The label 'Web 2.0' has been heralded as an 'architecture of participation' with seemingly 'open' access to new streams of data. However, before we can embrace this as the answer to all our prayers we need to understand the motivations which are in play. Today, there is risk of a 'pick-and-mix' approach to this compelling new medium often forgetting that 'social' should be an essential element of any research design, which seeks to capture the visual, intuitive and interactive nature of technologies. Mariann Hardey examines the social context of online research. We then examine a unique view of how media impacts lives in the UK, how we spend our work and leisure time and the prevailing attitudes held about the online environment in the consumer-centric IPA Touchpoint2 research.