Cross-cultural, nay community, research is important. It is easy to forget that not everyone perceives the world the same way you do. I was reminded and enlightened about the importance of ethnographic research by an article on PSFK entitled ”Understanding communities through ethnography,” originally featured on Market Sentinel.
In the article, researcher Tricia Wang explains how companies are now using ethnography to connect with their consumers. She demonstrates the importance of ethnography by comparing social network usage in the west and China by explaining normative digital behaviors in each culture. What I found most engaging were her examples of sites of similar nature that found success in one culture, but failed in the other, and other sites that succeed in both.
