I'm sharing some NextStage research long before it gets through our publication system because, quite frankly, I've been informed we have about three years of work just writing up our existing research. It'll be a while before this makes it to the surface, hence I'm sharing a "pre-publication" here. The research was simple and based on the simple statement, "Joe, you make the best pizza in the world."
No, really, this led to some fascinating findings about social networks and the concepts of local search. Lots of NextStage's research comes from hearing off-hand statements, the kind of statements that people make as if the statement was a universal truth, yet obviously can't be. These type of statements reveal a belief that can be tied to economic outcomes.
Here's how this one got started; I'm very well known for my homemade pizza. I make the shells, the sauce, everything. It's a day long affair and often people will come by early in the day to help in the preparations. Personally, I think that's part of the fun, the social aspect, kind of "eventing" pizza. Each time I make pizza, people say something like "You are a pizza god".
While this is no doubt true, it turned into a research project NextStage called "Pizza Wars". We set up local websites in different geographic locations where people could vote for the best local pizza. Next we extended the metaphor; how well does a Boston pizza shop compare against an Halifax pizza shop? A Toronto pizza shop against an Augusta pizza shop? Orlando and Seattle? San Francisco and Houston? New York and London? The goal was to learn how "local" local really was.
In other words, if I'm searching online for a local pizza shop, does that shop's "global" standing play a part in the decision process? Does receiving lots of votes demonstrate a "social" value that translates to economic value?
The answer is "Yes" and in ways that are amazing to behold. Amazing to me, anyway. Whenever there are results that are different from what we think they should be, we get excited. These results excited us greatly.
Please contact NextStage for information regarding presentations and trainings on this and other topics.
Upcoming Conferences:
- IMedia Brand Summit on 9-12 Sept 07
- XChange on 20-21 Sept 07
- DC Emetrics Summit on 14-17 Oct '07
- Society for New Communications Research Annual Research Symposium & Awards Gala on 5-6 Dec 07 in Boston.
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