Blog 3 - Current Topic Report Idea - Due 21-Feb

I want you to use this next blog as an opportunity for you to explore your paper topic. This is not a final contract on your topic - you can certainly change your topic after you write this. The whole point of this blog is to explore the topic enough so that you and I feel comfortable about your ability to create a full paper out of it. Here is what I would like to see included:

- Idea for the topic, fleshed out as much as possible - this can also include all the questions you have about the topic at this point. Use the blog as a brainstorming session for yourself to get your ideas out there and make this a first attempt at organizing your thoughts around the topic.

- Why is this topic interesting to you? Remember: this is a big goal for the assignment!

- What is the connection to the gathering and identification of customer insights, the design of valuable customer experiences, and/or the design thinking process? (at least, as you see it right now)

- Cite and briefly describe at least one article that is related to your topic (this can be either an academic article or trade article, at this point). Do your best to find an article that might be a central source or guidepost for your paper.

Do not forget the minimum length guidelines. Also, try NOT to write in sentence fragments, although a list here and there is fine.

I will be reading all of these posts so that I can provide feedback on what you have thus far.

Someone asked me for example topics, so I thought I would post the ones I provided for all of you to see.  Please keep in mind that the goal of this paper is for you to choose something YOU are interested in rather than choosing a topic that would really be of interest to someone else.

"Hispanics as Early Tablet Adopters: What does this mean for technology companies in the future?"

"The Modern Man, Post-Divorce"

"Take a Shot: Using Design Thinking to Develop a New Bar Concept"

"Using Augmented Reality to Create Enriching Customer Experiences"

"Who Will Win: Apple, Google, Facebook, or Amazon?"

"Rise of Collaborative Consumption and Its Relevance to Our Startup"

Have fun with it!

Blog 2 - Generative Research Design - Due 14-Feb

This one snuck up on me, somehow, so I am going to push the due date back just a bit to Feb 14.

For this one, I'd like you to get some experience with a couple of tasks that we'll review in class as examples of generative research.  Blogger will only allow me to upload images, so I am going to add these tasks as a PowerPoint file to Blackboard under Course Documents/Blog Materials, in case you prefer to work with an electronic copy.  If you can, please save whatever you do as an image file (i.e., take a picture or complete it electronically) and upload it to your blog.  If you need to bring a physical copy, please speak with Allison about that.  The writing length guidelines for this one will not be as strictly applied - we will be judging effort based on the instructions provided below.

1.  Close to You
There are 2 concentric circles on the page.  First, identify the "stuff" you can not live without (5-6 items should be good).  This "stuff" can truly be anything that comes to mind.  If you can, take a photograph of the item or, if a photograph isn't possible, then feel free to capture an image from the web, draw a representation of it, or, as a last resort, just type it/write it down on the page.  Place of these artifacts in the inner circle, closest to the icon of a person. 
In the outer circle, identify the stuff (again, 5 or 6 items) that you care about but may not rise to the level of "can't live without" and do the same thing (photograph, image, drawing, or type/write). 
In addition to what you placed in the circles, please give a very brief description of the item, if it's not obvious, and provide a VERY brief reason for why you either can't live without it or care about it so much.  You do not have to do this for every item, just the 2 or 3 in each circle that you want to tell us more about.

2.  Digital Ecosystem
For this exercise, we would like to understand your digital or online world, especially in terms of how you receive news, information, updates, and other content.  Please indicate which of these digital and online sources you commonly use to get news, information, updates, or other content by drawing a line from the appropriate circle to the image of the person in the center. 
Next, if there are any sources that you use a lot more frequently than the others, please draw a second line from the appropriate circle to the image of the person in the center.
If you use something that you believe does not fit well in the categories provided, describe what that is and how you use it in one of the corners of the document. 
Finally, for the 2 or 3 you use most often, please explain for what, how, and/or why you use that source.

3.  Typical Weekday
Using the timeline towards the bottom half of the page, divide up your day from when you wake up until you go to sleep.  Please draw small lines intersecting this timeline at points where you transition from one part of your day to the next and please write some very brief description of that part of the day just above or right on the timeline.
Next, browse through the categories of information/content that we have provided in the top half of the page and, for the information that you might receive or access during a typical weekday, draw a line from that category box to the appropriate place on the timeline for when you receive or access it.  If it makes it more visually clear which content you are drawing from, then circle or highlight the box - if it does not help, don't worry about doing that.
Finally, look across your timeline and see if there are any parts of you day during which you seem to access a bit more information categories and, just below the timeline for that part of the day, provide a brief description of what is going on that time of day and why you are more likely to access this information then.  If there is anything else about your timeline and information accessed that you would like to describe, also provide that just below the timeline in the most appropriate place.