Slide deck from my presentation "Serendipity: beyond recommendation" at UX Lx - User Experience Lisbon 2011 http://www.ux-lx.com/pedrof.html

1. Serendipity: beyond recommendation
Pedro Fernandes
Interaction Designer, TBWA365
http://www.tbwa365.fr
twitter: @betasolo

2. Serendipity denotes the property of
making fortunate discoveries while
looking for something unrelated, or
the occurrence of such a discovery
during such a search.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serendipity

3. All rights reserved by Looooo

4. The unexpected

6. Most common mechanisms
for enabling serendipity
1. Search
2. Categorisation
3. Social recommendation

7. Most common mechanisms
for enabling serendipity
1. Search
2. Categorisation
3. Social recommendation

8. 1. Search Results
Query

9. 1. Search Results
Query

10. By mdx

11. Autocompletion can sometimes help serendipity,
but its purpose is to guide users
towards the most common queries.
It encourages users to take the most common path,
instead of exploring alternatives.

12. All rights reserved by .patrick.
Highway: I know where I’m going

13. Some rights reserved by jokru
Preset paths
Some rights reserved by jokru

14. All rights reserved by srini_g2003
unfinished paths:
open to exploration

15. Most common mechanisms
for enabling serendipity
1. Search
2. Categorisation
3. Social recommendation

16. 2. Categorisation
http://seogadget.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/seo-sitemap-structure-keywords-hifi.gif

17. 2. Categorisation
http://seogadget.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/seo-sitemap-structure-keywords-hifi.gif

18. 2. Categorisation
A B
http://seogadget.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/seo-sitemap-structure-keywords-hifi.gif

19. 2. Categorisation
A B
Limited awareness of
potentially interesting products
http://seogadget.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/seo-sitemap-structure-keywords-hifi.gif

20. Home
Category
Brand
Product

21. All rights reserved by alittleflood

22. A
related products
http://seogadget.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/seo-sitemap-structure-keywords-hifi.gif

24. Typical criteria include
Most popular
Most recent
Similar typology
Editorial choice
In general these criteria point to a
restricted subset of the product range
and add some serendipity, but are limited in
scope and often lead to closed loops

25. A B C D E

26. A B C D E

27. A B C D E
B CD A CD ABD ABC F GH

28. A B C D E
B CD A CD ABD ABC F GH
Closed Loop

30. Most common mechanisms
for enabling serendipity
1. Search
2. Categorisation
3. Social recommendation

31. All rights reserved by wireguy

32. algorithm recommendation
EFG
A B C D
A B C D E F G N P R T X

35. individual
ABCD?

36. individual group
ABCD? ABCDE ABCNP ABRTX

37. individual group
ABCD? ABCDE ABCNP ABRTX

38. individual group
ABCD? ABCDE ABCNP ABRTX
Suggestions: E
NP
RTX

39. ABCDE ABCNP ABRTU
ABCD? ABCDF A B C NQ ABRKX
A B C DG A B C S T A B UW Z

40. ABCDE ABCNP ABRTU
ABCD? ABCDF A B C NQ ABRKX
A B C DG A B C S T A B UW Z
Recommendations: E FG N PQS T R T U K X UW Z

41. A
X B
D
U
U I L O
T Y
F K
C E
R G
P
N
S Q H J M V
Known Unknown

42. A G
F B L H
E K
C I
D J
M
R N
Q
O
P

43. All rights reserved by Éamonn

44. “ [...] participants may find their own opinions constantly echoed
back to them, and in doing so reinforce a certain sense of truth
that resonates with individual belief systems.
This can create some significant challenges to critical discourse
within an online medium.
The echo-chamber effect may also impact a lack of recognition
to large demographic changes in language and culture on the
Internet if individuals only create, experience and navigate those
online spaces that reinforce their "preferred" world view.
Another emerging term used to describe this "echoing" and
homogenizing effect on the Internet within social communities is
”
"cultural tribalism" [...]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_echo_chamber

45. Social recommendation doesn’t encourage users
to step outside their comfort zones
and discover challenging objects
me and
what i know

46. Social recommendation doesn’t encourage users
to step outside their comfort zones
and discover challenging objects
me and
what i know
what my friends know

47. Social recommendation doesn’t encourage users
to step outside their comfort zones
and discover challenging objects
The Unknown
me and
what i know
what my friends know

48. !
cultural and social implications ?

49. Exploring alternative models

51. Romantic Film
Film
Film
Film
Reality Fantasy
Film
Film
Film
Cynical

55. Suggested tags A B C D E F G H I J K L
My selection
Videos

56. Suggested tags A B C D E F G H I J K L
My selection C
Videos

57. Suggested tags A B C D E F G H I J K L
My selection C
Videos
Search all videos tagged C

58. Suggested tags A B C D E F G H I J K L
My selection C
Videos
CHI CL COP CS T C E FG
Resulting videos tagged C

59. Suggested tags HI L OP ST EFG
My selection C
Videos
CHI CL COP CS T C E FG

60. Suggested tags HI L OP ST EFG
My selection C
Videos

61. Suggested tags HI L OP ST EFG
My selection C
Videos

62. Suggested tags HI L OP ST EFG
My selection C L
Videos

63. Suggested tags HI L OP ST EFG
My selection C L
Videos
Search all videos tagged C + L

64. Suggested tags HI L OP ST EFG
My selection C L
Videos
C LG CLJ C L N C LS VC L P Q
Resulting videos tagged C + L

65. Suggested tags G J N SV PQ
My selection C L
Videos
C LG CLJ C L N C LS VC L P Q

66. Suggested tags G J N SV PQ
My selection C L
Videos
C LG CLJ C L N C LS VC L P Q

67. This systems enables a high level of serendipity
because the suggested tags shift constantly,
funneling results but remaining really open to
unexpected deviations from fixed paths.

68. www.mowid.com

69. Example 2
Serendipicity mobile app

70. Polysemy of images:
images can have multiple meanings, so people
will interpret them according to context.
If you are shown a sequence of images, your
mind starts making sense of them, putting them
in context, judging them.
Everyone will make slightly different
interpretations of what they’re seeing, based on
their past experience.

71. Images are more open to interpretation than plain text,
their meaning isn’t xed and shifts with context

72. Mobile city guides direct users to specific locations
but most fail to encourage users to venture off the
beaten track and find new spots by themselves.
One way to encourage serendipity is to let users
see the city through someone else’s eyes.

75. Serendipcity
Mobile application prototype

76. (user scenario excerpt)

77. (user scenario excerpt)

78. Prototype is being tested with users,
receiving rather positive feedback

79. Conclusion
Most common mechanisms for enabling serendipity
1. Search
2. Categorisation
3. Social recommendation
Alternatives
1. Free combination of tags and objects
2. Local search + Polysemy + Non-verbal interface
Plenty of opportunities for innovation

80. Let’s help people find the unexpected
By Random Rupert
Unicorn, in Myths & Monsters Exhibition.

81. Pedro Fernandes
Interaction Designer, TBWA365
http://www.tbwa365.fr
twitter: @betasolo