emotional datahipsters, human beings and mapping of taste

data

I’m honored to kick off this bootcamp with an awesomely touchy-feely look at data and marketing. Methinks this is exactly what we need to wake up and start up the day right. Many people think that data is a pretty logical, neutral thing. And sure, in its raw form, it is. There are no value judgements and nothing really human about it...right? Well, data outside of being attached to context and human beings is actually kind of boring and not incredibly useful. In the world of marketing, that context is EVERYTHING.

everyone lik, to hate on hipsters

Let’s start by talking about hipsters. Seems that EVERYONE, including hipsters themselves according to recent research published in Pyschology Today, hates hipsters. In fact...

there is a great deal of valuable data infographic time and talent put into the unpacking of hipster culture in a way that allows us to collectively hate them on timelines, sliding scales and in venn diagrams.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/poptartjen/4176952513

And it isn’t just the hipsters that are targeted here. Products that REPRESENT hipster culture, such as skinny jeans, have become a target of wrath. Signs proclaiming ‘Skinny Jean Free Zone’ pop up all around North America, signaling to hipsters that they and their denim cut of choice are not welcome.

why not bell-bottoms?straight leg?

boot cut?

But how did something so innocuous as a pair of pants that are tightly fit to the wearer become associated with hipster culture? There are so many different cuts of jeans these days - not to mention colors and washes - why not bell bottoms? Straight leg? Boot cut?

other stuff hipsters heart• sriracha

• PBR (pabst blue ribbon)

• mustaches & beards

• trucker hats

• ironic tees

• old skool pumas/vans + Toms shoes

• unflattering gianormous retro glasses

• kanye west

• indie bands you’ve never heard of + anything that Pitchfork says to love

• Iceland

And the jeans are just the tip of the iceberg! There are all sorts of products out there that are in danger of being stigmatized through their association with hipsters. Everything from food and beverages like sriracha - a tasty, spicy sauce that can be pretty much paired with everything - and PBR....to facial hair and fashion to musical artists and even a COUNTRY! Egad, it seems to me that these poor, doomed products were just sitting around minding their own business, playing it cool. And they caught the attention of a group of people who would simultaneously make and break them due to high emotional tensions. So sad. Like Iceland needs any more trouble, right?

signalslet’s talk about

But joking aside, let’s talk about signals. The stuff behind the scenes that leads to the creation of the context around these ostensibly neutral products that are the outputs of real human beings when they make a choice.

location connections

short posts posts

questions/answersphotos

life logging

food

This is not news - or if it is, it’s a good thing you are here! - but we are posting a LOT of content to the web in highly public ways. Where we are going, where we are, what we are doing, who we’re with, what we’re wondering and even what we are eating.

“t3te-signaling”“Many products are signals first and material

objects second.” Geoffrey Miller

This is what Geoffrey Miller writes about in his fantastic book, Spent: Sex Evolution and Consumer Behavior and many other evolutionary psychologists have been working on since the 60’s: Taste Signaling. Miller says that ‘many products are signals first and material objects second.’ Let me repeat that...‘many products are SIGNALS FIRST and MATERIAL OBJECTS SECOND.’ I would extend that to posts, checkins, photos, videos, links and everything else we share publicly. I mean, if they were just for our information, we’d put them in a JOURNAL, not online. But what I love the most about this phenomenon is the fact that these signals are strong and relevant and money spending customers are sending them all of the time, yet...

cooki,yet...

are stupid

...cookies are damned stupid. We are stuck in the same old paradigm of demographics, psychographics, people who like this like that...and these computer programs don’t understand that: a. we are special snowflakes and b. they could just bloody well ask us and we’d tell them what we want.

“Google’s Ads Preferences believes I’m

a guy interested in politics, Asian food, perfume, celebrity gossip, animated

movies and crime but who doesn’t care about “books & literature” or “people & society.” (So

not true.)”Joel Stein

Your Data, YourselfTime Magazine, March 21, 2011

In fact, Joel Stein wrote an amazing piece in Time Magazine in late March where he picked up the phone and called all of the big data gathering houses on the web to find out what they know about him and, as it turns out, the answer is NOT MUCH. Some of it was reasonably accurate, but quite pedestrian - same old male, upper middle income bracket demographic stuff - and as they got more specific, they became more off.

signalsso back to the

But let’s get back to the signals. When it comes to what people are trying to tell us through what they are posting publicly, we need to pay attention to...

subt4tthere is

in anything we CHOOSE to post.

SUBTEXT. Subtext is not something computers are very good at picking up, yet, human beings are pretty awesome at it. In fact, we have a built in radar for this stuff. The tools we use to post where we are at, what we are doing, what we are eating, etc.? They take attention and time and that we take that attention and time to post something says something significant in the first place. For instance...

the subt4t:“i’m cultured”

“i’m open”“i’m adventurous”

This foodspotting post from Sushi Tomo in Palo Alto is not only hunger and envy inducing, it is also a signal from the sender. She is saying ‘I’m cultured’ - raw fish is an acquired taste - ‘I’m open’ - to new experiences, cultures, flavors - and - “I’m adventurous” as this is some wacky sushi. These ain’t california rolls, baby.

the subt4t:“i’m an extrovert”“come join me!”

“i’d like to quit my day job!”

How about this checkin at Sing Sing Karaoke in New York city? It was a pretty late checkin on a weeknight and it was accompanied by multiple checkins from others at the same place. This person is an extrovert - karaoke? Really? Only those of us who like to be center of attention will get up on stage with a microphone and wail 80’s power ballads. This person is also very social as checking in like this could lead to a gathering of sorts. I assume that he also doesn’t have a day job and, if he does, he’s hankering to be a freelancer. Wednesday morning at 3am?

the subt4t:“i’m athletic”

“i’m committed”“i’m conscientious”

“i’m kinda awesome”

This is one of my posts to runkeeper where I started running at the Pacific Ocean and ran through Golden Gate park...almost 10k and it was gorgeous. I post my runs and all sorts of stuff about my fitness all of the time. I tell people it’s because I want to keep track of it all and my progress, but I know in actuality, I’m showing off. C’mon! I’m athletic, I’m committed, I’m conscientious and darnit, I’m really quite awesome. :)

emotion?can data have

we can read it (as humans),but can computers?

So as I said, I know and YOU know that this data carries mega emotional signals, but can computers understand it? It seems like an overwhelmingly daunting artificial intelligence type of thing to do, right? A sort of “Dave, what are you doing?” level of scary AI. But what if we looked back to the field of evolutionary psychology for some clues. This is what I’m doing at Buyosphere.

big 5vethe

indicators

Has anyone heard of the Big Five Indicators? The BFI, as they are acronized in psychology circles, are what the academic community has generally agreed upon as the five overarching signals we sent through our behavior, tastes and choices.

big 5ve indicators (BFI)• O - Openness

• C - Conscientiousness

• E - Extroversion

• A - Agreeableness

• N - Neuroticism

(also rearranged as CANOE for the Canuck psychologists)

They are quite easy to remember as they make up a word. The first is Openness, then Conscientiousness, then Extroversion, Agreeableness and Neuroticism. OCEAN! Or CANOE for the Canuck pyschologists if you just anagram them). They fall on a scale of 1-100 and there are multiple ways these can play out.

OCEAN

9369895711

-----

HIGH OPENNESSYou enjoy having novel experiences

and seeing things in new ways.

HIGH CONSCIENTIOUSNESSYou are well-organized, and are

reliable.

HIGH EXTROVERSIONYou are extremely outgoing, social,

and energetic.

MID-LEVEL AGREEABLENESSYou are neither extremely forgiving

nor irritable.

LOW NEUROTICSIMYou probably remain calm, even in

tense situations.

http://www.outofservice.com/bigfive/results/?oR=0.95&cR=0.694&eR=0.844&aR=0.694&nR=0.281

my score

This is my score, for instance. I’m highly open, highly conscientiousness, highly extroverted, mid-level agreeable (don’t mess with me, cause I seem easy going, but I am pretty tough, too) and low on the neuroticism scale...whatever my ex husband told you.

openn,s

appreciation & desire for a variety of

experience

High openness indicates an appreciation and desire for a variety of experience.

openn,s• early adopters

• frequent travelers

• foodies/ethnic foods

• laggards/buy when ‘proven’

• big brand driven

• chain restaurants

vs.

Highly open people are the early adopters out there. They travel more frequent, seeking out new cultural experiences. They also eat a wider variety of ethnic foods. People who aren’t as open are the laggards. They stick with what they know: big brands like starbucks and Coca Cola and chain restaurants. They like routine in general.

conscientiousn,s

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lostmymind/92967452/

self-discipline, responsibility, and aiming for achievement

conscientiousn,s• sport equipment/

healthy food

• organizational tools

• self help books

• subaru/mini vans

• late night check-ins

• fast food & single person ready made dinners

• motorbike/sportscar

vs.

You find the type-A personalities on the high conscientious scale. Plays hard, works hard...works out hard. Self help books, Getting things done tools, sporting equipment, runkeeper and Suburu’s reign prominently amongst the highly conscientiousness. Low conscientiousness people are less concerned about performance and responsibility and take a much more easy going approach to life. They eat what is available, are more spontaneous and probably aren’t ready to settle down and have a family.

4troversiontendency to

seek stimulation

in the company of

others

4troversion• clothing that makes

you stand out

• dines/drinks out frequently

• lots of friends/tweeting/check-ins

• lurkers

• jeans and tees

• homebody

vs.

That’s me. Singing karaoke in an orange gowalla tanktop. I’m pretty darned extroverted. And I totally rocked Poison. Extroverts have lots of friends, go out often and tend to buy more bright colored, fitted clothing. Introverts hang behind the scenes are more homebodies and dress to blend.

agreeablen,sfocused on

good of community rather than

being focused on personal

gain

Highly agreeable types are focused on the good of community rather than being focused on personal gain.

agreeablen,s• green/eco products

• local made

• collaborative consumption

• best deal available

• urban/suburban

• tend towards privatization

vs.

Highly agreeable people will shop local, green and tend towards collaborative consumption. Lower agreeableness means you want the best deal available, tend towards suburban lifestyle as you get a bigger yard and you may have the attitude that you don’t want to pay for your neighbors crap.

neurotic6mtendency towards anxiety,

suspicion + need for security

neurotic6m

• security purchases

• privacy concerns

• anti-depression medication, etc.

• risk takers

• simple passwords

vs.

They will make the most security purchases, have privacy concerns over what’s going on on the web and be more likely to take prescription drugs to aid in anxiety and ant-depression. Low neurosis means a laissez faire outlook and higher tolerance to risk.

hipsterhow would a

measure up?

do skinny jeans have emotional properties or do they need to be combined with other products (like PBR) to signal something?

taste data

basicdata

basic data:denim, style no., brand, price, vendor, size, etc.

BFI score:O=85, C=35, E=85, A=45, N=35??

cultural context

cultural context:combination with other items, geography, era, etc.

could it look something like?This is just an idea of how the data could be layered when thinking about how. Note that this is not scientific. Just thinking out loud about how this may work. But it needs to work because we are really only at the tip of the iceberg here with data. It requires an emotional and cultural layer.

we identify with some brands on a deep, emotional level

Because we DO identify with some brands on a deep emotional level

http://www.flickr.com/photos/poptartjen/4176952513

we also identify with some products on a deep,

emotional level

so...why aren’t we mapping emotional data?

http://www.orkposters.com/heart.html

contact:

tara huntceo, buyosphere

e. tara@buyosphere.com

p. 514-679-2951

t. @missrogue