Filed under: research
For a pilot study of my research question, I conducted a few one-on-one interviews to get a sense of how a few music lovers I know interact with Myspace. The questioning went entirely differently than planned, and was discouraging for my initial hypothesis. At the same time, the interviews were very encouraging because they did reinforce the idea that Myspace plays a central role in the exploration for new music among, at least, the few people I interviewed.
These interviews were largely open-ended that followed only a loose framework, but largely mirrored something more closely resembling a conversation than a structured interview. There were a few broad questions that I asked consistently, such as “what do you do when you open a band’s Myspace page?” and “do you use Myspace as a main vehicle to discover new music?” However, these questions were merely conversation starters.
The interviews lasted anywhere from ten minutes to forty-five minutes. They could be shorter or longer depending on how much a potential interviewee had to say. Sometimes I would ask suppositional questions, sometimes open-ended, and sometimes yes or no. The suppositional questions allowed me to create hypothetical situations to gauge responses. I believe that this is not an ideal way to gather this information, and I will try to actually observe some subjects as they actually interact with Myspace to see if I might avoid implanting unlikely scenarios into the heads of users.
Overall I was surprised by the diversity of answers I received. In fact, so far not one person has given the same kind of weight to the various aspects of a Myspace page as anybody else, except for the core aspect: music. All respondents gave music the top priority in judging a band. Other factors included: background design, show schedule, headline, number, nature, and quality of comments, daily song plays, and top 8 friends.
So far, no attention or importance has been given to: total song plays, profile views, or total number of friends. In my opinion, the “conversation” approach seems to work well, although I will be interested to see what might come from group interviews and individual observation.
Since this study is being designed for bands to design their pages, I will also try to interview various industry people to get their various opinions.
Filed under: Responsive or not...
Brenda Laurel’s explorations of her career path, value choices, and “culture work” reached out to me in an uncomfortably pervasive way. Never have I read a book that seemed so personal, yet so professional. In fact, I have never thought about professionalism in such a personal way.
The reason why this book touched me so profoundly (and I am still wrapping my head around this) is due in major part to Laurel’s readiness to assume the social responsibility of her profession (something I think the field of design could benefit more from), and her stark defense of her values as they were incorporated in her work.
While embracing failure on a professional level, Laurel never concedes victory on a social level. Her experiences with Purple Moon show that, while failing her specific business context, positive social values are not necessarily a counterweight to capitalist endeavors.
A passage on page ten struck me as particularly jarring. Laurel struggles to end her identity as an artist and political activist. I certainly understand the transition for the purposes of soothing weary investors. However, I think that in the end, Laurel did little to shed the identity. She may have called it another thing, but to find another path around what is already considered safe in order to meet similar ends (in this case, profit) is at the heart of political activism, and art as well. Artists struggle to find new means of expressing a new nuance of a familiar emotion. Activists struggle to find a new means of conducting society to attain the familiar goal of successful and effective government.
Perhaps I am just too starry-eyed and immature to give up that aspect of my identity. Or perhaps people like Laurel have laid the framework so that individuals like myself may not have to surrender it at all.
Filed under: research
Statement of research topic
I will take an in depth look at how fans judge and view a given bands MySpace page, focusing almost entirely, if not entirely, on independent bands.
Research question:
How can bands optimize their MySpace pages (often referred to here as simply a “page” or a “band page”) to maximize fans? What kind of interface would be best suited to helping those bands? How do fans judge a band’s page? Does a potential fan base his/her opinion entirely on the sound of the music, or do other factors count such as: # of song plays, # of profile views, # of song plays today, nature of comments left on comment board?
Why is this important?
In light of technological developments over the last decade or two, many bands are trying become professional purely by “independent” means, that is without the help of a record label. Many of those bands, while perhaps talented, may have trouble acquiring new fans only due to a lack of marketing knowledge.
This research assumes that MySpace is at the forefront of a band’s potential for marketing success or failure. This assumption was based on conversations with numerous industry professionals and the conclusions of a number of articles that will be used as references. Regardless of the extent of truth the assumption made, it is not debatable that many bands treat MySpace as such, and would benefit from an easy way to optimize their page, and for answers to questions they simply do not have the means to answer themselves.
The results of this qualitative research could be applied to the development of a product that would help bands optimize their MySpace pages, and allow a more effective marketing plan to be shaped. This research is likely to revolve around the L.A. area, in which case I will amend the questions to reflect that limitation, although there is a good chance of conducting research in several other cities.
Research methods for preliminary field research
Ethnographic Research
To answer my research question I will need to conduct immersive ethnographic research on fans. Attending a show is a social event, and so performing research that is social by nature seems more likely to produce authentic results for this aspect. Also, one intended consequence of this product would be to encourage more people to act like the people I am interviewing, and so it seems appropriate to get an idea of what these show-goers are like. To do this I will attend several music shows and talk to fans waiting in line before the show, during the show, and after the show. The goal of the research is to find a way for bands to discover and maintain an active fan base that will attend shows. Thus, this aspect of the research is intended to find people who are interested in live music and see what attracts them to shows.
Another goal will be to see what motivations drive a fan to discover more about a band, and perhaps make merchandise purchases such as stickers, t-shirts, and records, and see if any correlation can be drawn between those actions and the design of a given band’s page.
This aspect of the research will be filmed as much as possible, photographed when filming is prohibitive, or otherwise documented when the former means are unavailable or not allowed.
Group interviews
Bands must also be involved in the research process, as they will be actually interfacing with the product. This method is autochthonous to this aspect of the research because gathering information from the band as a whole will reflect the dynamic that the band follows, and thus will more likely reflect the user-behavior of the band.
I will conduct interviews with several bands across several genres to see if:
a.) any differences exist across genres
b.) if bands would be willing to pay for such a service or
c.) if advertising might be an effective source of revenue from the product, which would lead to the need for finding…
d.)certain types of bands are more interested in optimizing their band page than others.
I will conduct group interviews, filmed when possible. I will also be corresponding with some bands via electronic means such as email and MySpace to follow up on interviews, establish new relationships, and, in the case of MySpace correspondence, see how their opinions are reflected on their band page, if at all. These correspondences will be recorded and included in the research.
Surveys
I will harness the power of MySpace bulletins, blogs, and the relationships I have forged with certain bands to create and send out a survey to MySpace users asking them how they interact with a band’s page. This method is organic to the MySpace experience, as demonstrated by the very existence of the MySpace bulletin and the blog. Social forums are an effective way to gather information in a social setting, and these methods will allow users to give their opinions in the private anonymousness that MySpace affords, or in the public space that MySpace boasts. The more public blog will allow users to argue or collaborate, giving me a better sense of the dynamics at work. Meanwhile, the bulletin will give users a chance to give intimate details about their opinions without fear of being disagreed with.
The goal of this part of the research process is to get the perspective of another type of fan: the internet user. Since products such as iTunes give bands a direct platform to sell their music online, this user is potentially very meaningful to a band even though they may never attend a show.
Many questions arise when considering the difference between internet-only users and avid show-goers, which could provide for meaningful design problems in the final product. One such question would look at the differences in appeal from show-goers to internet-only users, such as does one prefer a polished look while the other prefer a more raw look? These results will be compared and contrasted to decide if a design solution could attempt to serve both types of users, if bands would have to choose what kind of user they want to emphasize, or perhaps an unknown third option.
