Flux ethnography and design in a shifting landscape

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Flux: ethnography and design in a shifting landscapeBy Maria Bezaitis -Intel CorporationPresented at Merlien Institute's conference on Qualitative Consumer Research & Insights Conference, 7 & 8 April 2011, Malta

Transcript of Flux ethnography and design in a shifting landscape

flux:

ethnography and design

in a shifting landscapeMaria Bezaitis/Intel Corporation

QCRI April 2011

David Hockney, 1986

ethnography: the writing of culture

a literary form that elucidates

cultural assumptions & logics

that may be implicit or unspoken

Importantly: it is NOT in-home interviews.

QCRI April 2011

A brief historyPhase 1 —pre 90s:

• Social science in the labs (Xerox PARC) performing “science” for corporate R&D and product development.

Phase 2 —1995-2005:

• “Experience” work brings ethnography into marketing and product development organizations.

• People-centered innovation takes off.

Phase 3 —2005+:

• Internet is a mainstay of everyday life.

• Technology ecosystems shift to platforms.

• New opportunities for how companies produce products and how social research is developed and deployed.

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3 ideas

1. social “flux” & business innovation go together

2. ownership models are changing

3. user research and design research are best handled

as a public good

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idea 1:

social “flux” &

business innovation go together

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deeply personal values can change

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from consumption to production

from intimate and personal to social

your photographs are good enough for me

1998

user research = advocacy for real people

(companies need to do the advocating)

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“understand people to create compelling

experiences.”

understand what people need today

across values that persist…

as a basis for making great products.

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idea 2:

ownership models are in flux.

what’s “mine” is fungible.

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ownership is about the rights I believe

I have to objects in my possession.

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East Pediment, Elgin Marbles, British Museum Denver Bike Sharing program

how is ownership in flux?

longer time frames matter less

the object owned changes fast

status may matter less

other things may matter more:

co-production, sharing, reputation.

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everyday entrepreneur:

personal interest & collective interest

desire to share

extremely adept at ecologies

premium on reputation

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hackerspace

people are co-creating products

with corporations.

“it’s people who can best represent and

act in their own interests, to know their

own ‘needs’; not corporations.” (von Hippel 2006)

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“free reveal”

“When the practical benefits from free

revealing exceed the benefits that are

practically obtainable from holding an

innovation secret or licensing it, free

revealing should be the preferred course of

action for a profit-seeking firm or individual.”

[von Hippel]

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idea 3:

“freely reveal” user & design research.

turn it into a public good.

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end

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“all that separates the gift from the

simple barter is the time delay between

the gift and the counter gift.”

[P. Bourdieu, 1972]

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1/1/11

BARTER

1/5/11 1/10/11 1/20/11 2/1/11 2/10/11

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Presented at the International conference on

Qualitative Consumer Research & Insights

7 & 8 April 2011, Malta

For more information

Please visit: http://www.merlien.org