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Research Roundup: What Happens in Vegas Shows up on Facebook

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Here are five of the most retweeted of the 585 links shared on the Twitter #MRX community this past week:

• Portable Potential: In the Age of the Mobile Device, Has Research Kept Up? – This comprehensive article by Robert Bain of Research magazine provides valuable background on the rise of mobile devices in the life of consumers but the lack of a corresponding rise in mobile research in the life of market researchers. He shares plenty of examples of early mobile research efforts.
• Ten things I learned from the New MR Virtual Festival– Simon Kendrick shares his key takeaways from last December’s NewMR Virtual Festival:
  1. The boundaries between participation and observation can (and, in some circumstances, should) be blurred
  2. Convenience samples can still be worthwhile
  3. Respondents shouldn’t necessarily be viewed equally
  4. More of an effort needs to be made to meet respondents on their terms
  5. Survey structures can do more to take advantage of the online environment
  6. Surveys don’t have to be boring or static...
  7. But we should be aware of the implications of survey design on data capture...
  8. ...And whether they are suitable for the audience
  9. There is plenty of scope to improve beyond the debrief
  10. Online conferences can work
• Does Facebook resonate with the young more than Twitter? – “Twitter might be commanding the headlines but Facebook's meteoric rise is set to continue unabated for many years yet, according to a report from research specialist Conquest.”
• Unilever finds “purpose” – To drive growth, Unilever is turning to consumer insights and is infusing brands with social purpose. "Every brand must have a social mission and the consumer must have an integral part in defining that mission. By drinking Lipton Tea, a lone consumer can become part of a movement of millions of other people around the world that supports a socially responsible product. People want to be part of a movement like that," said Paul Polman, Unilever CEO.
• CASRO Online Research Conference – Rather than going to Vegas on the spur of the moment to elope or to lose the groom at a wild bachelor party, drop everything and head off to the Online Research Conference next Thursday and Friday. Not convinced? Check out my recaps of last year’s conference. Just remember, what happens in Vegas shows up on  Facebook – or even Twitter if you’re older than 24.