FOCUS GROUPS
haven't found anything for automating this yet. And also I'm skeptical of focus groups as a methodology.
But... Digital forums for this might be interesting. What are the hot social networks for 'group discussions' now? I need to check Quora. Any recommendations for places where people get into deep topic discussions? Something similar to what Tribe used to be.
USABILITY TESTING
usertesting.com - haven't used yet. Competitive usability testing seems useful, but maybe at later stages.
http://www.userzoom.com/ - haven't used yet
IN PERSON DISCUSSIONS
I've been doing 'phone call based interviews' with friends of friends, and this has resulted in some interesting feedback, but the numbers aren't high enough. Maybe I should just post a craig's list ad and ask for phone interview respondents.
Anyone have tips on getting more in-person discussions going?