Treme-ndously Guilty

Karen B.

Okay, let’s just get this out of the way: I’m not delusional. Here are the facts: In April 2009, I made a strong request (in this very blog) for more television programming like HBO’s The Wire. In April 2010, HBO, David Simon and other members of The Wire’s team, premiered Treme. Coincidence? Unlikely.MORE…

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The Me Networks

Karen B.

To paraphrase Billy Idol, I’ve been “social networking with myself.” It’s not as dirty as it sounds, I promise.

Forget therapy. So long, self-help books. I’ve got two online sources that will put you back in touch with YOU.

I give you:MORE…

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Expired Insight: Gwyneth’s Goop

Karen B.

There’s a reason we advocate for longitudinal studies, going back into communities to test and retest hypotheses. Insights have variable shelf lives and we need to keep checking the expiration date to see if they’ve grown stale. Sadly, I recently discovered the insight in a previous blog post is now the strategic equivalent of a liquefied carrot in the back of my fridge.MORE…

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Social Network Connective (Facial?) Tissue

Karen B.

Friendships are complicated and online friendships can be downright confounding. I know people who have nearly a thousand Facebook friends and use their social networks for a variety of reasons, both personal and professional. That seems to work for their purposes, but when it comes to people in my social network, I’m a less-is-more kind of gal.MORE…

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From "Sellout" to "Sold Out," or How I Learned to Hate Success

Karen B.

“Ah man, I saw that band years ago at a small club. I’m not paying $150 to see them at [insert name of big sports/music venue]! They’re a bunch of sellouts”

It’s a pretty typical story: small (often independent) band cultivates loyal following only to lose their most passionate fans when the band earns real notoriety and money. I’m one of these “bad weather fans,” as we’re often called. I’m fine with it; I’ve got an entire CD and cassette tape graveyard of bands I used to love, but who outgrew my affinity and loyalty.MORE…

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Getting to the Insight: A logic game

Karen B.

Have you ever played one of those classic logic games? Here’s a pretty famous one: “Seth couldn’t go home because the man in the mask was waiting for him. Where is Seth?” Depending on the rules you play with, you either get to ask more questions or you just have to guess.

I like to think of that as the difference between what we do at Communispace and more traditional market research. If you come out of a focus group or phone survey with contradictory findings, you’re left to extrapolate and/or ask another group of people to explain the inconsistency. In a community, you can go back and ask questions of the same people to uncover the real basis for their original insights.

Okay, ready to play?MORE…

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Here Comes the Sun (do do do dit)

Karen B.

It’s the strangest thing. People are walking around outside staring at the sky. The look on their faces betrays only the slightest hint of recognition. As if the sun is a friend they grew up with and haven’t seen in 25 years. But it’s true…the rain has stopped in New England, and in addition to drying out our basements (err…cellars), we’re also getting ready to welcome spring into our lives.MORE…

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Picking NCAA Brackets: A serious endeavor

Karen B.

As I write, we are one hour away from the beginning of the 2010 NCAA Tournament. I can feel my pulse rate increasing. I’m not a huge basketball fan (save a wicked crush on Kevin Garnett), but I love March Madness and I love the yearly ritual of filling out my brackets.MORE…

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