Saturday, October 25, 2008
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About this site
- Siamack Salari
- Brussels, Belgium
- My name is Siamack Salari and I am a partner at www.ethosapp.com. I am also the President of the Mobile Marketing Research Association (http://www.mmra-global.org/). This is a sister site to my Linked in Group which is also called, Ethnosnacker (www.linkedin.com/e/gis/129888). I created, ethnosnacker to stimulate much needed debate about what commercial ethnographic research is, isn't and should be. I also use this site to share my day-to-day experience of managing a mobile ethnographic research platform (www.ethosapp.com). I want this blog to serve as a single 'place' for all of us who have any interest at all in adding meaning to observations of every day life to 'meet', share and exchange ideas, knowledge and news. Feel free to contact me at siamack(at)ethosapp(dot)com with articles, comments, suggestions and ideas to make this resource as useful as possible. Thank you for visiting.
I find it interesting that an academic would automatically consider that ethnography would "exploit" a class of people because of the findings. This seems to be the common reaction by this profession that anything other than a academic use of the information is some way makes someone a bucket of money at the expense of the consumer.
ReplyDeleteSo let me pose a different question: when ethnographic research fuels insights that contribute to product design improvements that improves the quality of life of the end user how does the academic fraternity see this? Opps! The poor people have been exploited again. ???
Perhaps any contribution is just design and no amount (zero) of applied anthropology can do anything to inform or contextualize opportunities for new developments that have meaningful benefits?
Perhaps a more candid question is “how might academics allow themselves to walk the path in between theory and applied anthropology”?
Is the notion of research results that inform context around a human problem really aiding and abetting?
This interview suggests there is only a polarization – this interview seems to imply that ethnography is either purely academic or it is a criminal offence to humanity?
WOW. How is it then that many anthropologists complain that leaders in industry don’t understand anthropology or see the value in their work.
A bit more introspection please!