¿Se Habla Español? Part Two

So as soon as I talk about not being able to find a representative sample of Hispanics online, Knowledge Networks comes along and introduces KnowledgePanel Latino™. As they have done with other groups, they are attempting to fill the void I mentioned by including non-web Hispanic households. They provide a laptop computer and web connection to those who do not have Internet access.

Short-term, I think this is a brilliant idea. I also think they are putting a top-notch effort behind this. My concern is whether giving these individuals Internet access will inherently change them. Will it accelerate their acculturation? Will they start acting differently than Hispanic households without Internet access? I’m sure Knowledge Networks has thought about this and hopefully has safeguards in place.

This reminds me of an idea we had in our office that we dubbed The 24th Street Project ™. Named after the 24th Street section of San Francisco’s heavily Hispanic Mission district, our idea was to open store fronts in major Hispanic neighborhoods around the country. Each site would serve as a computer literacy education center for the community. At the same time, it would give us access to an audience that has not been reachable online. We never got this off the ground, but to this day, I have my eye on a vacant store front.

In the meantime, I congratulate Knowledge Networks. Not only is this progress for the marketing research world, but it will hopefully enhance the lives of the individuals receiving the free laptop and web connection.