Observing Other Observations

This week have to comment on other students blogs from the previous week.  It was interesting to see what my other fellow bloggers had to say about qualitative research and their interpretation of how it is used in everyday life…

One blog that caught my attention was Kayla’s Blog on fashion.  She discusses the different ways designers such as Michael Kors and department store Bloomingdales decide on what is going to be the “it fashion” for this season and how they determine what methods are best to reach consumers.  Kayla explains that through qualitative research fashion designers observe perceptions and attitudes of people in their natural environments.  It was interesting to read Kayla’s blog because it was very similar to the one I wrote about Tommy Hilfiger.  It is an attention-grabbing idea to think that the clothes, jewelry, shoes and accessories we wear were all brainstormed and designed through designers using their sensory intuitions and observations in how people shop and what they are shopping for.  Every season a new line of fashion merchandise appears on the floors of stores across the world.  Each of these products was carefully discussed and thought out as a result of qualitative research. 

The other blog I looked at was Brittany’s.  She had a very similar concept as Kayla in that fashion is extremely qualitative and is the result of designers observing what is around them and making them into beautiful cloth creations.  Brittany quotes “every element of fashion represents a certain attitude, period of time or personality.  Every day we observe these elements of fashion through street fashion.”    I really liked her connection to Elle Magazine and how they photograph “street chic” photos of woman everyday and then give comments and observations. As she mentioned, Elle is an extremely well reputable fashion magazine and the fact that they are using qualitative observation show how important and popular it is. This idea is very compelling because when working in Manhattan this past summer I was the one walking down the streets observing what the people on Park and Fifth Avenue were wearing and tried to make it my own by using their ideas.  Fashion is something that everyone observes and interprets for themselves, and whether they want to believe it or not is interpreted through qualitative observation.  Brittany also discusses how runway shows are now using street inspiration for their lines in hopes to relate with the consumer on a different level with hopes that their products will be more appealing and personal.  Just by making a few simple observations, you are gaining insight into those girls’ attitude, behavior, values, culture and lifestyle.

Qualitative Research

As one of today’s top designers in the world of fashion, Tommy Hilfiger has seen and done it all.   Celebrating 25 years of his namesake brand this fall, Hilfiger is currently marketing his 25 year celebration with a flashy show during Fashion Week including tailgate parties and anniversary products.  Although throwing a tailgate may been seen as unprofessional or somewhat obnoxious for someone of his age and fashion standing, Hilfiger has always been one to step outside the box and deliver on many different levels. 

When working in the world of fashion you must always be on top of your game and be one step ahead of the other designers.  Hilfiger is one designer that has always had that extra flare and edge which has made him one of the most well known designers today.  As a designer you are constantly taking ideas from your surroundings pulling what you see, hear, feel, taste and smell and turning it into the next “it” style.  This kind of research is called qualitative observation.  Whether he was aware of it or not Hilfiger has been using qualitative observation for years by using his senses and channeling them into works of clothing. 

  “I wanted to build a business around all this pop culture” said Hilfiger at his fashion show back in September.  To do this Hilfiger gets inspiration from movies, music, celebrities and art and uses them to thread together different signature looks.  These looks have evolved through hippy, preppy, Americana and glitzy glam.  Because he has been in the business for so long he has had influence from different pop icons such as The Beatles to Beyonce to work off of and use their zest and flare and use it in his fashion creations. 

By constantly changing, embellishing and flaring up his different clothing lines Hilfiger is continuously using qualitative observation for motivation and inspiration towards his new designs.  Because he is constantly observing the world he has a basic understanding of human nature which involves change and innovation.  By pulling what is going on in the world of music, movies, television and pop culture Hilfiger has been able to keep his brand well recognized and reputable. 

Unobtrusive Research In Everyday Life

Since we have learned about unobtrusive research it has been brought to my attention that it is more used that one might realize.  After looking through my classmates blogs it was interesting to see the different ways they came up with in which unobtrusive research is used in everyday life. 

When looking at Fran’s blog it opened up my eyes into realizing that we could use unobtrusive research through Facebook and Twitter almost every day if we wanted to.  Celebrities are constantly informing us of their whereabouts and their favorite places to be and favorite “it” designers.  Not only does this give you a small dose of what life would be in the fab lane, but it also allows you to gain a new level of knowledge of what celebrities are up to and what products they are using.  This kind of unobtrusive research is most interesting to me because it allows me to stalk my favorite celebrities while at the same time learning what the latest up to date trends are through constant updated research. 

The other blog I looked at was Brittany’s.  In her blog she discusses the unobtrusive research that Pandora uses to ensure satisfied listeners and fans.   When using Pandora you are able to have different artist and genre playlists and through unobtrusive research the website puts together a list of songs they think you would like off of the artist you chose to begin with.  Not only can Pandora put together lists of songs they things you would be interested in, but if you are connected to Facebook, Pandora can tell you which of your friends like a certain artist in hopes that it gains your interest as well.  This is the newest aspect of Pandora which also uses unobtrusive research. 

Little did we know when starting up with this subject, that it is used in almost all of our social media.   By just scrolling through Pandora, Twitter or Facebook you are able to gain so much research knowledge on your friends, celebrities and musical preferences. 

The Social Network

Being noted as the brilliant movie that defines the decade The Social Network is a new drama film that takes you on the journey about the founding of the internet social networking website Facebook.  Facebook is a worldwide phenomenon that is a quick and easy way to have instant communication, photos, videos and status updates with friends, peers, colleagues and family members.  The Social Network shows you how this popular social network came into action and the different highs and lows of friendship and money. 

After getting dumped by his girlfriend Mark Zuckerberg , a student at Harvard University comes up with an idea to make a website rating the attractiveness of female Harvard undergrads.  After hacking into the schools database of various dorms and using different algorithms he creates a page called FaceMash which is an instant hit with over 22,000 views in just 24 hours.   Zuckenberg is then approached with an idea to have a site for all of Harvard where you would be able to see a profile of information on other students.  To Zuckenberg, this idea is just a draft for his huge master plan. 

After careful research and analysis Zuckenberg realizes that as students we have a constant urge to feel connected and up-to-date with our friends.  Because he was able to see the instant success of FaceMash he used more complex algorithms to make it so you could see pictures, status updates, videos, background information and the ability to send a public message on a friend’s wall. 

The website exploded and currently has over 500 million users from all around the world. 

Facebook has met with some controversy along the way.  It has been blocked intermittently in several countries including Pakistan, Syria, The People’s Republic of China, Vietnam and North Korea.  There were also problems with the website with claims that Zuckerberg stole the idea from Harvard Crew rowers who had approached him with a similar idea a few weeks before Facebook launched. 

Although Zuckerberg did not realize it at the time he was using research in an unobtrusive way.  He took the concept of FaceMash and saw what a huge success it was and used its success as a way to drive another experiment.  He saw that people loved being able to see pictures and feeling connected with friends.  Each week Facebook would expand because of his unobtrusive research.  Without him asking other students he was able to amplify by adding different applications and fields.  Zuckerberg was not directly asking for advice and was not intruding on Facebook followers asking what they liked or did not like, he was able observe and expand his network by observations and indirect measures.  

With a 50 million dollar budget The Social Network has gross over 24 million dollars in just one week of its release.  Review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes reports that 97% of critics have given the film a positive review with an average score of 9.1 out of 10.  Back in January a study was done by Compete.com showing that Facebook was the number two most popular site in the United States under Yahoo.com