I’ve discussed ethnography, especially digital ethnography,
several times here taking note that, whether we use ethnography
in marketing or design research remains irrelevant to the
methods employed. What matters is whether we develop the
research questions around the assumption that sociocultural
practices provide the data source for answers. Ethnographers
research settings, situations, and actions, with the goal of
discovering surprising relationships. The most surprising
relationships though are often hiding in plain sight, right
under our noses. I was recently pointed to a video from a link
in the Yahoo Group Anthrodesign. The video, by Amy Krouse
Rosenthal, provides a unique example of insights about people we
can glean from designing situations that transgress established
sociocultural practices. I actually watched it three times, and
not because Time listed it in the top five viral videos of the
week…kind of like people (at least some people) did when the
moonwalking bear video came out. Rather, my int