Crowd surfing into VR

Last year, Snapchat launched its new Crowd Surf feature. Using computers that are far too clever for their own good, Snapchat uses AI machine-learning technology to analyse when lots of people are simultaneously recording the same musical performance.

The Snaps are stitched together, resulting in a cool virtual reality experience. It’s as though you were sat at the concert rather than alone on your sofa, with just your cats for company. Even better is the fact that, if sufficient snappers have been snapping, the user can flip between camera angles at will.

As researchers, we’re always on the lookout for ways to immerse our clients in the consumer experience, and given that budgets need to stretch further these days, ethnography is not always possible. Could this be the start of a new type of ethnography? I for one will be giving it some thought.

Anna Sharif
Copyright © Association for Qualitative Research, 2018