The evolution of the internet as the background environment of virtual ethnography:

Stage one: Something for scientists. First and foremost intention of creating alternative source of communication was exchange data tool between the scientific departments.

Stage two: Communication improvement . At this stage people started sending emails with business and private information as well as communicate online. Websites begun to be virtual business cards for many companies.

Stage three: Playground – the place for entertainment by games, movies, etc. People discovered virtual media possibilities.

Stage four: Real world replacement – for people who were not able to manage their real world (some form of alternative more comfortable environment for living) – expansion of blogs, community forums, the point of opinions exchange etc.

Recently – internet – the other environment of human activity with strong relationship with the reality.

Why the internet became the next well established source for market researchers?

Only detectives know how many fingerprints people use leave on the internet. Even when one tries to be anonymous by giving false sex or date of birth or hide one’s IP number, there are still plenty of tracks you can follow up.

Internet during the years has evaluated from People not only use to buy any goods by the internet, they used to also desire various products and services through the net. This is one of the reasons they share their opinions virtually with the others.

So, virtual ethnography is nothing else like deducting and describing of other people based on their behaviours and the results of those behaviours visible on the internet realities. Fieldwork is conducted inside online reality, where the research executive obey the same rules and rights as the other online users (e.g. online focus groups are not the virtual ethnography). Main sources are: text, pictures, audio, video. Important for analysis is not only what people publish on the web, but also additional conditions reflected on the publications.

Unfortunately the most common online studies has its own very quantitative character and is conducted in the form of online quantitative panels using standardised software. Virtual ethnography methodology shows you more qualitative character (while ethnographic is from the definition more behavioural than declarative art of market research methodology).

The other research category are all online and virtual community portals, where many research agencies are trying to provide their online panels. We consider community portals as the brilliant place not only for asking about opinions but for an observations of virtual behaviours of the communities users and members.

That’s what distinguish virtual ethnography from other online research techniques – such as online panels or usability studies is one word – “participation” of researcher as he or she usually commit the role of virtual moderator.