Abstract:

Since its inception in the late 1990s, online qualitative research has been primarily confined to replicating focus groups via bulletin boards and chats. However, with the advent of Web 2.0 technologies such as blogs and RSS, the ubiquity of digital media and the proliferation of compact wireless, there are new possibilities for qualitative researchers online. This paper explores how Web 2.0 technology and contextual research methods can be fused to enable researchers to capture the day-to-day narratives of customer experiences as they unfold.