycle

Some really great commentary on ‘new media’ meets ‘old media’.
(forwarded by Pat)