sm2701 class 09

SM2701 Theories of Interactivity – Class 09

Today

Social computing & interactivity


Social computingBefore we start


Social computing

Application of sociological understanding to the design of interactive systems.

Where the Action is, Paul Dourish


Social computing

Terms we often come across,

Social interactionSocial computingGroupwareSocial softwareComputer supported cooperative works (CSCW)


Social computing

Design of software and associated environment to help people involved in a common task achieve their goals.


Interactivity

The key issue of interactivity in these applications is to design the environment, situation such that participants can interact among each other. The design should provide the necessary information and access to facilitate this.


InteractivityBodies Movie


InteractivityEnvironment – Bodies Movie


InteractivityEnvironment – Rafael Lozano-Hemmer again


Social computing

Functions

5. Communication – conversation6. Transaction7. Collaboration


Social computing

We turn to the animal world in order to study ours.


Social computing

Communication involves the exchange of cues, whether it is sight, sound, smell or touch.


Social computing

Cue refers to a general set of things we can perceive that indicate some other hidden state or intention.

Cue is any feature of the world, animate or inanimate, that can be used … as a guide to future action (Maynard Smith and Harper 2003)


Social computing

If the cue is intended to provide the information, it is called a signal.


Social computing

In our interaction with others, we often rely on the exchange of signals to assess the qualities of others.

In our everyday life, those qualities are often not accessible to us. We have to make use of the perceivable signals to judge.


Social computing

Signals have different degrees of reliability.


Social computing

Reliable signal reflects well its quality represented.

Is unreliable signal bad?


Social computing

A signal is reliable if it is beneficial to produce truthfully and too costly to produce falsely.

We may have to know the cost to produce a signal.


Social computing

Honest vs. deceptive (intention)

Honest – intended to display a quality and it does exist.Deceptive – intended to display a quality that does not exist.

Reliable signal is honest.Unreliable signal can be honest or deceptive, e.g. wedding ring.


Social computing

Signal exchange has intention. It must be beneficial to senders otherwise, they will stop sending. For receivers, they will learn to ignore them if the signals are not beneficial to them.

Honest signal benefits both sender and receiver.

Deceptive signal often harms the receiver.

Deceptive signal sometimes harms the honest sender who sends the same signal but being ignored by receiver.


Social computing

Handicap signals (costly signals)

Signals which are costly to produce in terms of the quality being signaled and thus prohibit others with less resources to signal it.

E.g. eating a very expensive meal to show off wealth.


Social computing

Index signals

The quality itself is required to produce the signal.

E.g. turn on the projector without using the remote control.


Social computing

Conventional signals

The relation/association between the signal and quality is by convention only.

E.g. reading Deleuze in a Starbuck.

Easy to be deceptive.


Social computing

What to do with interactivity?

Interactive products are often designed to serve the mutual interaction among users.

Can the signal exchange still be meaningful in the virtual environment?


Social computing

Communicatione.g. instant messaging

Image from http://www.icq.com/

http://www.icq.com/


Social computing

Instant messaging

In ICQ, MSN or other similar software, can you list some communicative features which are present in real world but not in the software environment.


Social computing

Transactione.g. E-commerce site with communities

Image from http://www.ebay.com/

http://www.ebay.com/


Social computing

TransactionGo to Amazon or eBay and buy something. You can just stop at the moment before paying. Write down all the steps you go through. Pay attention to the peripheral information in each step.


Social computing

TransactionRecall a similar shopping experience in a real store. Identify all those information and interaction you have in the real store but not in the online shops.


Social computing

Collaboratione.g. End user publishing, wiki

Image from wikiwikiweb


Social computing

CollaborationThink about the advantages and disadvantages of using Wikipedia.


Social computing

There are other commercial groupware software in use for many years. For example, Lotus Notes, Novell Groupwise, etc.

Image from http://www.ibm.com/ Image from http://www.novell.com/

http://www.ibm.com/

http://www.novell.com/


Groupware

What is inside a groupware?

Image from http://www.wikipedia.org/

http://www.wikipedia.org/


Groupware

A number of groupware applications are replaced by Intranet.

Image from http://www.cityu.edu.hk/

http://www.cityu.edu.hk/


Groupware

Or the networked applications provider

Image from http://www.google.com/

http://www.google.com/


Groupware

The key feature is that multiple users can work on one single document, either at the same time or at different time.


Virtual Community

If we go beyond the functional aspects of the software, users may form a community around the tasks available to perform with the software.


Virtual CommunityA term and a book by Howard Rheingold.

Image from http://www..wikipedia.org/


Virtual Community – The WELL

The early virtual communities, Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link, WELLIt is a dial-up bulletin board system for forum discussion in the beginning. It can also be accessed as website at http://www.well.com/ .

http://www.well.com/


Virtual Community – CompuServe

CompuServe was a service provider giving network access to customers. It also provides emails, forum posting, and early world wide web functions. At the same time, it also maintains information content with different topic areas.


Communication

The major function of the virtual community is to provide a platform for communication across time and space.

Same time Different time

Same space conversation notice board

Different space phone mail


Comparison

Here is a comparison of the general convention we have between oral and written communication.

Can you figure out which one is which communication method?

When conventions collide: the tensions of instant messaging attributed, Amy Voida, Wendy C. Newstetter,

Elizabeth D. Mynatt.


Comparison

• No persistent records• Hesitations and thinking not considered inarticulate• Syntax of sequentially adjoined clause chains• Continuous attention• The power in initiating communication lies with the initiator • Turn taking by establishing cohesive links within the text of

the preceding participant


Comparison

• Persistent record• Crafted carefully so as not to be considered inarticulate• Syntax of hierarchical sentence structure• Attended to as circumstances allow• The power in initiating communication lies with the receiver• Turn taking explicitly granted through exchange of

communication artifact


Design implications

• Receiving ‘offline’ messages• Multi-threads communication• No explicit synchronization mechanism• Attention vs. peripheral• Anything else?


Real Life (RL)

Describe the scenario when you enter an unfamiliar room with strangers.


Virtual Life

Describe the scenario when you enter an unfamiliar online chat room with strangers.


Real Person

List out the characteristics of one of your classmates, like:

personality, social status, taste, belief, etc.

And state how you obtain the information.


Real Person

Can you obtain similar information in the room of strangers mentioned in previous slide?


Virtual Person

Can you obtain similar information in the chat room of strangers mentioned in previous slide?


Virtual Personality

What information is available to tell you the

• Social status• Personality• Taste• Belief• Reputation• Reliability

of a person in a virtual community?


Connectivity

Affiliation or link to various social groupingsProximity link to various individuals


ConnectivitySix degrees of separation


ExamplesMoodstats


ExamplesinTouch

Image from http://www.media.mit.edu/

http://www.media.mit.edu/


ExamplesTable again


ExamplesFamiliar Strangers

Image from http://berkeley.intel-research.net/paulos/research/familiarstranger/

http://berkeley.intel-research.net/paulos/research/familiarstranger/


ExamplesDegree Confluence

Image from http://www.confluence.org

http://www.confluence.org/


ExamplesDigger disappearance act


Examples

• Smart mobs• Flash mobs• Bluejacking

• Dorkbot

http://www.bluejackq.com/

http://dorkbot.org/


Web 2.0 or 3.0What is it?

sm2701 class 09

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