Challenge of Technology Mediated Social Participation

Challenge of Technology Mediated Social Participation

Jenny Preece, Dean & ProfessorCollege of Information Studies“Maryland’s iSchool”University of Maryland, USApreece@umd.eduwww.ischool.umd.edu/people/preece

This talk

Who I am & the iSchool

Interaction Design & Online Communities

Technology Mediated Social Participation

Reader-to-Leader Framework

College of Information Studies“Maryland’s Information School”

Accredited iSchool 8th among US public universities 5 specialties in top 10

500+ graduate students Master of Library Science Master of Information Management Master of Human-Computer Interaction* Doctor of Information Studies

www.ischool.umd.edu

People

Technology

Information

Environment & Context

What We Do

Lots of Research

Computational Linguistics and Information Processing (CLIP)

The Center for Advanced Study of Communities and Information(CASCI)

The Center for Information Policy and e-Government (CIPEG)

The Human-Computer Interaction Lab (HCIL)

Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities (MITH)

The Center for Library and Information Innovation (CLII)

The Cloud Computing Center

Interaction DesignDesigning interactive products

to support how people communicate & interact

Usability goalsEffective, Efficient, Accessible,

etc.

User experience goalsEnjoyable, satisfyingSupporting sociability, etc.

Sociability, Usability & CommunitySociability considerations

People who participatePurposes they try to achievePolicies & norms that guide them

Usability of softwareSupport individual HCISupport sociability of community

430.2 Million unique Facebook visitors (2009) Users share 3.5 Billion pieces of content per day

2nd largest site after Google If it was a nation - 3rd largest after China and India

Australians average 7 hours per day Americans 6 hours Spanish 4.5 hours

Facebook

Levontin7

Sociability & Usability

Leaders

Entertainment

SupportInformation

GovernanceRecognition & feedback Effort &

“usability”

Good Challenges

Harness online communities to:Revive world economiesDisaster relief – eg Haiti, KatrinaEnvironment – eg Encylopedia of Life

Health – eg Patients Like Me

But we need: ParticipationLeadersMotivate & build trust

Bad Challenges

Malicious attacks Privacy violationsLack of trustFailure to be universalUnreliable when needed Misuse by

Terrorists & criminalsPromoters of racial hatred Political oppressors

Wikipedia

Reader Contributor Collaborator `AllUsers

From Reader to Leader:Motivating Technology-Mediated Social Participation

Preece & Shneiderman, AIS Trans. Human-Computer Interaction1 (1), 2009 aisel.aisnet.org/thci/vol1/iss1/5/

Leader

911.gov: Internet & mobile devices

Residents report information Professionals disseminate instructions Resident-to-Resident assistance

Professionals in control while working with empowered residents

www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/911govShneiderman & Preece, Science (Feb. 16, 2007)

Sending SMS message to 911, includes your phone number, location and time

Sending SMS message to 911, includes your phone number, location and time

Sending SMS message to 911, includes your phone number, location and time

Reporting: Local incidents

watchjeffersoncounty.net nationofneighbors.net

Disaster Response: Wildfires

Community Safety: Abducted Children

www.ncmec.orgwww.missingkids.com

www.amberalert.gov

Health & Healthcare

Doctor-to-Doctor Networks

Reporting: Earthquakes & Storms

earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/dyfi weather.kimt.com

E-Commerce Social Media

Reader Contributor Collaborator `AllUsers

From Reader to Leader:Motivating Technology-Mediated Social Participation

Preece & Shneiderman, AIS Trans. Human-Computer Interaction1 (1), 2009

aisel.aisnet.org/thci/vol1/iss1/5/

Leader

Motivating Readers

Usability Sociability

Interesting & relevant content presented in attractive, well-organized layouts

Encouragement by friends, family, respected authorities, advertising

Frequently updated content with highlighting to encourage return visits

Repeated visibility in online, print, television, other media

Support for newcomers: tutorials, animated demos, FAQs, help, mentors, contacts

Understandable norms & policies

Clear navigation paths sense of mastery and control

Sense of belonging: recognition of familiar people & activities

Universal usability: novice/expert, small/large display, slow/fast network, multilingual, support for users with disabilities

Charismatic leaders with visionary goals

Interface design features to support reading, browsing, searching, sharing

Safety & privacy

Serve.gov: Voluntary service

Register Your Project & Recruit VolunteersFind a Volunteer OpportunityRead Inspiring Stories of Service & Share Your Own Story

Biodiversity: Encyclopedia of Life

eol.org

Motivating Contributors

Usability Sociability

Low threshold interfaces to encourage small contributions (no login)

Support for legitimate peripheral participation

High ceiling interfaces that allow large frequent contributions

Chance to build reputation over time while performing satisfying tasks

Visibility for users’ contributions & impact - aggregated over time

Recognition for the highest quality & quantity of contributions

Visibility of ratings & comments Recognition of a person’s specific expertise

Tools to undo vandalism, limit malicious users, control pornography & libel

Policies & norms for contributions

Wikipedia

Motivating Collaborators

Usability SociabilityWays to locate relevant & competent individuals to form collaborations

Atmosphere of empathy & trust that promotes belonging to the community & willingness to work within groups to produce something larger

Tools to collaborate: communicate within groups, schedule projects, assign tasks, share work products, request assistance

Altruism: a desire to support the community, desire to give back, willingness to reciprocate

Visible recognition collaborators, e.g. authorship, citations, links, acknowledgements

Ways to develop a reputation for themselves & their collaborators; develop & maintain status within group

Ways to resolve differences (e.g. voting), mediate disputes & deal with unhelpful collaborators

Respect for status within the community

IBM’s History Flow

Abortion

White = unregisteredusers

Motivating Leaders

Usability Sociability

Leaders are given higher visibility & their efforts are highlighted, sometimes with historical narratives, special tributes, or rewards

Leadership is valued and given an honored position & expected to meet expectations

Leaders are given special powers, e.g. to promote agendas, expend resources,

or limit malicious users

Respect is offered for helping others & dealing with problems

Mentorship efforts are visibly celebrated, e.g. with comments from mentees

Mentors are cultivated & encouraged

Leaders in YouTube

Leaders in Amazon

Leaders in Amazon

Reader Contributor Collaborator `AllUsers

From Reader to Leader:Motivating Technology-Mediated Social Participation

Preece & Shneiderman, AIS Trans. Human-Computer Interaction1 (1), 2009 aisel.aisnet.org/thci/vol1/iss1/5/

Leader

Take Away Messages & Questions

Design matters

Pay attention to details

Small changes make a big difference

Questions?