Space & Narrative: Designing for Social Software

SPACE & NARRATIVE: DESIGNING FOR SOCIAL INTERACTION Xianhang Zhang - Bumblebee Labs

UNDERSTANDING HUMAN BEHAVIOR THE TRANSFORMATIVE EFFECTS OF TECHNOLOGY

ABOUT ME

ABOUT ME Grew up in Australia

ABOUT ME Grew up in Australia Bachelors of Computer Science, University of New South Wales

ABOUT ME Grew up in Australia Bachelors of Computer Science, University of New South Wales Worked on Tabletop Computing, University of Sydney

ABOUT ME Grew up in Australia Bachelors of Computer Science, University of New South Wales Worked on Tabletop Computing, University of Sydney PhD Candidate, University of Washington

ABOUT ME Grew up in Australia Bachelors of Computer Science, University of New South Wales Worked on Tabletop Computing, University of Sydney PhD Candidate, University of Washington Founder, Bumblebee Labs

ABOUT ME Grew up in Australia Bachelors of Computer Science, University of New South Wales Worked on Tabletop Computing, University of Sydney PhD Candidate, University of Washington Founder, Bumblebee Labs Bay Area?

Flame wars are not surprising; they are one of the most reliable features of mailing list practice. If you assume a piece of software is for what it does, rather than what its designer's goals were, then mailing list software is a tool for creating and sustaining heated argument.

You couldn't go through the code of Mailman and ﬁnd the comment that reads "The next subroutine ensures that misunderstandings between users will be ampliﬁed, leading to name-calling and vitriol." Yet the software will frequently produce just that outcome.

In thirty years, the principal engineering work on mailing lists has been on the administrative experience. Mailman now offers administrator nearly a hundred conﬁgurable options, many with multiple choices. However, the social experience of a mailing list over those three decades has hardly changed at all.

Social Software Understanding Transformative Human Behavior Effects of Technology

Social Software Psychologists Anthropologists Teachers Journalists Understanding Transformative Human Behavior Effects of Technology

Social Software Psychologists Startups Anthropologists Activists Politicians Teachers Social Media Journalists “Experts” Understanding Transformative Human Behavior Effects of Technology

Social Software Psychologists Startups Anthropologists Activists Design? Politicians Teachers Social Media Journalists “Experts” Understanding Transformative Human Behavior Effects of Technology

Is it considered rude to "ignore" a friend request?

Is it considered rude to "ignore" a friend request? Is it considered rude to un-friend a facebook friend? What if its someone you never actually speak to? And wish you had never friended? But you don't want to seem like an asshole? Will everyone assume that there was some "issue" or ﬁght between us?

Is it considered rude to "ignore" a friend request? Is it considered rude to un-friend a facebook friend? What if its someone you never actually speak to? And wish you had never friended? But you don't want to seem like an asshole? Will everyone assume that there was some "issue" or ﬁght between us? What about work related "friends," like a boss or someone you want to maintain good relations with but don't want seeing your party pictures?

Is it considered rude to "ignore" a friend request? Is it considered rude to un-friend a facebook friend? What if its someone you never actually speak to? And wish you had never friended? But you don't want to seem like an asshole? Will everyone assume that there was some "issue" or ﬁght between us? What about work related "friends," like a boss or someone you want to maintain good relations with but don't want seeing your party pictures? Is the point of facebook to acquire the most friends? Is there a secret prize for accomplishing this?

WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DESIGN & BEHAVIOR IN SOCIAL SOFTWARE?

Medium Scale Physical Large Scale Physical Artifact Design Artifact Design

Industrial Design Architecture

Tool Building

S Stuff p Stuff a c e

S Stuff p Stuff a c e Physical Artifact Design

SOFTWARE AS A TOOL

SOFTWARE AS A SPACE

Physical Virtual Stuff Tool Industrial Design Software as a Tool Space Space Architecture Software as a Space

FEATURES

We must ﬁrst recognize that what a town or building is, is governed, above all, by what is happening there. [...] Those of us who are concerned with buildings tend to forget too easily that all the life and soul of a place, all of our experiences there, depend not simply on the physical environment, but on the patterns of events which we experience there. - Christopher Alexander, The Timeless Way of Building

NARRATIVE

FOR SALE: BABY SHOES, NEVER WORN. ERNEST HEMMINGWAY

THE NARRATIVE IS THE ATOMIC UNIT OF SOCIAL INTERACTION

OTHER EXAMPLES OF NARRATIVES

OTHER EXAMPLES OF NARRATIVES I’m your friend

OTHER EXAMPLES OF NARRATIVES I’m your friend If you help me, I’ll owe you a favor

OTHER EXAMPLES OF NARRATIVES I’m your friend If you help me, I’ll owe you a favor I’d really rather not cook tonight but I don’t want you to think I’m lazy

OTHER EXAMPLES OF NARRATIVES I’m your friend If you help me, I’ll owe you a favor I’d really rather not cook tonight but I don’t want you to think I’m lazy Note: A Narrative does not have to be true

Physical Virtual Stuff Feature Tool Industrial Design Software as a Tool Space Narrative Space Architecture Software as a Space

N a Features Features r r a t i v e

WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DESIGN & BEHAVIOR IN SOCIAL SOFTWARE?

THE DESIGN OF THE SOFTWARE AFFECTS WHAT NARRATIVES CAN BE SUPPORTED

DEFRIENDING: REAL LIFE

DEFRIENDING: FACEBOOK

DESIGNING FOR NARRATIVES

I am a reputable merchant

Nap in my office

Meet with Alan Smithee

FRIENNUENDO social awkwardness

FACETED BLOGGING Identity

OTHER APPLICATIONS

OTHER APPLICATIONS Faceted Facebook

OTHER APPLICATIONS Faceted Facebook Faceted Twitter

OTHER APPLICATIONS Faceted Facebook Faceted Twitter Faceted Youtube

DESIGN ISSUES

DESIGN ISSUES What is the ideal granularity of a facet?

DESIGN ISSUES What is the ideal granularity of a facet? How lightweight should facet creation be?

DESIGN ISSUES What is the ideal granularity of a facet? How lightweight should facet creation be? How can you communicate faceting to the reader?

DESIGN ISSUES What is the ideal granularity of a facet? How lightweight should facet creation be? How can you communicate faceting to the reader? How does faceting integrate with the rest of the web ecosystem?

Privacy

GROUPS SUCK

GROUPS SUCK • Rude: Blacklists are Cruel. Whitelists are Snobbish.

GROUPS SUCK • Rude: Blacklists are Cruel. Whitelists are Snobbish. • Tedious: Need to explicitly list & maintain everyone who should see a photo?

GROUPS SUCK • Rude: Blacklists are Cruel. Whitelists are Snobbish. • Tedious: Need to explicitly list & maintain everyone who should see a photo? • Complicated: Either inexpressive (ﬂickr) or complicated (unix)

What is a Cherith?

What is cousin Rodney’s catchphrase?

On whose rooftop did we celebrate beating stanford?

USER STUDY 1

USER STUDY 1 • 31 subjects

USER STUDY 1 • 31 subjects •5 semi-private photos per subject

USER STUDY 1 • 31 subjects •5 semi-private photos per subject • Users listed: friends, family, authority ﬁgures, strangers, ex- romances, potential future romances etc.

USER STUDY 1

USER STUDY 1 • 179 white/black lists created

USER STUDY 1 • 179 white/black lists created • Friends: 90% whitelisted, 40% blacklisted

USER STUDY 1 • 179 white/black lists created • Friends: 90% whitelisted, 40% blacklisted • Family: 76% whitelisted, 79% blacklisted

USER STUDY 1

USER STUDY 1 • Users could create questions for 176/179 lists (98%)

USER STUDY 1 • Users could create questions for 176/179 lists (98%) • Median: 8 seconds, Mean: 15 seconds

USER STUDY II

USER STUDY II • Can strangers crack guard questions?

USER STUDY II • Can strangers crack guard questions? • 1680 Mechanical Turkers made 16,800 guesses at 168 questions

USER STUDY II • Can strangers crack guard questions? • 1680 Mechanical Turkers made 16,800 guesses at 168 questions • 6% cracked in 3 guessed, 11% in 10

USER STUDY II • Can strangers crack guard questions? • 1680 Mechanical Turkers made 16,800 guesses at 168 questions • 6% cracked in 3 guessed, 11% in 10 • Better than what users expected (14%)

USER STUDY III

USER STUDY III • Mechanical Turkers designed questions for friends that were easy (<75%) or hard (>25%) to guess

USER STUDY III • Mechanical Turkers designed questions for friends that were easy (<75%) or hard (>25%) to guess • 83% of friends guessed the easy questions

USER STUDY III • Mechanical Turkers designed questions for friends that were easy (<75%) or hard (>25%) to guess • 83% of friends guessed the easy questions • 27% of friends guessed the hard questions

ONGOING WORK toomim@cs.washington.edu

CIRCUMSPECTION

“If Privacy is the desire not to be embarrassed, Circumspection is the desire not to be bothered” CIRCUMSPECTION

WHAT’S NEXT?

WHAT’S NEXT? • Advance the state of the art in Social Interaction Design

WHAT’S NEXT? • Advance the state of the art in Social Interaction Design • Create a shareable methodology around Social Interaction Design

WHAT’S NEXT? • Advance the state of the art in Social Interaction Design • Create a shareable methodology around Social Interaction Design • Developnew interface elements that can be used towards more socially humane design

N a Features Features r r a t i v e CONCLUSIONS hang@bumblebeelabs.com http://www.bumblebeelabs.com

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Space & Narrative: Designing for Social Software

by Xianhang Zhang on Mar 18, 2010

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Space & Narrative: Designing for Social Software — Presentation Transcript