DSA Online | New Media Updates

How the internet can help and hurt marketing decisions.

I remember where I was when I got “the article”. “How Teenagers Consume Media” hit my desk when a friend in the ad community sent it my attention for my opinion. My first reaction? Oh, we’re in for a headache. It was my foolish hope that the community (both publishers and agencies) would help smooth over this faulty, improperly (in this case, meaning not) cited and biased report; however, within days I was watching the local media pick up the story and perpetuate the problem. Why is it that the local industry, that has access to and demands relevant research reporting would fly into such a tizzy over an international report (UK) written by a young bank intern with no credible experience, a limited sample size and a biased methodology?

Since this paper has since been dismissed, there is no reason to try and rip it apart. Hopefully, the industry has learned it’s lesson (at least for 2009) to not jump on every single piece of writing that comes out of the web. If you have attended one of my seminars in the past, you might remember my favourite saying: “If it’s on the web, it doesn’t NECESSARILY make it true”. Part of me wonders if the reason that we forget to check our sources online is because the current business generation is older. As of the most recent census, Canada’s median age is 39.5. Much of our business force (especially in decision making roles) are of a generation that consider the web a tool, much like encyclopedias and dictionaries. However, schools today (primary to post-secondary) teach children that the internet is not a research tool without the proper use of citation and research. Students are reprimanded for poor use (or plagiarism) of the web, and yet we perpetuate the spread of faulty information in the business world without even a slap to the wrist. This is one of the pitfalls of an unregulated information source. I am the first to proclaim the greatness that is the internet and the world wide web. I strongly believe that information should be readily available; but if we do not check ourselves or help to spread rumour and inaccurate information, we are shooting ourselves, and this great tool, in the foot.

Here is my handy guide for checking articles & web information.

1. Determine the flavour of the website.
Are you reading a blog? By definition, a blog is a journal or opinion writing piece which is rarely cited or researched. Many blogs are simply a space where people can rant or talk without a filter. This is not true in all cases. There are great bloggers. The Clickz News Blog links and cites almost everything they write. Zoilus, while being slightly biased as an Editor of the Globe and Mail, cites most of his information from Globe Articles or the journalists themselves. However, blogs don’t NEED citations, so most people don’t bother. With linking, it’s often more about site optimization, so many times even the links are not really a good measure of the quality of research. Heck, my blog posts are based on experience, but I still wouldn’t recommend you quoting me in a business presentation.

2. Consider the research.
It’s pretty easy for anyone online to say that they researched a topic. Here’s an example:

“Based on my research, all Vancouverites like Jugo Juice. The fact that they are now in most of the major Canada Line skytrain locations speaks volumes. It is my belief that they will have completely taken over the fast service juice industry in Western Canada within the year”.

I'm a doctor, not a media buyer.

If I was Booster Juice or Happy Planet, I’d be pretty ticked if a local news source picked this up as fact. My “research” on this topic is based on 3 of the new skytrain locations and the fact that my group of friends and I really like their green tea drinks. However, I am a professional in the marketing community. Doesn’t my opinion matter? Sure…maybe. But definitely not when it comes to topics that are based on anecdotes and faulty methodology. It’s tough to stay unbiased, especially when you’re in a profession where you are an expert. I know how easy it is if you’re top in your field, or simply really good at your job to believe that your knowledge and professional opinion translates to all things at all times. But you wouldn’t ask your doctor to install your sprinklers, just as I wouldn’t expect you to ask a 15 year old bank teller how to utilize social media to talk with your potential youth customers (unless you were asking him about youth in banking).

3. Check the rest of the search results.
Just because the first article that comes up is well written doesn’t mean that it’s the only authority on the subject. Between Google and Bing, you should be able to find more than one article on any topic, so click on the 2nd or 3rd links to see if they are saying the same thing. Have they linked to actual research? Have they provided a space for people to comment and discuss the content? Did they simply copy what everyone else is writing (beware copy-cat and ad content sites)? It might take you one or two tries but that’s the other great thing about the internet. You CAN read both sides of the issue and, if you are like me, are unhappy that such an article could be so circulated and so revered, you can dig until you get another opinion. My rule of thumb with research is that if the methodology seems vague or opaque, I need either follow up information or another study echoing the same stats.