The consumer-facing approach that drives our consumer ethnography projects is to get as close as the project will allow to a consumer’s actual experience.
David Shaw, Ph.D.
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David has been practicing ethnography, in one form or another, for nearly 25 years. As a documentary film student at the University of Michigan, he immersed himself in Ann Arbor’s pre-teen skateboard culture and the politics of historical landmark designation to present distinct visions of the community through documentary film and video. Then, as a doctoral student of communication and audience analysis at the University of Colorado, Boulder, during the early days of mainstream Internet adoption, he studied the uses and gratifications of online chat and communication as well as the adoption of emerging technologies in politically active communities.
For the past 15 years, David has been a professional researcher in a variety of consulting settings ranging from his roles as director of content strategy and research director at major online agencies, to researcher for several leading innovation and product development consulting firms.
David is still a fan of documentary film, participating in monthly documentary film clubs (think book club without the homework), and enjoys photography and videography. He is currently collecting video clips of repetitive motion from his travels around the world for a TBD project.
Scott Webber, Ph.D.
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Scott has been studying communication most of his life. In grade school he provided reports for family and teachers about the editing techniques and content decisions made by local news stations on their afternoon local news programs. That interest led to undergraduate degrees in History and Business at UC Riverside and later an M.A. in Radio and Television from San Francisco State University. Following graduation Scott worked for two years in the prime-time television department of Creative Artists Agency in Beverly Hills.
Scott received his Ph.D. in Media Studies from the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Colorado at Boulder in May, 2003. He spent two years eating school lunches and conducting ethnographic research in elementary schools while completing his dissertation on the use of computers and the Internet in elementary schools.
For the past 15 years, Scott has worked as an ethnographic researcher for a variety of clients and consultancies across a range of industries. Whether running his own consulting company or working at an industrial design firm, Scott understands that all phases of product and brand development benefit from engaging with consumers, and asking them the right questions at the right time.
Stereotypically for someone living in Colorado, Scott skis, road bikes and plays tennis when he is not catching up on indie or noir films. He lives with his wife Lisa and their active toddler, Mara.
