I am a heavy user of Facebook, I really like using it, getting back in touch with people I once knew, be in touch with family who are far away etc.
But there are a few things I have learnt about this big network we all have. It's a network of:
As design researchers, a few of us tried to leverage our Facebook network as a medium. But the success rate was terrible. Regardless of the frequency visits to your wall, very very few people respond.
We've have had better luck with LinkedIn (sometimes reaching out to people who we do not know personally) to do research. We were not attempting to research strictly professional/ business scenarios. The pilots were all directed at consumer research.
This is not about the tool themselves, rather how they are used. On one hand, they are a seemingly successful medium for social revolutions, on the other they can be very unresponsive to carry out any research - interesting.
But there are a few things I have learnt about this big network we all have. It's a network of:
- Shiny happy people - almost to the extent of being pretentious. It reminds me of the movie"Everybody says I'm fine."
- While you are connected, you are always at arms length...
- Apart from your usual close connections, the rest just exist. Any 'network' oriented collaboration besides the 'comment' or 'like' does not really work.
As design researchers, a few of us tried to leverage our Facebook network as a medium. But the success rate was terrible. Regardless of the frequency visits to your wall, very very few people respond.
We've have had better luck with LinkedIn (sometimes reaching out to people who we do not know personally) to do research. We were not attempting to research strictly professional/ business scenarios. The pilots were all directed at consumer research.
This is not about the tool themselves, rather how they are used. On one hand, they are a seemingly successful medium for social revolutions, on the other they can be very unresponsive to carry out any research - interesting.
