As a career-long doctor of spin, propoganda and creative wishful writing, I'm no stranger to the value of 'research.' In my old, long, traditional PR days, I especially loved research we did after everyone was clear in advance what the outcome was going to be.

I'm not saying that is what happened here. I am saying the research conclusion reached in this instance strikes me as rather worthless:

Canadian Internet users who purchase products online are more likely to participate in online social and interactive activities than those who do not purchase online…

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, can anyone think of any reason why this might be true? How about, like, lots of people who don't shop online don't own computers? In the item itself, they're suggesting that online buyers are more savvy than people who do not buy online. Maybe. But there's precious little information to support any of that in this 'research' study… in fact, how many people were contacted for this research? How were they polled? What were they asked? Did they all, in fact, own computers and have Internet connectivity? What time of year were they queried? How old were they? Mostly male or female? Hmmmm… I always hated those questions when I was a 'researcher,' too. Not to mention, it's wicked hard to be savvy online without a PC and an Internet connection. I can do it, but controlled substances are required in volume.

By the way, additional research coming out of Canada this month shows that people who own kitchens have more knives and forks than people who do not own kitchens. And, did you know that car owners buy more gasoline than people who walk?

Share This