Expectations for Tuesday: each team talks to FOUR people from your city

Hi guys,

We spent today going through the product itinerary, talking about how small differences in breakfast choices, practices, and objects (foods, packaging, delivery modalities, and the mental models of what counts as bread, breakfast, toast, etc) can be quite important.  Small differences can make a big difference.

We messed with the example of Panasonic in China.  And we watched a video about New York (okay I know its not a foreign country but to me it feels like a different world!)--in which a company wants to understand who buys home improvement/maintenance things, and what people do with them, how they transport them, who and what and when and even why those products are used in context.  This information is critical to designing products, retail experiences, and marketing plans.

So: now to your projects.  On Tuesday, each group will report on WHAT THEY LEARNED from four people.  The point is to try to find four people to talk to who are

• from your city, or if you can't find them, nearby
• they can be former or current residents
•  talking to them may mean exchanging text messages or even an email
• if you CANT reach anyone at all, call me or email me.  If you can only get two out of four that's not so bad, but be able to tell me what you learned in the process of NOT finding them.  (This is also data, that can tell you something about how to approach people)
•  Expect to be told "no thank you."  Consider your approach.  If you really want to learn about a town, then people are likely to open up.  Think about what you can offer in return: pictures or stories about your own life?  Offers of lunch and a beer when someone comes for a visit?  BE creative

How to get in touch?  Try these:
• Call the embassy.  There should be a trade attache, or a cultural attache.  In the case of China, there should be a local tourism office, a local "find outside business investors" office where people speak English.  In the case of China, there are QQ groups for people learning English.  And there are blogs.  Use Google Translate to try to find people there.  Special interest groups (sports, sexuality, dating, business, travel) have social networking sites: try them out, see who you can meet).
 •  Facebook may not exist in China, but Chinese people in the USA use it and they have friends in China.  Same thing for Pondy (try Orkut for India).  Network.  Reach out.
• What about the international student office on campus?  Anyone from Cameroon?  Plenty of people from China: who is from Changsha?  Sardinia?  Southern Italy?  You get the idea.

The reports you make should walk through what you learned about the product itinerary for the product or service you have in mind.  If its a computer, where do people buy them now?  What is associated with them (other objects, tools, services) who does the buying, and when?  How are things shipped, unpacked used?  Walk through as much of the itinerary as you can get your hands on.  Websites like Picasa and Flickr may have some clues.  

If you get stuck, call me.  In some ways, this is an experiment and a difficult one.  Try your best!

Ken

PS: If you have not read the China piece on Panasonic, please do.  I'll have some additional readings for you posted tonight.  But not a lot. I want you to be finding four people to talk to!