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

1. flux:
ethnography and design
in a shifting landscape
Maria Bezaitis/Intel Corporation
David Hockney, 1986
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2. 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.
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3. A brief history
Phase 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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4. 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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5. idea 1:
social “flux” &
business innovation go together
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6. deeply personal values can change
1998
from consumption to production
from intimate and personal to social
your photographs are good enough for me
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7. user research = advocacy for real people
(companies need to do the advocating)
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8. “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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9. idea 2:
ownership models are in flux.
what’s “mine” is fungible.
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10. ownership is about the rights I believe
I have to objects in my possession.
East Pediment, Elgin Marbles, British Museum Denver Bike Sharing program
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11. 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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12. everyday entrepreneur:
personal interest & collective interest
desire to share
extremely adept at ecologies
premium on reputation
hackerspace
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13. 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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14. “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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15. idea 3:
“freely reveal” user & design research.
turn it into a public good.
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16. end
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17. “all that separates the gift from the
simple barter is the time delay between
the gift and the counter gift.”
[P. Bourdieu, 1972]
BARTER
1/1/11 1/5/11 1/10/11 1/20/11 2/1/11 2/10/11
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18. Presented at the International conference on
Qualitative Consumer Research & Insights
7 & 8 April 2011, Malta
For more information
Please visit: http://www.merlien.org
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