A fun video we took to capture the key parts of our six months working and studing remote in Europe.

Over the past year, we have been developing survey chatbots as part of our Human Listening platform. We have noted the successes of this technology in many marketing applications, and feel there is great potential for this technology to fundamentally change how a lot of research is conducted.

We can't help but try to predict the future, especially when it comes to the application of new technologies. Who knew before the fact how radically our lives would transform due to the internet, computers, electricity and the industrial revolution? It seems the most recent development is the rise of AI and machine learning. Will this lead to a future like in Terminator and WALL-E, or something benign? We read about impressive advances such as game grandmasters beaten by AI, self-driving cars and using Alexa in the home. Naturally one might ask when we will have an AI that can beat chess grandmasters AND cook my pancakes? Most AI technology is quite specialised, and what we're referring to here is also known as 'General AI'. Unfortunately, this seems to be a long way off, but we can achieve a lot with focused effort in a single domain.

I've been wanting to put together my packing list for digital nomad life for some time. For a few reasons really, one is for my own purposes as a checklist to see if I have everything when I'm packing. Another is to have a reference link for anyone who sees and likes an item and wants more information or to buy it. I'm also a habitual list-writer, so this list may come in handy if I were to lose my luggage and needed to start over or file insurance.

Everyone has experienced frustration while using computers. You have an important task to do and it can feel like the computer is getting in the way of allowing you to get it done. Sometimes it can be so bad that we experience a computer crash, data loss, or some other problem where we can't recover and don't know what to do to resolve it. After experiencing enough of these problems some people may give up on technology all together and claim that they're not 'computer people'. This is completely understandable and not the users fault.

I'm 8 classes in, and my couple of tidbits of advice specifically for Georgia Tech would be the following 5 tips.

Weighting is an important - but often misunderstood - technique used to ensure research data is representative of a total population. We developed a vlog to explain the basics of weighting.

A sneaky peak inside the suitcase of a digital nomad traveler. I work remote and like to stay agile for long periods of time, so I try to maintain 'carry-on' sizing for travel gear. Accompaniment to the article I wrote.

In market research, segmentation projects are some of the most rewarding projects. I can particularly remember one such project involving a workshop with more than 50 client staff to present a new segmentation. We had tables littered with props, butcher's paper and markers. The workshop was a great engagement exercise. It enabled connection to the research and formation of their own ideas about the segmentation. I have seen some projects follow segmentation analysis with focus groups. It is amazing to see a room full of 'segment A' and immediately see the contrasts to 'segment B' in the next group.

While baby boomers have their francophiles, more recent Australians have grown up with a different experience. Like many others, I was offered Japanese language and culture classes starting as early as grade 5. A fair chunk of my teenage years were spent with Nintendos, various anime and sushi. My first chance to visit Japan came in 2007 where I got my first big dose of culture shock. Since then I’ve holidayed twice more, once with family and once solo. The itch was never fully scratched, and I knew I wanted to try living there one day.

Because i'm looking to travel a lot over the next few years, I've been making special efforts to organise my stuff. For a very long time, digitising photos has been an item on the to do list. It took a whole afternoon, but I managed to digitise all of my physical photos from before the age of 21 or so. That task seems easy compared to sorting out digital media! I have come across so many directories of photos, and copies all over my computers.

Business decision makers often rely on driver analysis to assess what is REALLY important to their customers. For example, customers often claim that price is the most important thing to them when asked. More often than not, however, driver analysis reveals service or other experiences are actually what drives overall satisfaction. This type of insight is what makes driver analysis able to sort the 'signal from the noise'. It means decision makers can more effectively allocate resources in a way that will yield the best return on limited resources to invest.

We've compiled a list of occassions where our analysis tools have behaved unexpectedly. Avoid the blood, sweat, tears and swearing by learning from our experience. We mainly look at Excel, but many of the problems turn out to be deep rooted in computer science and the way our machines handle and process data.

Market research analysts are a specialised role within marketing. Whereas we're all concerned with marketing and business problems, analysts contribute deep domain knowledge of data, analysis techniques, and problem solving ability.