A few months ago I presented SoundRocket’s Guiding Principles on this blog. I promised these were a guide to practice here at SoundRocket, and that they would be continually evaluated and updated where appropriate. I also promised that I would dive into each principle in more depth in future posts. It is time that I do both.
With this post, I will tackle our first principle – Unity…
Has anyone else driven the long way to work just to catch a few minutes more of a really good podcast? I know, I could just sit in my car in the parking lot and finish it there, but that just feels weird.
Just a few years ago, I had not heard of podcasts…
Everyone has self-assessed at some point or another. Be it something formal with a Myers & Briggs inventory or a chat with a trusted friend or family member – we are driven to search for who we are. To some it comes easier than others. While I have always loved to self-assess, I have generally been shy…
In the recent conference proceedings of the 2016 Computer Human Interaction (CHI) Conference in Human Factors in Computing Systems, Geoff Kaufman and Mary Flanagan present an eye opening piece of research on the different reaction our brain has to content presented on digital vs. non-digital platforms.
Their work raises excellent questions…
In the Summer of 2004, I set out to carve a new path. I knew that I didn’t enjoy market research (or social science research within a market research firm). I missed academic social science research, but I wasn’t keen on returning to a purely academic environment. I took a leap of faith and quit my job with no plan. With two young kids, I would test out being a “full-time dad” for awhile, as I explored what options I had. I suspect I knew inside that I needed the urgency of not having a job to help me decide what was next.
I am grateful that…
Anyone who has been in the field of survey research knows how difficult it is to explain to friends and family what exactly it is we do. I have gotten so caught up with this question sometimes that I forget to consider why I do it – which in its own way helps answer the what question.
So here is why I do it:
When I think of innovation in survey research, I think of innovation in our “sister” field of land surveying. (A field I think of too often as I correct confused extended relatives about the type of surveys that I’m involved in.)
In 2600 B.C. Egypt, “rope stretchers” were some of the first land surveyors. They stretched rope to measure land distances. But rope had its flaws – it was often weak, stretched, expensive, and in large amounts could be very heavy. Small innovations took place…
Neuroscientists have demonstrated that if you ask yourself, “What am I grateful for?”, it will raise dopamine and serotonin in the brain, both of which help boost your mood when you feel down. You don’t even have to find something that you are grateful for…
It seems inevitable – when many of us are wearing devices like smart watches and step counters that can also monitor our heart rate and even track movement while we sleep, when will that technology cross over into survey research? It seems…