The next research community

We've just come to the end of a fantastic research community for one of the world's leading home design retailers. We used our platform, and specifically its micro-blogging capability, to get participants around the world to share their lives and their homes.

As consultants, we're always hunting the perfect project, and we believe that it's important to download and review the findings from your last piece of work, and feed it into the next project. So, here are some of the issues that came to the surface that we're tackling:

• By breaking blogging down to micro-blogging, have we oversimplified it for those who are perhaps more proficient when it comes to using web services?
• How do we balance the number of exercises and tasks participants are asked to undergo during a project? (It seems an idea to start with softer, more personal exercises at the beginning)
• When respondents are specifically recruited, and may not share as much of an emotional connection or shared interest as a more open-invitation community may do, how do we support ongoing collaboration and build their intrigue in commenting on what others have shared?
• How much seeded content is too much, ie. that which sets up a bias?
• How much time should be left between gathering stimulus and feeding back conceptual thinking, without leaving the community cold?
• How much control do research communities really want over their online space, and which elements should we pose for customisation by them?
• What approach should we take to overcome language difficulties, if there is one at all?
• What balance of pro-active vs reactive interactions should we strive for?

Categories: Business.
Tags: community, research