Online panels are rapidly evolving. Standards are being introduced. Panels are now being called online communities. Every attempt is being made to make the engagement more robust to offset the attrition and fatigue of answering surveys. However, there still are issues with quality and reliability. How are these being addressed? Are all panels the same? Are panels being accredited to ensure buyers that procedures are being followed? Have we completely embraced online methodologies or is the end of mail and telephone inevitable?

While our attention was focused on the creation of online panels and conducting online surveys, social media has rapidly spread throughout the internet cloud. This trend cannot be overlooked by market researchers. With blogs, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and even Flickr, how viable are these new media forms as valid data points from which to collect and analyse data? Are market researchers becoming outdated as analysts in the internet cloud? Are we just voyeurs that monitor and watch unstructured conversations in 140 characters or less? Will Google Wave and MS Looking Glass form the core of market research? Join us as we search for answers.