However, as people become comfortable with sharing more and more of their lives online, it's becoming a very interesting place to get a feel for what people are thinking and doing. People are using blogging tools and media uploading tools to help them get a better understanding of their consumers and these are often richer and more insightful than the typical focus group.
With 2.0 technologies, all this only going to improve.
One example I really like is Noah Brier's Brand Tagging project. This simple application that allows people to enter words they associate with specific brands

and see the results from others.

What I like here is that the tool employs some good thinking. It feels more like play, than research. It doesn't take a lot of time and who doesn't want to be rewarded after they've contributed by seeing everyone's results.
Obviously, Brand Tagging isn't going to replace anything fast, but it illustrates the power of a relatively simple and low cost tool to generate some useful insight.
It would be great to hear of more examples of this type of thing
Posted by Ed Cotton
Keep Simple, Add a Little Bit of Specific
I went through the process and I have to say that what I enjoyed the most was not having to register. I would love to see this tool keep it's simplicity while getting a little more insight. I find my thinking to be random sometimes and the first word that comes to my head many times has nothing to do with what I am asked. I think that this tool can have variations that are still simple, but more specific.
Posted by Tyler McBride on 05/13/2008 06:37 PM
I went through the process and I have to say that what I enjoyed the most was not having to register. I would love to see this tool keep it's simplicity while getting a little more insight. I find my thinking to be random sometimes and the first word that comes to my head many times has nothing to do with what I am asked. I think that this tool can have variations that are still simple, but more specific.
It appears you don't have Flash installed.

This is such a great reality check for brand owners and their consultants; of course you can't please all the people all the time, but your run a great risk when you don't hear or listen to your brand's naysayers...