EthOS app hosted the first of our webinars today. As usual Siamack went through the deck sharing sometimes more than he should but in his laid back and relaxed style imparted some of the wisdom he has collected in his many years in Ethnography. More wisdom and experience based webinars to follow.
However there was one comment he passed that I had to record, particulary as I am someone still learning about the vagaries of self ethnography.
It’s not what you see, its what you don’t see.
Ever walked into a room where a discussion is already taking place and feel that there is something not natural about the conversation, almost like something is being held back, something you are not being told . Well its the same with ethnography, if your not capturing the whole life experience, literally living with them and instead , allowing the respondent to record what they think is of interest then how do you know that this is their natural behaviour. You have to ask yourself whether the video looks natural, does it feel right. Not easy when you may have 100″s of video’s to review.
So the next time you are reviewing that video or picture for that killer insight perhaps you might want to spend a little more time thinking through whether the insight may be in what they don’t show you, rather than what they do show you.
An interesting thought!
