Abstract:

Most conference papers and presentations tend to focus on one of the following: users/buyers of products and services, brands, or methodology. This paper, by contrast, looks at market researchers themselves and asks whether social media in general and Twitter in particular are changing the way that researchers communicate with each other. The paper is complemented by an interactive event held at the ESOMAR APAC Conference in Bangkok (April 2010). The paper starts by providing some background information on Twitter, before moving on to explore the ways that market researchers are beginning to utilise Twitter, both as medium for research and as a method of opening up new and exciting channels (and back-channels) amongst researchers. The paper includes four in-depth reviews of the impact of Twitter in Australia, China, Japan and New Zealand. Finally, the paper draws the threads together in an overall summary and list of key recommendations.