they speak with forked tongue

[John Roberts]

No not politicians, they lie for a living :-(.

I just read an article where consumer market research firms are trying to get more honest answers from consumers. I have observed this disconnect for a long time. Look at what consumers actually buy, not what they tell you they would buy!

The market researchers are using special glasses to read what consumers look at in focus group studies, etc.

JR

 

[Chris Davis]

Re: they speak with forked tongue

No not politicians, they lie for a living :-(.

I just read an article where consumer market research firms are trying to get more honest answers from consumers. I have observed this disconnect for a long time. Look at what consumers actually buy, not what they tell you they would buy!

The market researchers are using special glasses to read what consumers look at in focus group studies, etc.

JR

Don't know where you intended to go with your thread, but this seems to be relevant:

Tivo has been working on their statistics for some time. Some have estimated that they have a subscription base of roughly 2M, although that is unofficial and could be way off.

TiVo - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

TiVo collects detailed usage data from units via broadband Internet. As units are downloading schedule data, they transmit household viewing habits to TiVo Inc. Collected information includes a log of everything watched (time and channel) and remote keypresses such as fast forwarding through or replaying content.[23] Many users were surprised when TiVo released data on how many users rewatched the exposure of Janet Jackson's breast during the 2004 Super Bowl.[24] TiVo records usage data for their own research and they also sell it to other corporations such as advertisers.[25] Nielsen and TiVo have also previously collaborated to track viewing habits. Now TiVo has their own service.[citation needed] This data is sold to advertising agencies as a way of documenting the number of viewers watching specific commercials to their corporate clients.[26]

TiVo has three levels of data collection. By default one is in "opt-out" status, where all usage data is aggregated by ZIP code and individual viewing habits are not tracked. Certain optional features and promotions require one to opt-in, where they will collect individual information for targeted show suggestions or advertising. Users can request that TiVo block the collection of anonymous viewing information and diagnostic information from their TiVo DVR.[27]

I am surprised at how rudimentary and 1990s the cable company DVR interfaces are in comparison to Tivo's. The actual DVR units still being distributed by the cable company can be as old as 2004 - perhaps older, failing hard drives and all as friends and family have told me, because they fundamentally haven't changed anything in so many years. On the other hand, Tivo has released at least three major versions in the same amount of time (Series 2, Series 3, Series 4/Premiere).

TiVopedia - TiVo History

Advertising - The TiVo platform is a great area for targeted advertising. Since TiVo knows exactly which programs its customers watch, they can extrapolate demographic data with very good accuracy, then pinpoint advertising in the TiVo interface to specific TiVo customers. In addition, TiVo can integrate advertising into running shows as an overlay.

Data Reporting - On the backend, the data that TiVo collects on consumer behavior is very valuable to advertisers and marketers. TiVo only sells this data in the aggregate - that is, no specific customer information is sold, only information lumped together exhibiting trends.

During the ten year history of TiVo thus far, they've progressed from a company originally intent on selling service, to a company that also sees the last two additional sources of revenue.

I lieu of all that, I don't find it to be disturbing (yet).