11 February 2010
by Mike JenningscloseAuthor: Mike Jennings
Name: Mike Jennings
Site: http://
About: As a Senior Researcher on the Research and Innovation team, Michael’s responsibilities include integrating new methodologies into our offering, managing cross-community research initiatives and monitoring the social media landscape. Michael earned his MA in Sociology from California State University, where he ethnographically studied tourism in Redwood National Park. He received a BA in Anthropology from The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey and enjoys surfing and snowboarding in his spare time.See Authors Posts (8)
Now that the Super Bowl is over, you may find yourself looking forward to the pageantry of the Winter Olympics. Here’s who and what to look for in snowboarding this year…
Now that the Super Bowl is over, you may find yourself looking forward to the pageantry of the Winter Olympics. Here’s who and what to look for in snowboarding this year…
- Lindsey Jacobellis – In the Turin Olympics Lindsey went a little too big off the last jump in the snowboard cross final and it cost her the gold. Afterwards the U.S. press criticized her for showing off and letting her country down. Lindsey would later explain how snowboarding is supposed to be fun and how she wanted to match the enthusiasm of the crowd with a stylish finish. Makes sense to me. Let’s see if Lindsey can redeem her honor.
- “The Flying Tomato” – All sports have those athletes that come along and not only dominate a sport but also change its direction. What Tiger Woods is (was?) to golf, Shaun White is to snowboarding. I just want to say that I personally rock his signature line of Burton apparel and yes, I snowboard better because of it.
- The Double Cork – It’s hard to describe this controversial halfpipe maneuver, so you’re going to have to click here to see it for yourself. Invented by Shaun White, it was deemed necessary for unseating him in Vancouver, but after Kevin Pearce fell hard and into a coma trying it in training, some called for a ban by the International Olympic Committee. No official ruling as of yet, so we’ll have to wait to see what happens.
- Torah Bright – I felt this Australian phenom got robbed when she finished 5th in the halfpipe finals at the Turin Games. Since then, she won gold at the 2007 and 2009 X Games and is a favorite in this year’s Olympics. However Torah had to pull out of the 2010 X Games after suffering two concussions in three days in January—adding fuel to the fire to eighty-six certain maneuvers in Vancouver. Reports say she’s recovered physically, but as I can attest, concussions come with psychological effects as well.
I don’t know where I stand on banning maneuvers at the Olympics. On the one hand, I don’t want a governing body capping the level of competition in snowboarding. On the other, I realize each year this level gets more and more dangerous. What do you think?
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21 January 2010
by Mike JenningscloseAuthor: Mike Jennings
Name: Mike Jennings
Site: http://
About: As a Senior Researcher on the Research and Innovation team, Michael’s responsibilities include integrating new methodologies into our offering, managing cross-community research initiatives and monitoring the social media landscape. Michael earned his MA in Sociology from California State University, where he ethnographically studied tourism in Redwood National Park. He received a BA in Anthropology from The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey and enjoys surfing and snowboarding in his spare time.See Authors Posts (8)
It sounds like 3D TV was the big hit at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, but I’m still wondering about content…
One day in ‘09, after paying a hefty cable bill, I flipped through my channels and came up with nothing. I went through my DVR queue, nothing. I wondered, “What did I just pay for besides the Internet?”
It sounds like 3D TV was the big hit at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, but I’m still wondering about content…
One day in ‘09, after paying a hefty cable bill, I flipped through my channels and came up with nothing. I went through my DVR queue, nothing. I wondered, “What did I just pay for besides the Internet?”
Soon after that I began researching my pay TV alternatives. It’s not that I didn’t want to pay. I just didn’t want to pay so much for so little. While facilitating one of our communities I discovered a thread between two members who had the same frustration. One member recommended Roku—the streaming Internet device that connects to your TV. I mail-ordered one and when it arrived, a whirlwind romance began.
It started with a marathon of the first three seasons of Miami Vice (click here for my analysis). Then I found out why so many of my friends are obsessed with Lost. After that I worked my way through the Ken Burns documentaries, but the passion eventually fizzled as I ran out of instant Netflix titles.
I didn’t want to do it, but I went back to my old standby—network TV. At first it was comfortable and familiar, but after awhile became too predictable and the commercials started to annoy me again. Then I went back to Roku and had a fling with Amazon Video On Demand. After paying $1.99 per episode of the first season of Fringe, I ended it. Now it’s 2010 and I’m back with the old ball and chain—cable TV.
I have to say that all of this has left me bitter about the future of TV. Will we ever be able to truly customize our TV experiences?
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15 December 2009
by Mike JenningscloseAuthor: Mike Jennings
Name: Mike Jennings
Site: http://
About: As a Senior Researcher on the Research and Innovation team, Michael’s responsibilities include integrating new methodologies into our offering, managing cross-community research initiatives and monitoring the social media landscape. Michael earned his MA in Sociology from California State University, where he ethnographically studied tourism in Redwood National Park. He received a BA in Anthropology from The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey and enjoys surfing and snowboarding in his spare time.See Authors Posts (8)
That’s what Barack Obama said when he gave Bruce Springsteen his Kennedy Center Honor for lifetime achievement in the performing arts. When I heard this I welled up with pride.
Like Bruce, I grew up on the Jersey Shore. Throughout the ‘80s my aunts would play his albums over and over again, telling tall tales of marathon performances at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park. I didn’t understand the excitement at the time and thought it was old people’s music.
That’s what Barack Obama said when he gave Bruce Springsteen his Kennedy Center Honor for lifetime achievement in the performing arts. When I heard this I welled up with pride.
Like Bruce, I grew up on the Jersey Shore. Throughout the ‘80s my aunts would play his albums over and over again, telling tall tales of marathon performances at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park. I didn’t understand the excitement at the time and thought it was old people’s music.
In the early ‘90s I attended the same community college as The Boss (I graduated) and frequently surfed next to the very pier that inspired the song, 4th of July, Asbury Park.
In 2000 I moved to California, and eventually became homesick and tired of the lyric-less jam band scene that surrounded me. Turning to my roots, I found comfort in the following songs:
- Spirit in the Night – a song about partying in the Pine Barrens
- Backstreets – a song about friendship
- Independence Day – a song about fathers and sons
- Thunder Road/Born to Run – songs about getting out of small towns
Why am I telling you this? Well if you’re from New Jersey you often hear people refer to your state as the “Armpit of America.” Sure, even I roll up the windows when I drive down the Turnpike, but if you head south on the Parkway that industrial aroma fades and you end up at the Jersey Shore, home to arguably the best songwriter since Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie. Click here for some artists who agree.
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17 November 2009
by Mike JenningscloseAuthor: Mike Jennings
Name: Mike Jennings
Site: http://
About: As a Senior Researcher on the Research and Innovation team, Michael’s responsibilities include integrating new methodologies into our offering, managing cross-community research initiatives and monitoring the social media landscape. Michael earned his MA in Sociology from California State University, where he ethnographically studied tourism in Redwood National Park. He received a BA in Anthropology from The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey and enjoys surfing and snowboarding in his spare time.See Authors Posts (8)
Back when we thought Second Life could be the next Facebook, I entered the virtual world to see if there were any opportunities for marketers. I remember having fun designing my avatar and came up with the name of Goffman Ochs by combining the last names of my favorite social theorist and a ‘60s folk artist.
Eventually boredom set in and to be honest, the whole scene was a little too sexual for me. I left Goffman, the sociable singer songwriter, sitting on a park bench in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.
Back when we thought Second Life could be the next Facebook, I entered the virtual world to see if there were any opportunities for marketers. I remember having fun designing my avatar and came up with the name of Goffman Ochs by combining the last names of my favorite social theorist and a ‘60s folk artist.
Eventually boredom set in and to be honest, the whole scene was a little too sexual for me. I left Goffman, the sociable singer songwriter, sitting on a park bench in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.
Time went by, Twitter became the new Facebook, and the other day my cousin told me our mutual friend Brian chaired a recent SL Convention. I hadn’t thought of SL in so long and suddenly a wave of guilt came over me…
- How could I do that to Goffman?
- How could I leave him slumped over on a park bench like that?
I met up with Brian Perry at his home in Newton, MA to see if we could find my avatar. I was relieved when I logged-in. There was Goffman, right where I left him. Sunlight danced off the Pacific and clouds floated through the sky as he walked around for the first time in three years. The improved graphics were immediately apparent and navigation was easy due to a redesigned search capability.
Back in the real world, Brian and I had a conversation about the current state of SL. Here’s what he told me…
- Second Life is changing—it used to be that the SL population was one-third gamer, one-third artist, and one-third social misfit. Not anymore.
- Second Life for collaboration—more and more people are using SL for actual purposes.
- Second Life for a healthy life—Brian chaired the healthcare track of this year’s SL summit. Topics included the use of SL for clinical trials, cancer outreach, and stress relief.
- Second Life for learning—one of the biggest groups in SL is SLED, which is dedicated to educational opportunities in SL.
In 2006 I went into SL with the wrong attitude. I observed a subculture that had its own brands and I didn’t think there were a lot of marketing opportunities. I left, but Goffman lived on, and so did his surroundings. While it may not have the mass appeal of Facebook, SL is a great place for groups to come together and collaborate, and unlike Facebook, the company actually makes money.
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16 October 2009
by Mike JenningscloseAuthor: Mike Jennings
Name: Mike Jennings
Site: http://
About: As a Senior Researcher on the Research and Innovation team, Michael’s responsibilities include integrating new methodologies into our offering, managing cross-community research initiatives and monitoring the social media landscape. Michael earned his MA in Sociology from California State University, where he ethnographically studied tourism in Redwood National Park. He received a BA in Anthropology from The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey and enjoys surfing and snowboarding in his spare time.See Authors Posts (8)
This week I’d like to virtually confess something. For years I’ve kept this a secret, but here it goes…
I’m a postmodernist.
One of my pet peeves is the misuse of the word ‘modern,’ specifically in the forms of ‘modernize’ and ‘modern times’ because it tends to be used as a term for bringing something up to date. As a postmodernist, I find this to be absurd!
Here’s why…
This week I’d like to virtually confess something. For years I’ve kept this a secret, but here it goes…
I’m a postmodernist.
One of my pet peeves is the misuse of the word ‘modern,’ specifically in the forms of ‘modernize’ and ‘modern times’ because it tends to be used as a term for bringing something up to date. As a postmodernist, I find this to be absurd!
Here’s why…
- Postmodernists pay close attention to major shifts in society.
- For us, modern times began during the Industrial Revolution and have since ended.
- We believe that the technological revolution has begun and things are changing exponentially.
Not to freak you out or anything, but postmodernism is all around you. You experience it in so many ways, yet may not realize it.
Here are some examples of postmodernism in…
- TV—Sitcoms began in the 50s, the height of modern times, and dominated TV until recently. They’re safe, predictable and have a beginning, middle, and end. Now we also have shows like Lost, where you can’t tell the good from the bad, the past from the present, or the real from the unreal.
- Music—Mapping the musical landscape used to be fairly easy. There was pop, rock, country, hip-hop/rap, and a few others. Now in rock alone there’s alternative rock, gothic rock, desert rock, glam rock, rap rock, doom metal, folk metal, symphonic metal, grunge, post-grunge, and emotional hardcore… to name a few.
- Graphic design—Check out the postmodernists in the Helvetica documentary! (Click here for the trailer)
A common theme among these examples is fragmentation—plots, genres, and designs are broken up and presented in little pieces. Stephen Brown, marketing’s postmodern provocateur, explains how even our sense of self is now fragmented…
“…the postmodern consumer performs a host of roles—wife and mother, career woman, sports enthusiast…DIY enthusiast, culture vulture, hapless holidaymaker, websurfing Internet avatar and many more—each with its appropriate brand name array.”
With all this fragmentation going on, no wonder marketers are having a hard time finding those holy grails of insight. At conferences and in webinars we hear of a changing landscape, shifting paradigms, and the need to redefine market research. If you’re a postmodernist in the crowd you love the confusion. For you it’s a sign of exciting things to come. You dream of a future of mixed methodologies, multiple perspectives, and a beautiful union of qual. and quant. You tell your colleagues not to worry, we’ll all figure it out, and everything will be alright.
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24 September 2009
by Mike JenningscloseAuthor: Mike Jennings
Name: Mike Jennings
Site: http://
About: As a Senior Researcher on the Research and Innovation team, Michael’s responsibilities include integrating new methodologies into our offering, managing cross-community research initiatives and monitoring the social media landscape. Michael earned his MA in Sociology from California State University, where he ethnographically studied tourism in Redwood National Park. He received a BA in Anthropology from The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey and enjoys surfing and snowboarding in his spare time.See Authors Posts (8)
When you’re a surfer in New England you’re always wondering: How big are the waves? Which way’s the wind blowing? What’s the water temperature? Where are the rocks? Is this private property?
And now… was that a shark?
Some marine biologists have been tagging Great Whites off Cape Cod, and as usual the local media is playing the theme from Jaws (click here for an example). While the mere mention of these maritime monsters evokes fear in most, for surfers it’s all part of the equation.
When you’re a surfer in New England you’re always wondering: How big are the waves? Which way’s the wind blowing? What’s the water temperature? Where are the rocks? Is this private property?
And now… was that a shark?
Some marine biologists have been tagging Great Whites off Cape Cod, and as usual the local media is playing the theme from Jaws (click here for an example). While the mere mention of these maritime monsters evokes fear in most, for surfers it’s all part of the equation.
As you can imagine, in my twenty years of riding waves I’ve had my share of close encounters with sharks:
- 1994—Cape Hatteras, North Carolina: a certain sub-surface something bumps me off my board.
- 2000—Roca Bruja, Costa Rica: a tiger shark cruises by so close I can see its stripes.
- 2000 to 2005—Moonstone Beach, California: in four separate incidents, surfers are attacked by Great Whites at one of my favorite spots. Each one survives by shoving their boards in their attackers’ mouths and punching themselves free.
Surfers just accept that sharks are out there. We voluntarily dress up like seals, paddle out into the unknown and leave it up to fate. We weigh the risk of being attacked with not doing what we love.
Here’s what I think about what’s happening right now off the shores of Massachusetts:
- Cape Cod doesn’t have a shark problem it has a seal problem
They’re everywhere now. While tourists think they’re cute, the local fisherman I’ve talked to can’t stand them. They eat a lot of fish and there’s not enough to go around. Great Whites, one of the most highly evolved creatures on earth, now know the seals are here and have come to dine on the all-you-can-eat blubber buffet.
Now my normal stance when it comes to nature is to just let it be—the sharks will eventually thin out the seal population and then move on. But if we don’t want anyone to get hurt (seals included), why not relocate the seals? This is what they do with bears. Also, let’s stop tagging the Great Whites. Poking them with sharp sticks is probably annoying and I don’t want them taking it out on me on my day off.
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4 September 2009
by Mike JenningscloseAuthor: Mike Jennings
Name: Mike Jennings
Site: http://
About: As a Senior Researcher on the Research and Innovation team, Michael’s responsibilities include integrating new methodologies into our offering, managing cross-community research initiatives and monitoring the social media landscape. Michael earned his MA in Sociology from California State University, where he ethnographically studied tourism in Redwood National Park. He received a BA in Anthropology from The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey and enjoys surfing and snowboarding in his spare time.See Authors Posts (8)
When I was a kid my favorite TV show was Miami Vice. It aired after my bedtime, so my parents taped it and made me fast forward through certain scenes. Sonny Crockett was my idol for three reasons:
- He lived on a boat
- He had a pet alligator that guarded the boat
- He drove his Ferrari Daytona Spyder like I drove my big wheel—fast and reckless
When I was a kid my favorite TV show was Miami Vice. It aired after my bedtime, so my parents taped it and made me fast forward through certain scenes. Sonny Crockett was my idol for three reasons:
- He lived on a boat
- He had a pet alligator that guarded the boat
- He drove his Ferrari Daytona Spyder like I drove my big wheel—fast and reckless
As with Garbage Pail Kids, the fascination at some point ended.
…fast forward to a few weeks ago…
I’m sitting in my living room clicking through Netflix titles, trying to unwind from work. I come across seasons 1, 2, and 3 of Miami Vice and for some reason decide to watch all 68 episodes, in a row, over the course of a few weeks. Being a researcher I couldn’t help but qualitatively analyze them.
Here’s my key finding:
- As Crockett’s hair goes up the quality of writing goes down
In the beginning of the series, Crockett’s hair is long in the front and loosely combed back. As the series progresses it slowly turns into a spiked mullet. This coincides with a rapid decline in writing that begins in season three.
I dropped off towards the end of the third season, right after “Viking Bikers from Hell,” an episode in which common street punks terrorize Miami and refer to their motorcycles as “scooters.” Sonny’s hair in the episode: spiked up and out, looking a little more tamed than Tina Turner’s at the time.
So the Crocket Correlation explains why I lost interest in Miami Vice as an adult. Here’s why I lost interest in the show as a kid…
- Scenes that include Crockett’s floating home become few and far between
- Elvis—the guard gator—fails to stop a break-in and never appears again
- An arms dealer blows up the Spyder early in the third season. It’s then replaced by a Ferrari Testarossa which is probably faster and more expensive than the Spyder, but in no way resembles a big wheel
We only really got three seasons of quality from Miami Vice. Amazing considering the impact it has had on pop culture. Today the show continues to be a major symbol of the ‘80s. In a time known for excess, when people lived fast and died young, I guess it makes a lot of sense.
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7 August 2009
by Mike JenningscloseAuthor: Mike Jennings
Name: Mike Jennings
Site: http://
About: As a Senior Researcher on the Research and Innovation team, Michael’s responsibilities include integrating new methodologies into our offering, managing cross-community research initiatives and monitoring the social media landscape. Michael earned his MA in Sociology from California State University, where he ethnographically studied tourism in Redwood National Park. He received a BA in Anthropology from The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey and enjoys surfing and snowboarding in his spare time.See Authors Posts (8)
A few years ago I accepted my job in the Research and Innovation team at Communispace. As I moved from northern California to Boston, I was excited about living alone without roommates.
In my studio apartment I reveled in the peace, quiet, and ability to scatter my laundry wherever I pleased. I didn’t cook, which wasn’t a problem because there were plenty of take-out restaurants on my block.
A few years ago I accepted my job in the Research and Innovation team at Communispace. As I moved from northern California to Boston, I was excited about living alone without roommates.
In my studio apartment I reveled in the peace, quiet, and ability to scatter my laundry wherever I pleased. I didn’t cook, which wasn’t a problem because there were plenty of take-out restaurants on my block.
A year and a half went by, pizza boxes piled up, and eventually I grew tired of my semi-fast food options. One day I was informed by my doctor that my blood pressure was too high. He told me that I should cook for myself—and I snapped back explaining that I didn’t have time for classes. He said, “You’re a researcher, just get a book!”
So I went to the nearest bookstore and began thumbing through their inventory of cookbooks. Most of them were authored by famous chefs I’ve never heard of. Finally, I found The New Best Recipe, edited by the folks at America’s Test Kitchen. It sounded scientific so I started to read the introduction. Each recipe was tested by a panel of tasters and then refined based on their feedback. This process was repeated until the panel considered each recipe to be perfect. A cookbook backed by empirical research? A cookbook with a methodology?
As a big fan of James Surowiecki’s work, I was aware of The Wisdom of Crowds. I knew that experts sometimes live in little bubbles, out of touch with the outside world, but the collective opinions of groups can be just as valuable.
I was also seeing first hand in our communities how our clients benefit from longitudinal contact with their customers. Products are continually improved based on the collective feedback of community members.
With all of this on my mind, I decided to trust the opinions of the panelists over the famous chefs—and I bought the cookbook backed by research.
Now I’m actually a decent cook! Whenever I try a new recipe I’m confident that it will turn out great because every cooking method and ingredient has been tested by people like me. I wish I could say that my blood pressure is down, but it’s not—probably because I’m drawn to recipes like fish Marnier, chicken picatta, and anything that requires a lot of butter and wine.
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Nicole Adriance 
Steve 
Nina Kentsis 
Claire-Voe Ocampo 
SZR 
ArtVandaleigh74 
karen 
Alan 
I tend to be conservative — so, I think that capping the competition can be a good thing, if it helps to saves lives and prevent traumatic injury. Sometimes, people will to do almost anything to make their statement to the world. Setting some reasonable limits might help to keep the sport safe and prevent devestating injury.
I see your point, Sandra. To add to it, I wouldn’t want people tuning in with the hopes of seeing someone get hurt. That’s what the UFC is for!
Capping the competition would hurt the sport of snowboarding. These athletes are the best at what they do, they are Olympians. Why should any one tell them that they shouldn’t push the limits of their sport? They are not going to go out there and try a trick they have never done before just so they can hurt themselves and get on television. They practice these tricks. If there were a cap on the sport, it would hurt the sport because people would get bored of watching the same tricks over and over. I’m sorry to say, injuries are part of any sport. They don’t put a cap on football because someone gets hurt do they? If people tune in because they want to see someone get hurt, they have a sick mind. Some people watch NASCAR races just for the wrecks, and NASCAR is capped. They are capped because they have restrictor plate races where they limit their top speed. Let the sport take care of itself. If people get hurt, people get hurt. That is what happens in sports.
Thanks, Adrian, for representing the other side. I agree, banning the double cork would definitely affect “the sport” of snowboarding, but snowboarding itself would continue to evolve. Even if Shaun White wasn’t allowed to do the move in the Olympics AND the X Games, he’d still do it and it would get captured on video for all to see and emulate. I don’t know, maybe we just need better helmets.
I agree Mike, those little shells they call helmets don’t help much. Keep in mind though, no helmet is going to stop someone from breaking their neck and becoming paralyzed. You can’t prevent athletes from performing with lots of safety regulations and you can’t let them go out there and risk their lives. Every sport in the world could be safer in a way, it’s just a matter of finding that common ground where people can agree that it’s not too dangerous and that it doesn’t take too much away from the sport.