The Great Market Research Swindle

I am about to lie. Yep, I am about to sit in a room full of people and claim I study mathematics. At which university, I have no idea yet… Let’s hope they don’t ask. I may just say Westminster… hold that thought… Nope, My iPhone has failed me and I can’t check if my Uni does such a course, partly because I am underground and have no reception but I thought a miracle might occur.

The reason I am about to lie is that I am doing market research, something journalism and media studies students aren’t allowed to do, but for forty pounds and little effort on my part, a students got to do some terrible, devious things. For what this is for, I have no idea yet but I do know is that I was asked because I had an iPhone and used networking sites such as Twitter.

Oop 7.30, running late. Be back in a minute gang.

So I am on my way back from market research and what a discovery, a new service called Mippin! This service actually offers a decent mash up that is simple to use on my iPhone and has a decent lay out.

The service offers latest headlines, videos and the ability to share it all on my Twitter account, something I haven’t been able to force myself to do because of the effort it demands on my iPhone application Twitteriffic (more like Twitterfuckinguseless). The service worked well and had a user-friendly feel with a charismatic colour design of grays and oranges, it is not too harsh on the eye but minimalistic and appealing.

And these design lay outs are very important to a product user like myself, why would I want to use a service that bombarded me with colours to the point I am clinging onto my nearest commuter begging for a glass of water and a sit down before I hurl myself out of the bus window?

I am proud, proud to have helped product designers with a service that doesn’t try to rival other sites, but offer users the ability to instantly access what they want, while it intelligently collects your interests and delivers them to you.

But it tried to be something it wasn’t, a social networking site. I have Facebook and I have Twitter. I seriously don’t want to have another group of net obsessed geeks telling me what is cool and, after purging my Facebook to get rid of anyone I didn’t know anymore, which cut about 60% of people I went to school with in 1305, I certainly don’t a new group of webheads’ ‘cool new wicked awesome whacked out’ profile picture dominating a home page of a service I would use.

So now I am forty pounds richer, have a new knowledge of a decent mobile service and am on my way to play PES2009 with my friends in Camden. Which is a damn sight better investment on a trip to Fulham that anything Mohamed Al-Fayed ever gained.