The story in a nutshell
We held a pilot MRS Book Club (post my session at the MRS Conference back in March) on Thursday 25th August. Everyone was asked to bring along a book, an article, a blog or even just a thought to introduce to the group in a minute or so. We then followed the themes – spending time chatting about each one in turn and some more than others. As a first attempt I think it went pretty well and am gathering feedback so we can explore the best format if the Book Club goes ‘live’. And in the meantime, keep reading!
The cast
Chloe Fowler, Rachel Simmons, Amelie Truffert, Tom Morgan, Claire Webster, Razor Research (helped by the fact it took place under the office!)
John Griffiths, Spring Research
Caroline Hayter Whitehill, Acacia Avenue
Kate McEnery-Evans, Discovery Research
Ed Nash, TNS
Rose van Orden, BBC
Rachel Boyd, Sainsbury’s
Payam Ghamsari, Four Eyes Research
Tom Woodnutt, Conversation strategist
Chapter 1
Tom M kicked off by talking topicality. He wanted to tell us about an article in The Economist (http://www.economist.com/blogs/bagehot/2011/08/civil-disorder-and-looting-hits-britain-0) that looked at how different media sources reported on and analysed the recent riots. We talked about the Left and the Right presented their different reasons for the riots…and then he talked about Russell Brand’s article in the Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/aug/11/london-riots-davidcameron) – and we were only temporarily thrown off course by whether or not we thought he was sexy (or maybe that was just in my head). We agreed on the fact that he was smarter, and more articulate, than you might think. Finally, we talked about an article in www.media-awareness.ca charting the rise of the Tweens category and the jump between The Lion King and looting (http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/parents/marketing/issues_teens_marketing.cfm). What implications might this have on how we recruit tweens in research? What duty do we have as researchers to stand up for the ethics of the research we might do WITH teens and tweens?
Caroline sparked off a conversation about reading per se: how do we read and what are we reading? And if we’re not sure what to read, she told us to check out an App called Kevin Duncan’s Greatest Hits, (http://www.expertadviceonline.com/greatesthits.htm.) Handy one liners that have done the hard work for you…and then she threw in a recommendation for www.tomfishburne.com, a marketoonist (see below). A prize for the first one of us that puts a cartoon in a debrief?
So back to how we read. Are we dippers and skimmers or analysts with highlighters? Do we e-read or paperback? Annotate or re-read? Do we read to form our opinions or do we read to ‘borrow’ from others? And isn’t the analysis of the analysis just as interesting as where we started? We talked about sites like www.reference-tree.com (Tom W) from which students can buy textbooks by the chapter or www.getabstract.com (Rose) a library of business book summaries. Nifty. All this swiftly and neatly followed by the perfect example of a dip and skim as Kate introduced us to The Big Moo, by the Group of 33, edited by Seth Godin. A compilation of fables, aphorisms and parables by the likes of Malcolm Gladwell. It’s a book that can help you be more remarkable which frankly – I could do with. So dip in or you’re a big moo.
Rose fessed up that she gets seduced by the big ideas…finding herself dropping in references for months at a time before moving on to the next one. And then chucked a question back at us…her current phase is a fascination with Russia and China – China especially and wanted some recommendations for what books should be on her reading list.
And then it was John’s (first) turn and I tried to write it down but I might not have captured it all, surprise surprise. He talked about his quest to establish the Cloud of Knowing at the same time as write 2-3 reviews a month in his blog – but I reminded him that his memory is prodigious so his well-stocked mind is a genuine trove. Whereas mine is more like half a tube of tomato puree. Caroline introduced the best word of the morning – dilettante – and we talked about knowing a bit about everything was the bomb or whether magpies were better. Which are you?
Tom W brought us back to order with an introduction to Listen First! By Stephen Rappaport, who rather handily also has a blog (http://listenfirst.buildcapacity.com/about-2/). So I guess we should read first and listen second. He described it as a nifty tour through the world of social media and marketing – offering case studies of best practice and how to ‘turn conversations to business advantage’. Published by the Advertising Research Foundation – one of the books that’s NOT half-baked but the full loaf.
From the sublime to the not-as-ridiculous-as-you-think, Ed told us about www.pottermore.com – a unique site developed by J.K. Rowling that the cynics would suggest is a way of monetising her e-books without the need for a publisher or retailer (take that Kindle) but you could more generously suggest offers a fascinating case study into the brave new world of the e-reader. John chipped in with a recommendation for Wizard!: Harry Potter’s Brand Magic by Stephen Brown – an exploration of just what it says on the tin.
Rachel brought us back from Hogwarts and into the class room with her reminder of the online (and offline) debates raging about the issues of privacy and e-ethnography. It’s important and we should be engaging with it – and for those who need to bone up, check out our very own Research Live for a few recent blogs and articles: http://www.research-live.com/genning-up-on-the-big-data-privacy-debate/4005855.blog and http://www.research-live.com/features/time-to-rewrite-the-rules-of-research?/4005880.article.
Payam shared an article about the phenomenon of what creates value and the perception of value and recommended we read the following article about the recent rush to purchase of a discontinued Tablet. http://thisismynext.com/2011/08/22/hp-touchpad-99-in-your-words/.
Claire is reading Consumerology: The Market Research Myth, the truth about consumers and the psychology of shopping by Philip Graves. It’s lucky we were running out of time because even as she started telling us about it I could tell the mood was getting heated – he appears to not like what we do very much. To be continued…
We didn’t get around to my book but I was going to talk about No Angels: my undercover journey to the dark heart of the Hell’s Angels by Jay Dobyns because I like the title. I was going to talk about ethnography and just how close is close?
And finally, the last word to John who is perhaps the best read, or at least the one with the best memory. Do you know what psychogeography is? No, Neither did I. He’s reading Psychogeography by Melvin Coverley and for fear of ballsing it up, it’s defined in a nutshell by Guy Debord (thanks Wikipedia) as “the study of the precise laws and specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organized or not, on the emotions and behavior of individuals.”
And that, dear readers, is the end.
Well nearly…so what next?
This was a pilot and it’s down to the people who came along (and the MRS) to help decide whether it should be a more permanent fixture or not. I know we were pressed for time and that we could have talked for longer about loads of these themes. I loved the serendipity of subjects and the myriad of new reading choices, but we will need to strike a balance between eclecticism and ‘education’ as we move forward. We’ll talk about and think about how to revise the format and keep you posted. But most of all, it was a rare treat to spend 90 minutes with such a great bunch of varied colleagues (and clients) and with that I’m straight off down the Amazon.
Chloe
