As a qual researcher in the tech sector, I’ve travelled the globe to meet consumers and understand how my clients can better address their needs. Reciting my anecdotes to family and friends, with only a soupçon of embellishment, I’m often greeted with the faintly amusing, yet all too familiar retort; ‘you really should write a book!’

Whilst I’m under no illusion that my stories of ‘branding in Brazil’ or ‘innovation in India’ are of even the merest significance to most people, I do believe they provide interesting observations to marketing professionals and tech enthusiasts.

When we watch and listen, we learn; the cultural nuances and socio-economic influences we see can often provide the most revealing insights of all.

I’ve decided, therefore, to keep a diary of my experiences and the tech trends I’ve picked up along the way. Whilst I can’t promise you a diary with the emotional turmoil of Bridget Jones, I hope that this blog will give you a real-world view of the global tech scene and a picture of the diverse people that make it up.

And if that doesn’t interest you, perhaps the promise of goats on mopeds, monkeys in meeting rooms and chance encounters with the GB handball team will!

 

Diary Entry #1: Brazil

I’m in Brazil; home to the mother of all hangover cures (sugarcane juice) and over-priced but highly customisable flip-flops.

As I munch on another pão de queijo (which loosely translated means ‘dangerously addictive cheese ball’), I mull over what I’ve learnt from my time here in Brazil. In a country where crime rates have reached a state of epidemic proportions, it’s perhaps unsurprising to see so many people taking measures to look after their own safety and that of the people around them.

There’s a real desire here to feel safe, in control and in touch; from always knowing where you’re going and the best way of getting there, to keeping in contact with family and friends; people in Brazil are working incredibly hard to make their world a safer and more secure place to be.

All of this makes me wonder; what impact is technology having on perceptions of safety – is it a help or a hindrance?

Let’s take location sharing as an example. An effective way of keeping an eye on the people you care about, or, a dangerous surrender of privacy?

A debate that will no doubt continue to enthral, anger, confuse and scare; a debate that undoubtedly has immense significance in Brazil. I met a guy here whose friend posted her location via Facebook. Shortly after, her family received a message demanding ransom money for the safe return of their daughter. A bogus claim, but with the kidnappers’ declared location fitting the daughter’s schedule, and events like this becoming more common place, you can understand why people in Brazil are so wary about location sharing.

It’s because of stories like this that I think people all over the world are re-evaluating what ‘community’, in a digital sense, actually means. Consumers are making more informed and considered choices about sharing information with others; what we share, how we share and who we share with.

In Brazil, there’s definitely a role for technology to work harder in fulfilling peoples’ desire for safety and security. Micro social networking, safer connections and enhanced map services will help to some extent…but where next?

I ended my time in Brazil with a cancelled flight back home and a rather bizarre, yet convivial evening strengthened by the bond of severe tiredness and compensation hotels that are disappointingly far out of town. Happily, this gave me more time to think about future installations of the blog….next destination – India!

 

 

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