From print to pixel
When was the last time you read a physical magazine? As reported in our June 2002 issue, many back then doubted the convenience and popularity online magazines would have. According to “Online magazines gather dust, not readers,” covering a survey by InsightExpress, “Fast and free online magazines are not enough for Americans to sacrifice the convenience associated with traditional paper magazines…Publishers waiting for readers to change and opt for online over traditional magazines may be wasting their time.”
Thirty-two percent claimed to read any magazines online and respondents pointed to convenience (54%), a dislike of online banner ads, pop-ups and general distractions (47%) and eye strain (23%) as the reasons why they avoided them. While many respondents emphasized their disdain for digital, with 73% saying they would not forgo physical magazines for online magazines, even for half the price, many believed online versions offered more timely content (59%).
Did the internet change market data?
In “The value of market data: Does the internet change everything?,” Steven Heffner pointed to a problem he noticed: “The perceived value of information is falling rapidly because of the constantly rising tide of data available for free on the Internet,” he wrote, establishing that there was a major divide between reality and perception. While it is easy to find information on the internet, finding meaningful, reliable information is more labor- and skill-intensive. Heffner argued that some of the reasons for this are that “free” is a deceptive word, source reliability is a concern and that finding information may be simple but comprehending it is not.
Implications vs. recommendations
In the same issue, Jim Eschrich wrote about implications and recommendations within qualitative research findings. Two scenarios are established. In one, called Recommendations, all loose ends are tied and all questions have been answered, resulting in the client leaving with an action plan. In the other, called Implications, the questions have answers, but have prompted more questions and the client leaves with a depth of awareness as the research has “brought depth and light to an interesting subject.” Eschrich argues that while recommendations are alluring, implications are the most important product of qualitative research as well as a synthesis of the two.
Searching the symptoms
What is one of the first things you do when you start feeling sick? Look up the symptoms perhaps? A 2002 Survey Monitor titled “‘Cyberchondriacs’ number 110 million nationwide” dove into Harris Interactive’s survey results focusing on individuals who turned to the internet to find health care information. Eighty percent of all adults who were online would sometimes use the internet to look for health care information and, on average, they did so three times every month. Individuals were using established academic, governmental or pharmaceutical websites rather than using e-health sites.