Design Research and Strategy
Remember “synergy?” AOL Time Warner was designed to save money and make money. But it was not designed to be a true organization. 10 years ago, Time Warner aimed to blast into the 21st century by “synergizing” with America Online.
The New York Times has a fabulous retrospective of the merger.
In their teaser video, Robert Puttnam, former [...]
Categories: Popular · anthropology · culture · home · innovation · organizations · sociology
“But how many people did you talk to?” If you’ve ever done qualitative research, you’ve heard that question at least once. And the first time? You were flummoxed. In 3 short minutes, you can be assured that will never happen again.
Folks, qualitative research does not worry about numbers of people; it worries about deep understanding. [...]
Categories: Popular · Research Methods · anthropology · culture · design · ethnography · home · interaction design · product design · qualitative research · quantitative research · sample size · sociology · technology design · user experience
Social media “gurus” abound these days. Which ones are worth listening to and which ones are bullshitters?
Philosopher Harry Frankfurt exposed bullshitters in his famous essay “On Bullshit.” The liar knows what the truth is and cares very much about concealing it. The bullshitter, on the other hand, doesn’t care what the truth is and has [...]
Categories: Popular · Research Methods · bourdieu · class · culture · home · luxury goods · methods · social capital · social media · social networks
The technology consulting firm Gartner is predicting that social scientists will be very much in demand by businesses. Eweek summarizes Gartner’s outline of four types of roles for social scientists:
Web User Experience roles that include UI designers, virtual-assistant designers and interaction directors.
Behavior Analysis roles that include Web psychologists, community designers, and Web/social network miners.
Information Specialist [...]
Categories: Popular · anthropology · design · sociology · technology design · user experience
I examine the tools and processes I use to do my own work. Like many agency workers, I often bill by the hour. Check out my research on this phenomenon:
This paper is about time regimes that are typical in interactive agencies, as well as law firms, some construction companies and some management consultancies: the so-called [...]