The evolution of listeningThe qualitative heart of insight communities

Susan AbbottThe Worldwide Conference on Qualitative ResearchMay 19-21,2010Prague

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I went on a journey into the heart of MROC’s to find out what’s going on

the "dark continent"of qualitative

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Your basic IDI project … thanks to

Manila Austin, Director of Research, Communispace

Kathy Fitzpatrick, Director, QualVu

Matt Foley, PluggedIn Co

Diane Hessan, President + CEO, Communispace

Jim Longo, Vice-President, Itracks

Dana Slaughter, Head Honcho, Slaughter Branding

Liz Van Patten, Principal, Van Patten Research

Julie Wittes Schlack, Senior Vice President, Innovation, Communispace

I found out what’s at the heart of these Insight Communities

but first …4

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A community is …

…an interacting population…a group of people with a common

characteristic or interest

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People will tell you that these are an entirely new thing

But that’s not entirely true

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Actually, insight communities are more like an evolution in listening

except the earlier versions are still here … and still useful.

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In the beginning – mostly synchronous

Synchronous

Hours Months Years

Focus groups

Interviews

Days - weeks

Asynchronous

Customer labs

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Then the WWW comes along…

Synchronous

Hours Months Years

Focus groups

Interviews

Days - weeks

Asynchronous

Customer labs

Diaries

Customer AdvisoryBoards

Online focus groups

Web-meetings

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Texting (SMS) and Flip video …

Synchronous

Hours Months Years

Focus groups

Interviews

Days - weeks

Asynchronous

Customer labs

Diaries

Customer AdvisoryBoards

Online focus groups

Web-meetings

Bulletin boards/ discussion forums

Customer AdvisoryBoardsOnline Diaries

SMS / Texting

Video self-ethnography

Diaries

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Insight communities draw on all of this

Synchronous

Hours Months Years

Focus groups

Interviews

Days - weeks

Asynchronous

Customer labs

Customer AdvisoryBoards

Online focus groups

Web-meetings

Bulletin boards/ discussion forums Customer

AdvisoryBoards

Online Diaries

SMS / Texting

We have a LOT more tools at our disposal

Video

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These developments did not happen in isolation

Key Milestones in Connectedness (Year of launch)

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

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2010Copyright (c) Susan Abbott , . . , & , . . ( 2 0 07).

- 13 1 11Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship. Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, ( ), article ; , : , . , 2 0 00; ( ).

CouchsurfingLinkedInMySpace

YouTubeFacebook(Highschool)

Ning

Facebook(Harvard)

FlikrFacebook(everyone)

Twitter

WikipediaInnoCentive

Digg

X Box Live

TripAdvisor

Podcasting

YahooGroups

iPhone

Blackberry 950RIM

Google Maps(collaborative)

InstructableseHow

Delicious

Second Life

Epinions

FlipVideo

Plugged InCommunispace

Online focus groups + bulletin boards More platforms, more possibilities

Radian6

2010(c) Susan Abbott

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Internet enabled connectivity on an exponential growth curve

… gives people so many new ways to connect!

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Community interface looks familiar --just like other social media

Images courtesy of Matt Foley at PluggedIn

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Home page

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Blog

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Hybrid discussion

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Member home page

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Photo album

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It’s all about the technology

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It’s NOT all about the technology

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It’s not about the technology platform. Thinking “if you build it, they will come” is wrong.

Julie Wittes Schlack, Communispace

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Some people think that if you invite people, they are going to just naturally start talking. Even if they have a very strong affinity, or shared background, or passion, you still need somebody in there actively, actively facilitating the conversation.

Matt Foley, PluggedIn Co.

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PurposefulFocusedDirectedExclusivePrivate

An Insight Community is created specifically to gather insights

This makes a difference.

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Insight communities honor the research process, unlike public communities

FieldworkPlan Analyze Communicate

Objectives aren’t a big part of public communities, but they are essential to insight communities

Public Communities at best are lightly moderated. 90% are lurkers. No one probes. Activities mostly the same. Troll behavior.

You can analyze a public community for trends. Link it all back to

actionable insights

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Clearly define your objectives, this is the most common oversight.Insight communities are not about Q+A. They are more about engagement and listening for opportunities that match the objectives.

Jim Longo, Itracks

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Scripted interaction is at the heartPlatform is an enabler: points, profiles, cool tools

Research design to ensure project stays on the objectives

Active moderation, probing, management of rhythm, pace and flow

Wide variety of activities to keep people engaged

Activities to build sense of community

Analysis and communication back to client. Client team helps absorb and act on learning

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The role of the facilitator is critical. The software is an enabler, it makes everything possible.

Manila Austin, Communispace

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Emerging team model of research

Model courtesy of Matt Foley

DesignerTranslates objectives into activities. Like writing discussion guide

ModeratorLaunches the activities in the community, probes, follows up.

Community ManagerBuilds excitement, rapport, makes sure people are having a good time. Manages invitations and incentives. Like a facility hostess.

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Many of the communities I work in will have at least a weekly group forum discussion and in-depth studies anywhere from 4-6 times a year. Although one community I work in has almost 40 in-depth studies per year.

Dana Slaughter, Slaughter Branding

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Video clips

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I recently called Tom Brailsford, of Hallmark to ask him, 10 years later, what have you learned? Here’s what he told me:

Diane Hessan, Communispace

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“Never underestimate the power of N=1”

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Thank you!

Please read the paper for much more!