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10 QUESTIONS FOR RETRO RESEARCH FOUNDER
STEVE SPECTOR
Question 1.
What drew to you to create RetroResearch?
Even with the wonders of the Internet, the human mind continues to be the greatest
resource the world has ever known.
Unfortunately, the collective world IQ has yet to be harnessed in any reasonably
organized fashion.
Why not bring researchers together under one umbrella and let the entire world engage
them?
Researchers are in the best position as anyone to cut through the irrelevant and the
unreliable to arrive at the applicable.
Each day researchers challenge themselves with alternative explanations, detailed analysis and mind-altering insights.
Question 2.
What skills does one need to become a good researcher?
For the purpose of RetroResearch, the first is subject matter expertise.
For example, in my days as a researcher, I specialized in researching legal and business
information.
I could certainly do manual and computerized research on say, biochemistry, but my value and insights would be limited because of my
background and experience.
The second skill is thinking critically.
It’s being able to review your work and that of others, and then fashioning judgments
about the value of words or data you review or uncover.
The third skill is problem solving.
It’s about working without necessarily having a preconceived “correct" answer or solution
combined with one's ability to create strategies to find one, or more than one answer or solution as the case may be.
The fourth skill is organization.
We’re talking here about the ability to structure your processes and thoughts.
It includes time management and task prioritization.
The fifth skill is perhaps the most important.
That skill is communication.
Communication in the course of constructing project requirements and understanding a
client's demands and expectations.
Communication when client questions arise during the course of the research process.
Communication of one's findings in a language and method that the client can
understand.
Question 3.
Don’t we all think critically and problem solve every day? What makes researchers so
special?
With each new project researchers take on, their research skills are continually sharpened not only by sheer task repetition, but also by the different strategies they employ and the
amazing conclusions they reach.
But it’s obviously more than that.
It’s a theoretical mindset, an intellectual form of creativity and a highly organized nature,
whether it’s physically manifested or formulated in one’s own mind.
Question 4.
Who are RetroResearch’s clientele?
Our business model presents us with the ability to appeal to a significant cross
section of the world's population.
Our business model has four distinct components.
Each of these components appeals to a unique type of client.
Our centerpiece is our Researcher Portal.
Here, researchers create detailed profiles and detail their specialties.
The Researcher Portal is a variation of the more conventional freelancer-type
website.
However, what sets RetroResearch apart is our
greater managerial oversight,
higher level of accountability,
and more narrowly focused approach.
The second component of RetroResearch’s business model is our DIY Researcher Consultation Service.
The DIY service consists of 3 elements.
A 30 minute needs determination conference with one of our researchers.
A detailed Research Plan of Action delivered to your email box within 24
hours of the conference.
One additional week of as-needed follow-up support to insure that your
research needs have been met.
The third component of RetroResearch’sbusiness model is our Express Link Service.
This service caters to those who simply don’t have time to perform the research
themselves.
It’s also designed for those who don’t find doing their own research enjoyable and
would prefer it performed by someone else.
Our Express Link Service clients pay for either a 25 or 50 quality bundle of
relevant links.
Their orders are then delivered within 24 hours of their request.
Question 5.
Aren’t there questions for which there are no answers?
Absolutely!
RetroResearch authorizes partial refunds to Express Link Service clients when we cannot
supply the amount of links that a client requests.
Question 6.
What is the fourth component of the RetroResearch business model?
The fourth component of the RetroResearch business model is called
Your Native Newsletter.
Your Native Newsletter is RetroResearch’snewsletter creation and content curation
service.
We provide expertly-managed handcrafted, subject-specific newsletters for a diverse
and demanding clientele.
Question 7.
Don't modern platforms like Feedspot make your old-fashioned service obsolete?
Absolutely not!
Your Native Newsletter's value-added is not only the fact that people rather algorithms are doing the choosing.
It's other unique benefit is that the client's content is reviewed and
subsequently selected by a subject matter specialist in the best position to
judge its usefulness!
For example it is only an experienced researcher who can ask
• Who created this information and why?
• Is the author or their work recognizable?
• What's the author's background or skill set?
• Is the content objective or subjective?
• What else has this author written?
• Does the content acknowledge alternative theoriesor viewpoints?
• Does the content reflect bias? If so, why and how?
• Could the content have been created as a parody or satire?
• From where does the content originate?
• Was the content generated a revenue generator or is itpublished under the auspices of an established organization?
• Does the content contain cited sources that are clearand substantiated?
Personally, I'd prefer specialty content for my newsletter generated with the element of
human selection, rather than by a "roll the dice" algorithm.
Question 8.
So what is your background?
I don’t like the connotations of “information junkie” and would rather
be called an “infomaniac.”
I’ve enjoyed researching as far back as grade school, was an attorney
performing mostly research, a research librarian, a research consultant, and taught legal research to paralegals.
I also created a solid niche for out-of-print jazz and classical music CDs which
I sold internationally.
Question 9.
What do you think RetroResearch will accomplish?
First, it will provide all who land on the site with a convenient and user-friendly
research solution.
Second, it will provide tremendous value to clients who wish to perform their own research and even to those who would
rather not.
Third, it will dramatically alter the mindset that personally-curated
newsletter content is a thing of the past.
Fourth and most importantly, it will provide a permanent platform for the
experienced researcher to secure work, to create insights and to promote
progress.
Question 10.
So what’s next for Steven Spector?
Between RetroResearch and another endeavor, Date2Relate.Com, my hands
are tied for the immediate future.
That doesn’t mean that I haven’t been collecting ideas for possible future
projects.
Your Global Information Solution
For more information about RetroResearchincluding its services and how to blog for us, head to www.Retro-Research.Com or
contact us at [email protected].