MusicFX is an example of an active environment that uses a group preference arbitration system to allow the members of a fitness center to influence, but not directly control, the selection of music in that environment. The system contains a database of members' musical preferences, a badge system for determining who is working out, and a weighted random selection algorithm for selecting music to best suit the group inhabitants at any given time. MusicFX was deployed in the fitness center at Accenture Technology Park in Northbrook, IL (USA) from November 1997 through January, 2002. These slides are from the CSCW 98 presentation on the system. More info, including the CSCW 98 paper, can be found at http://interrelativity.com/joe/projects/MusicFX.html

1. MusicFX: An Arbiter of Group Preferences for Computer Supported Collaborative Workouts Joe McCarthy Ted Anagnost Andersen Consulting Center for Strategic Technology Research

6. Observation 2

16. An example

22. Individual Satisfaction for all 275 FX Members

25. Average Individual Preferences

26. Top 10 Stations

29. Individual Satisfaction after 6 months (Avg: 0.64)

30. Average Preferences after 6 months (Avg: -0.39 to -0.50)

31. Future Group Preference Applications