Classmates Thoughts

Looking at my classmates blogs about unobtrusive research made me realize how much we conduct this type of research on a daily basis, and how often people have no idea they are doing it.
I found Laura Valenti's blog on the subject particularly interesting. I enjoyed how she gave the example about Real Housewife Teresa Giudice. Teresa constantly updates her Facebook and Twitter letting her fans know where she is and what she is up to. This links back to my original blog topic on how blogging is a form of PR. She is putting her own name out there for publicity stunts and the people who are not "famous" follow. Outsiders are obsessed with the celebrity culture, and we refresh our Facebooks and Twitters just so we can get the current up-to-date status of each celebrity we follow. We are conducting unobtrusive research and we don't even now it. But like Laura said, this is our connection. Without these types of social media "the likelihood of being able to get in touch with a particular celebrity in order to find out certain information is slim-to-none."
Another classmates blog that I looked at was Jenn Quinlan's. Her blog on unobtrusive research focused on the 2007 Patriot's cheating scandal. I know very little about sports, and am not a huge football fan, but I do remember this happening; I am from Massachusetts after all. However, even after learning about unobtrusive research and knowing about this scandal I never would have paired the two together. But, that scandal was in fact, a form of unobtrusive research. Cameras were involved and ethics were brought up. It was interesting to read Jenn's blog on the subject and really notice how the two aspects relate to one another. Coaches were analyzing other teams plays and coaches methods but no consent to do so was ever given. The Patriots did not know that what they were doing was unobtrusive research but, in fact, it was. This just further solidifies how common this type of research is.
Therefore, whether it is in the subject of the entertainment and social media world, or the world of athletics, unobtrusive research can take place anywhere. Even as I write this blog, as I sit in the cafeteria with tons of other people, I wonder if unobtrusive research could be taking place right now. I would never even know, or would I? Now that I know so much about the topic is it possible that I could spot out the researchers, or does that just make me the researcher conducting even more unobtrusive research? It is a never ending process. Intriguing, isn't it?