A brief history of TripAdvisor’s evolution – or how social media-users are key, yet unpaid, enablers of the business model of social media platforms

Last week, Child 1 and I watched the Lehman Brothers trilogy, a play that traces the story of the three Lehman brothers, and their descendants, who created the (in)famous Bank of the same name. Their business empire didn’t start as a Bank, though. Rather, it started as a textiles’ trader which went on to become … Continue reading A brief history of TripAdvisor’s evolution – or how social media-users are key, yet unpaid, enablers of the business model of social media platforms

Three ways the Internet can help gather consumer insight

The Internet is a promising source of consumer insight. Data can be collected in real time; we do not need to interrupt consumers with our pesky phone calls or street surveys; and we may even be able to get access to certain segments of the population not reachable via traditional surveys. Here are three ways … Continue reading Three ways the Internet can help gather consumer insight

Credibility of online reviews typed on a mobile vs on a desktop

When our family travels to a new place, we usually get restaurant recommendations from friends who have been there before; we check Lonely Planet tour guides; or, we look at the reviews on Google maps. Have you ever used Google maps for local recommendations? We only started using it recently. But, so far … Continue reading Credibility of online reviews typed on a mobile vs on a desktop