The information each of these researchers gathers will be sold to well-known global companies, national businesses and organisations from soft drink companies to government departments. This information will be used to develop new products and projects which engage with their customers and meet their needs.

Researchers such as Lesley, Alex and Barbie use a variety of techniques to help them in their research. They conduct one-to-one interviews, discussions with small groups and undertake nationwide surveys. They also visit galleries, shops, certain streets and markets, cafés and bars, and look at magazines, websites and other media to observe new trends as they happen.

People like Lesley, Alex and Barbie have the kind of jobs that simply didn’t exist 20 years ago. The research they conduct and the results of their research may well have an almost immediate impact. Their interest in the explosion of culture, the World Wide Web and the use of new ICTs suggests that, for these researchers at least, the Information Society is here. But is it really? After all, most people still get up and go out to work, and spend their social time with people who live in the same areas that they do. So, maybe it’s not a case of ‘all change’, but how can we tell..?