Are The Kids Alright?
I was chatting to Katie Harris and Ray Poynter yesterday and Ray raised an interesting question. There’s a lot of talk about the future of research right now: a general sense that the industry is at a crossroads, even if people disagree on what the different signposts point to. But what’s noticeable is that most of the people talking about this stuff are, frankly, not the future of research. They’re its present, people who’ve been in the industry for a decade or two, conference veterans, agency CEOs. Nothing wrong with that - these are exactly the people we want to be pushing the industry forward. But as Ray pointed out, there’s a lack of younger voices in these conversations. Not a total lack - I did say “most” - but a lack nonetheless.
Why might that be? Here are some back of an envelope ideas, though I’d love to hear your suggestions:
We’re wrong: There are lots of younger people having exciting discussions in public on the future of market research, but they’re not happening in the blogs, LinkedIn Groups, or Twitter networks we’re building. Or they are and we’re just not paying them due attention. This would be a great thing to find out but my hunch is it’s not true.
They don’t feel empowered to contribute: MR can be a hierarchical industry, and especially if you aren’t part of industry bodies or a regular conference attendee it’s easy to feel left out. This is exactly the kind of situation social media is meant to alleviate by removing barriers to entry into a conversation: but if the really important conversations are still happening in the established networks that won’t matter.
They have nothing to say: It’s true that research is a business where experience matters. If you’ve run 1,000 groups you most likely know more about consumers than if you’ve run 0. But new voices - especially in the digital area - are crucial too as a source of disruptive and fresh thinking.
They’re too busy doing amazing stuff: One possibility is that 20something researchers are getting on with building the insight platforms of the future, rather than talking about the state of the industry. If true, this would be awesome. A related possibility is that the 20somethings with an interest in consumer insight wouldn’t touch the research industry with a bargepole. After all, Mark Zuckerberg is still in his 20s!
They’re too busy doing boring stuff: It’s also possible that 20something researchers are being mechanised by the routines, crushing deadlines and donkey work of the research industry and simply don’t have time for much of a “big picture” opinion, let alone cool new ideas. If true, this would not be awesome.
Am I missing anything? Part of the power of social media is its ability to create new networks from the bottom up - so why aren’t the junior levels of the research biz better represented?
