Market Research Deathwatch · est. 2008
with hope for a better future
All posts
- 017Latest essay · ResearchMatrix questions are a nail in the coffin of online surveysMatrix questions save the author’s time and spend the respondent’s attention. Why grids breed straight lines, what phones do to them, and what to ask instead.8 min
- 016ResearchIs NPS dead? The metric everyone reports and nobody trustsIs NPS dead? No, but it never predicted growth the way its inventor promised. What the research found, how the score gets gamed and what to measure instead.8 min
- 015ResearchAstroturfing in the age of AI: fake reviews, bot armies and who profitsAstroturfing examples from fake reviews to bot armies: how AI made fake grassroots cheap, what the FTC and EU rules ban, and how to spot the fakes.9 min
- 014ThinkingAll models are wrong: George Box and the dashboards we trust‘All models are wrong, but some are useful’ is a demand to know your assumptions. What George Box wrote, and what Wall Street, Google Flu and polls teach.9 min
- 013ResearchSynthetic respondents: what an AI panel can and can’t tell youSynthetic respondents are handy for drafting and pretesting a questionnaire. As a measure of what people think, they fail, and selling them as people is a lie.9 min
- 012BusinessGoodhart’s law: put a bonus on a number and it stops telling the truthGoodhart’s law with real cases: Wells Fargo’s fake accounts, doctored ambulance times and secret waiting lists. Why managers keep doing it, and what works.10 min
- 011ResearchAre paid survey sites worth it? An honest hourly rateAre paid surveys legit? Mostly, and mostly underpaid: expect $2 to $4 an hour. How to tell a real panel from a scam, and why cheap answers make bad data.9 min
- 010ResearchMovin’ on up: getting online research out of the bad neighborhoodSurvey farms, bots that pass attention checks and people who say they drive nuclear subs. What online sample looks like in 2026, and what moving up would take.9 min
- 009TechnologyNFTs were the clumsy artist’s big chance. What happened to them?What an NFT is, how blockchain works, why people paid millions for pictures in 2021 and what happened to NFTs after the crash. Explained in plain English.10 min
- 008BusinessWhere does honor end and stupidity begin? How Citroën trolled the NazisCitroën boss Pierre-Jules Boulanger built T45 trucks for the Wehrmacht with the oil dipstick mark set too low. Was he a collaborator, a hero or just smart?7 min
- 007BusinessThe 996 work schedule: what it is, and is a 72-hour week worth it?The 996 system means working 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week. Where it came from, what Jack Ma said, why China banned it and why US startups now praise it.10 min
- 006ResearchParticipation is not engagement: why likes and completes lieLikes, engagement rate and survey completes measure participation. Real engagement is people giving you time nobody paid for. How to tell the two apart.8 min
- 005ThinkingAre motivational books worth reading? My short list of the good onesWhich motivational books are worth reading and which should you skip? What research says about affirmations and grit, plus a short list of books that hold up.7 min
- 004ResearchNokia’s 2019 ads treated customers like idiotsIn 2019 Nokia pitched its phones as orange juice that gets fresher every day. Behind the baffling ads was a good promise. Why nobody got it, and the lesson.8 min
- 003ResearchSubmariners in space: why transformations fail with the same crewWhy digital transformations fail: the crew, incentives and tools stay the same and only the label changes. From Kodak to AI task forces, and what works.8 min
- 002ThinkingCritical thinking: what it is, and why nobody taught youWhat is critical thinking? A plain definition, two uncomfortable examples, the questions I use every day, and why schools still struggle to teach it.9 min
- 001ResearchYou killed market research, and I helpedMarket research isn’t dying of AI or small budgets. Researchers, agencies and clients are killing it with cheap sample, long surveys and reports nobody reads.8 min
About the editor
One heretic, no committee
Mr Heretic started in 2008 as Market Research Deathwatch, a blog about a trade that seemed determined to kill itself. It went quiet in 2011 and is back under new editorship: market research, marketing, business, technology and clear thinking. Every post takes a side and links its sources, so you can check them and, ideally, prove me wrong.