Resolution Research Blog
(Virtual) Reality Check
March 23rd, 2012 Nina Nichols, CEO
Can an experience in a virtual reality actually influence the way we behave? According to Mike Olsen’s article in Wired Magazine, if a person witnesses him/herself in a virtual reality, that person is more likely to alter their behavior according to what they’ve seen. For example, when a person experiences him/herself as heavier, they are more likely to hit the gym. Additionally, being introduced to one’s future self (aged) influences people to save money for retirement, most likely because one’s future self is no longer a stranger but a soon to be reality. Scary, right? So if you’re looking for a push in the right direction, whether it’s to work out more, drink less, or save more money, perhaps you should experience the appropriate virtual reality for some proven effectiveness.
(Olsen, Mike. Wired. Nov 2011, page 048).
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How To Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day In Style
March 15th, 2012 Nina Nichols, CEO
St. Patrick’s Day is just around the corner and revelers (both Irish and otherwise) are busy preparing to celebrate. According to the 2010 census, there are 36.9 million people in the United States who claim Irish ancestry. The good news is, you don’t have to be Irish in order to celebrate (after all, St. Patrick himself was actually British). In 2010, nearly half of all adults in the US donned green and tipped up a pint of Guinness in recognition of the Irish holiday. Indeed, statistics show that the number of pints of Guinness consumed worldwide increases from 5.5 million pints per day to 13 million pints on St. Patrick’s Day. This year, St. Patrick’s Day falls on a Saturday so you can celebrate freely (and, of course, responsibly).
Of course, if Guinness isn’t your thing, there are lots of alternative ways to show your Irish pride. Start the morning off right with shamrock-shaped green pancakes and a mug of Irish coffee (whiskey optional), and then get dressed up in green from head to toe and head out for one of these fun-filled activities:
The Parade: Many cities have St. Patrick’s Day parades, but there are only a select few locations that rank among America’s top 10 best on travel.usnews.com: Boston, Chicago, New York City, Savannah, San Francisco, Dublin (Ohio, that is), Philadelphia, Hot Springs, Scranton, and Kansas City. Typical parade fare includes elaborate floats, dancers, historical figures in costume, traditional Irish music (complete with bagpipes), and, of course, a bevy of beloved “gingers” (redheads).
The Barbeque: Given the popularity of the holiday, odds are the backyard BBQ will be your most inexpensive option. Whip up your favorite Irish side dish and head over to enjoy burgers, dogs, and a cold brew. Whether you’re decked out in green or you opt for that new spring dress you’ve been dying to debut, you’re sure to have a good time with friends (and avoid the crowds).
The Fancy Party: For you social climbing, non-stop networking types, try the fancy party. (Be sure to bring along a bottle of wine if you want to guarantee a future invite.) Picture green martinis like the traditional St. Patrick’s Day Emerald Isle which consists of gin, green crème de menthe, bitters, and mint leaves, and an array of delicately-crafted Irish-themed appetizers. Yum!
The Local Pub: Celebrate with the locals at an Irish pub and enjoy traditional favorites like the Irish Car bomb (a mixed shot of Irish crème and whiskey dropped into a ¾ glass of Guinness and then chugged in one gulp) and corned beef and cabbage.
Wherever your St. Patrick’s Day plans take you remember to have fun, be safe, and “never iron a four-leaf clover, because you don’t want to press your luck.”
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SocialFlow: The Latest Advancement in Social Media Marketing (Should You Go with the Flow?)
March 2nd, 2012 Nina Nichols, CEO
How do modern companies determine what forms of social media marketing will best benefit their business? Some conduct surveys and focus groups, or perform extensive market research on what “sells” but ultimately the decision regarding what to post about on social networks such as Facebook or Twitter boils down to a gut feeling and reaction. It is subjective. There are perhaps patterns, but there is no written formula for predicting a company’s optimal choice. Until now that is.
SocialFlow was released for public use on February 7 of this year and touts itself as a new marketing tool that helps businesses generate optimal social media content for audiences, leading to a larger, more engaged audience, and therefore, more business. Using its Optimized Publisher, SocialFlow calculates when and what content to publish automatically based on previous analysis of audiences, topics, attention, and engagement on what is called the “real-time social graph”. For the first time, a tool exists that may be able to accurately determine the actual “value” of a post on Twitter or Facebook. SocialFlow uses algorithms to post the best content at its prime moment. The sharing of posts is automated; duties such as replying to posts and answering questions will remain in the hands of humans for now.
SocialFlow is not the first to conceptualize automated Facebook and Twitter posts. Buffer App has been applying this for some time, the difference being that one must set a predetermined time for when a post generated through Buffer App is shared. According to this article published on Fastgush.com, SocialFlow “automatically understands the behavior and the pattern of your followers and fans and then decides when and what to share. […]This is a great tool for any business wanting to make best use of social media.”
SocialFlow counts The Washington Post, Buzzfeed, New York Public Library, Dr. Oz, Human Rights Watch, The Economist, and Pepsi among their clients. In his article published on Venturebeat.com in 2012, Ben Popper notes that upon implementing SocialFlow, The Economist’s social media fan base began to grow five times faster than average and “increased engagement with its audience at a rate eight times greater than before it used SocialFlow.” SocialFlow just may be the next step in advancement towards success for many businesses that are searching for the next big thing in social media marketing.
Meet the creative team of SocialFlow: http://www.socialflow.com/about
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Remembering Steve Jobs
February 24th, 2012 Nina Nichols, CEO
“It’s not about pop culture, and it’s not about fooling people, and it’s not about convincing people that they want something they don’t. We figure out what we want. And I think we’re pretty good at having the right discipline to think through whether a lot of other people are going to want it, too. That’s what we get paid to do.” (Steve Jobs, March 2008)
And that’s what we get paid to do too at Resolution! We help our clients innovate by thinking outside the box, by learning the real goals of our clients, so it’s not research as usual.
In that spirit, we celebrate the birthday of Steve Jobs & honor his many, many accomplishments and lessons he’s given us and the world.
Happy birthday, Steve. We thank you & miss you!
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The Science of Persuasion: How to get what you want
February 15th, 2012 Nina Nichols, CEO
According to the Wired article “Learn the Science and Art of Persuasion (Hint: No Slow Talking)” by Katharine Gammon, there is a formula for persuasion. So the next time you need something from someone, feel free to practice peer pressure and persuasion in its finest form using these helpful tips to get the results you are looking for.
“Learn the Science and Art of Persuasion (Hint: No Slow Talking)” by Katharine Gammon
http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/11/st_cheatscience_persuade/
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A Valentine’s Day Proposal from Resolution Research
February 9th, 2012 Nina Nichols, CEO
It’s that special time again. The birds are singing, winter clouds are parting, and love is in the air. Spring is approaching but before we start enjoying April showers and May flowers we must first face that day of the year many of us cringe to think of. I’m talking about – gulp! – Valentine’s Day. Whether you’re single, in a relationship, in a complicated relationship, undecided, engaged, married, widowed, separated, divorced, in a civil union, or in a domestic partnership, February 14 is the day we come face to face with the ghosts of Valentine’s Day past, present, and future. Alright, fine – Valentine’s Day.
I am currently “in a relationship” which, I suppose, automatically puts me into the “lucky ones” category on Valentine’s Day. Yes, it is nice to be reminded that someone cares for me and that I care for someone else on Valentine’s Day, but how this warrants spending money I don’t have on throwaway gifts and eating chocolate in amounts that should be illegal is never something I’ve been able to wrap my head around. Call me cynical, but do we really need a commercial holiday to remind us that we love the one we’re with? Read more »
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New Year, perfect time to simplify your life.
January 10th, 2012 Hayden Geller
We love quick fixes, and after you read this article from Cynthia Rowland’s blog, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without these “25 clever ideas to make life easier.”
Studies show organized people lead more productive lives and reduce stress. Implement these tricks of the trade and you’ll be sure to impress everyone with your imaginative skills!
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Resolution Research Team Members To Attend Major Social Media Conference in Chicago
June 23rd, 2011 Hayden Geller
This Thursday and Friday, June 23 & 24, team members from Resolution Research (including CEO Nina Nichols) will be in Chicago participating in one of the most exclusive social media conferences in the nation. According to the conference web site, the 2011 Social CRM & Online Community Executive Summit sponsored by the World Research Group promises to help attendees learn to “anticipate customer concerns through smarter social media monitoring, accelerate online community growth through better content strategies, attain internal organizational program support and involvement from the top down, articulate the best strategy for scaling programs to meet customer needs, analyze program results to develop effective metrics for success measurement, and achieve greater success in leveraging social media to drive customer loyalty and true brand engagement.” The Resolution team will be joined by execs from top brands like Pepsi, Dell, Verizon, AT&T, Bloomberg, and the Chicago Bulls as they learn these techniques as well as how to best approach the multi-faceted roles that social media and customer experience play in business today.
To read more about the conference, visit WRG’s page here. For more about the ways in which Resolution Research has incorporated social media research and analysis into their vast repertoire, check out the reLogic page here.
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Are Cloud Services Just Another Wisp of IT Services?
June 10th, 2011 Nina Nichols, CEO
Have you been trying to figure out if this “cloud services” thing is a real revolution or just another gimmick for IT firms to repackage their services?
If you’ve been around long enough you will recall another “IT Revolution” known as Application Service Providers (ASPs) in the late 1990s. They professed that their service bureau could provide businesses with computer-based services and applications over a network. Their “on-demand” softwareapplication model soon became known as SaaS or Software-as-a-Service. But their services never got traction. What’s different now?
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Happy Women’s Day
March 8th, 2011 Nina Nichols, CEO
Happy Women’s Day – Celebrate with this super cool music video: http://www.youtube.com/watch
Want more celebrations?? Check out… https://www.resolutionresearch.com/news