It’s incredible to think so much has changed over the past three years. As Charleni Li points out in her recent blog Groundswell Paperback: A Look Back Three Years Later, it was only back in May 2008 that Facebook and Twitter were still emerging trends. Even more incredible, the iPhone had no apps! Can any of us now imagine a world without our iPhone, without Facebook or without Twitter? I know I can’t!

And marketers and researchers alike are embracing these technologies to reach their different audiences.

This then led to me on to a bit of a tangent, wondering whether MROCs (market research online communities) or insight communities have yet fully ‘emerged’. It seems the world of marketing research may be lagging a little?  There are still many who are wedded to the idea of focus groups sufficing for all qualitative research.  Which continues to amaze me, because once the richness, depth of information and honesty online research community members reveal, there’s really no going back.

When it comes to social networking, Google hasn’t had a very good run. Google Wave no longer exists, while Google Buzz got off on the wrong foot (with privacy invasion) when it first rolled out. In the next few weeks Google will launch its +1 button – which functions the same as Facebook’s ‘Like’ button. Given its track record, will Google ever be able to go social? If a company such as Google can’t build a successful online community, what hope is there for us market researchers?

Google obviously has the technological savvy to create these types of social networking platforms, but its core offer isn’t about being social, it’s about being useful. Google Search, Maps, News, Scholar. It’s about getting the user on and off a page as quickly as possible, with the information needed. Social media offers fun, entertainment and interaction – keeping the user on the platform for as long as possible.

Building an online community takes more than just providing a platform. Ignoring ‘the social’ impacts considerably on how your community grows – if it does at all. When establishing an insights community, keep in mind the lessons of Google. It’s just as much about interaction as it is information.

Badges are becoming commonplace on social media platforms. To enhance levels of engagement, badges ‘gamify’ actions and reward users. This ‘gamification’ of experience in turn, motivates further action. But how are badges useful? Why do they work?

In an initial study, Antin & Churchill (2011) set out to answer these questions. I have briefly summarised their findings below.

Goal Setting
Challenges are an effective motivator and consuming goals is an end unto itself. Studies have shown the most effective goals are those just out of comfortable reach.

Instruction
Providing a framework for users, badges illustrate valued activities of the community.

Reputation
Badges contribute to the identity of users. They allow others to make ‘reputation assessments’ such as a particular member’s interests or expertise.

Status/Affirmation
Acting as status symbols, badges highlight achievement, acknowledging user accomplishments.

Group Identification
Shared experiences increase collaboration in online communities. Badges connect users to these shared actions, and provide ‘perceptions of similarity between an individual and the group’

In short, badges act as social agents in online communities, assisting users to navigate their virtual identity and relationships. Transferring these agents into research communities may help provide another layer of user engagement.

When moderating communities, you do your best to engage with members and present yourself in a way that makes them comfortable with contributing and posting their thoughts. Being a similar type of person to the members in the community is extremely important so to understand and relate to their opinions. As a male I’m not going to be the best person to moderate a community for pregnant women. How could I ever pretend to relate to members? That just would not work.

It’s for this reason that I was chosen to moderate a community of young (mainly male) students who had just started university. It was felt I was well placed to relate to their lives, interests, thoughts and opinions. Sure, it has been a few years since I graduated university but how much could have changed? I was 18 once. I can relate.

I have come to realise that things have changed. Firstly and probably most significantly is that prevalence of ‘text speech’ becoming a more and more accepted means of writing. Words are replaced with numbers (2 instead of to / too), acronyms replace phrases (By the way becomes BTW) just to name a couple of these intricacies.

In order to best connect with members, I have had to adapt my language and tone to ensure students are comfortable with opening up to me and as such have taken to posting discussions and blogs in the language of the youth. It has been a challenge and I usually find myself writing as I normally would, re-reading and then altering words and phrases to adapt to this strange new language. I’m definitely not there yet but i think that im getting used 2 usin sum of this 2 improve the way i connect wif students. Gr8 isnt it.

I’m interested to see if anyone else has had experiences of their own that they’d like to share?

In market research, a respondent’s anonymity is sacrosanct – to be protected with the utmost diligence. There are guidelines, rules and laws, all of which have been created to ensure that at no time will the personal details of a panel member, survey respondent or online community member ever be divulged. Sure, they are happy to tell us almost everything else about themselves if the question dictates this but as we say in the business ‘at no time will your responses be personally attributed to yourself’.

Online research has meant that the power of anonymity has grown, as no longer is there any physical contact with the collector of information. Surveys, communities and focus groups can all be undertaken online in the comfort of one’s anonymous surroundings.

The benefits of this increased level of anonymity are many. Respondents are happier to divulge information that previously they would have been unwilling to share with an interviewer. Things like medical conditions, financial standing to name just a couple of examples. Working with financial clients in the past where respondents were happy to talk about having to remortgage their house and living from pay check to pay check really proved to be an eye opener to the benefits of discussing these topics in an online environment compared to an open focus group session.

We expect people to be more open and honest in their opinions, which for market research is imperative in ensuring that the correct results and insights are delivered to a client. Honest opinions are both positive and negative of course. When the information tells us something that someone might not want to hear is where the problems lie.

Ben Elton’s latest TV offering ‘Live from Planet Earth’ received some poor reviews but it was the level of vitriol served up by ‘tweeters’ which got Ben and a number of media commentators quite wound up. Karl Quinn at theage.com.au was particularly incensed by the comments. It was the anonymous negative opinions being aired throughout the show which he called bullying. He quotes Matt Zoller Seitz in his article. “The protective force field of anonymity – or pseudonymity – brings out the worst in some people. They say things they would never say in the presence of flesh-and-blood human beings.” That may be true but as we’ve said, at least these opinions are honest and do not ‘sugar coat’ the truth.

It is not the anonymity of the tweeters which is the problem but the actual honesty of their opinions, (which is really what we want in the first place) that is upsetting Karl Quinn.

Twitter is now seen as an instantaneous, real-time yard stick to how a program is performing. If Ben Elton’s ‘Live from Planet Earth’ had been applauded and people loved it, would journalists have found the need to talk about how many tweeted their love for Ben Elton’s ‘best work ever’? Unlikely. Their honest anonymous opinions would have been seen as an indication of the triumphant creation of a brand new comedy hit but not something worthy of reporting.

Anonymity can help get the most out of a discussion when talking to someone and although honesty is crucial, when this honesty is not something that is particularly ‘rosy’ then this is just a fact that has to be lived with. Research is done for this very reason. If a new advertising campaign is terrible and never sees the light of day, it is because of the opinions and thoughts of focus groups, surveys and communities where these are first tested. If something rates poorly it is shelved. Just like Live from Planet Earth was in the end.

Generally at some point during an online community we ask the members to complete a ‘mission’ of some sort. Now these are usually fairly mundane to the casual observer, and members only get reimbursed for their outlay.

So I was thinking, hmmmm, can’t really imagine how many are actually going to bother. In today’s world isn’t it all about how much you can get for the least amount of effort? Well, at least it feels that way sometimes.

But not only did they ‘choose to accept’ their mission, but they did it with a gusto and a sense of fun and adventure that both surprised and delighted me. In fact I found myself laughing out loud repeatedly reading their ‘post mission reports’.

Their mission? Very benign. To buy a drink from a convenience store and take a photo of the display if they can. Look at ‘em go!

I have never had people in a focus group get so clearly involved and have so much fun participating in research. I can only think then that it’s the online space that has enabled members to free their inner secret agents! I can’t wait until the next one.

It has been a pretty hectic first month for me at Latitude Insights but what a blast it’s been. Already immersed in two very different communities it’s been great to learn and understand the various methods that make managing a community such a rewarding and valuable experience, not just for me but for our clients and members as well.

I have an online research background, so the idea of communicating with people via the Internet wasn’t new to me and is something I find very interesting. There is definitely a certain skill required to get the most out of people with whom you have no actual direct contact with but as people become more and more online savvy, the less noticeable the gap between online and offline communications continues to become. You may miss out on seeing how people express themselves physically but online I find that people are much more inclined to open up to you with information they may not usually share in a face to face environment.

Online communities evolve and run like any other community. There are leaders, there are followers and a mesh of relationships will build with time. What surprises me is just how quickly this happens. After the initial login, members introduce themselves and find common ground, as you would when you meet someone for the first time in real life. As a moderator, it’s a matter of using and nurturing these relationships in order to get participants talking with each other and also with me. Before long members are discussing and posting topics of their own such is the comfort that they have sharing information in the community. Communicating online is now no longer seen as scary or the domain of the IT geeks and as a result people are so much more comfortable engaging with others and meeting new friends. They help each other, they celebrate each other’s achievements and support each other through troubled times, just like a real community.

As a moderator I’ve learned that in the end I have to keep order but still don’t want to be the ‘tough guy’ who isn’t seen to have fun or have a personality and can be someone who members will want to chat and share their experiences with. How can I expect everyone in the community to share themselves if I’m not doing it myself?

I was used conducting focus groups with up to 8 participants at a time so have had to adjust to communities of over 100 running over a much longer time period. Sure, not everyone is talking at the same time but it really is great to see a larger group dynamic evolve to include me but also the experience of friendships grow and build.

Like the communities, I’m looking forward to growing and building upon my experience as time goes on.

The notion of the ‘virtual self’ is gaining momentum as more people take to creating an online personality. Whether people join social networks, game in virtual worlds or post on YouTube, the projection of ‘self’ into the digital space is a first for the human condition – hence the fascination of psychologists, sociologists and marketers alike.

But what compels us to form, build and maintain relationships with people we may not even know in the offline world? I believe it is largely the same reason we choose SMS over a phone call, an ATM over a teller and a community over a focus group. Control. Online we can minimalise the ‘not so nice’ side of interaction – embarrassment, judgment, confusion, and miscommunication. People have a certain degree of anonymity and influence over their engagement with others.

For researchers, Insights Communities provide the platform to allow people to express freely, minus the friction that can occur in real world interaction. However, as Community Mangers, we are often asked whether our samples are skewed towards those more technologically inclined. The answer is no. For most members, this is the first time that they have participated in an online network. It is not the technology that drives participants to online communities (or any social network), rather, it is the fundamental human instinct to express, create, and identify with each other. The ‘virtual self’ is another means in which to fulfill this need.