Percepcions of Advertising in Online Social NetworksIsrael Degasperi
Advertising in online social networks is a major unexplored advertising area. However, interactivity on the Internet shifts the ways in which users perceive advertising, and whether they perceive it at all. This research study focuses on college students, users of online social networks, as main sources of information that helps advertisers understand the ways in which advertisements are perceived online. Through the personal in-depth interviews, using Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique, it has been revealed that only 20% of online social network users notice advertisements while using online social networks. The content found in online social networks inhibits viewing advertisements. This research study does not offer solutions to that problem, but simply states the users’ views.
Virtual fictional brand management and innovative branding modelLaurent Muzellec
Virtual brands and Fictional Brands explained and innovative branding and brand management techniques presented.
The concepts of protobrands and reverse product placement and explores some of the
managerial and academic implications.
The paper establishes that the brand concept may now be detached from physical embodiment. The
extension of application of the branding domain to the fictional and computer-synthesized worlds is
extensively illustrated by examples of virtual brands from books, films, video games and other
multi-user virtual environments.
Evidence suggests that purely potential brands (protobrands) initiated in the virtual
world may possess strong consumer-based brand equity. The study shows that the equity of the
protobrands may be leveraged in-world (and can acquire legal protection) or through reverse product
placement and the launch of the physical embodiment of the protobrand in the physical world (the
HyperReal brand).
This is an initial conceptual paper on virtual and HyperReal
brands. This study, which has no antecedents, highlights the need for further empirical inquiry. The
reverse product placement phenomenon may result in academics and practitioners to revise the
traditional models of building brands.
Originality/value – The paper introduces and defines virtual brands, both fictional and
computer-synthesized, HyperReal brands and the reverse product placement phenomenon.
Keywords
Percepcions of Advertising in Online Social NetworksIsrael Degasperi
Advertising in online social networks is a major unexplored advertising area. However, interactivity on the Internet shifts the ways in which users perceive advertising, and whether they perceive it at all. This research study focuses on college students, users of online social networks, as main sources of information that helps advertisers understand the ways in which advertisements are perceived online. Through the personal in-depth interviews, using Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique, it has been revealed that only 20% of online social network users notice advertisements while using online social networks. The content found in online social networks inhibits viewing advertisements. This research study does not offer solutions to that problem, but simply states the users’ views.
Virtual fictional brand management and innovative branding modelLaurent Muzellec
Virtual brands and Fictional Brands explained and innovative branding and brand management techniques presented.
The concepts of protobrands and reverse product placement and explores some of the
managerial and academic implications.
The paper establishes that the brand concept may now be detached from physical embodiment. The
extension of application of the branding domain to the fictional and computer-synthesized worlds is
extensively illustrated by examples of virtual brands from books, films, video games and other
multi-user virtual environments.
Evidence suggests that purely potential brands (protobrands) initiated in the virtual
world may possess strong consumer-based brand equity. The study shows that the equity of the
protobrands may be leveraged in-world (and can acquire legal protection) or through reverse product
placement and the launch of the physical embodiment of the protobrand in the physical world (the
HyperReal brand).
This is an initial conceptual paper on virtual and HyperReal
brands. This study, which has no antecedents, highlights the need for further empirical inquiry. The
reverse product placement phenomenon may result in academics and practitioners to revise the
traditional models of building brands.
Originality/value – The paper introduces and defines virtual brands, both fictional and
computer-synthesized, HyperReal brands and the reverse product placement phenomenon.
Keywords
TOWARDS UNIVERSAL RATING OF ONLINE MULTIMEDIA CONTENTcsandit
Most website classification systems have dealt with the question of classifying websites based on
their content, design, usability, layout and such, few have considered website classification
based on users’ experience. The growth of online marketing and advertisement has lead to
fierce competition that has resulted in some websites using disguise ways so as to attract users.
This may result in cases where a user visits a website and does not get the promised results. The
results are a waste of time, energy and sometimes even money for users. In this context, we design
an experiment that uses fuzzy linguistic model and data mining techniques to capture users’
experiences, we then use the k-means clustering algorithm to cluster websites based on a set of
feature vectors from the users’ perspective. The content unity is defined as the distance between
the real content and its keywords. We demonstrate the use of bisecting k-means algorithm for
this task and demonstrate that the method can incrementally learn from user’s profile on their
experience with these websites.
No Interface? No Problem: Applying HCD Agile to Data Projects (Righi)Kath Straub
This paper will be published in the Nov 2020 Issue of Journal of Usability Studies. (https://uxpajournal.org/). Its being pre-printed here with permission from the author and the Journal Board.
In October 2019, a group of human-centered designers,
agilists, data scientists, and other technology enablement
practitioners joined to share their thoughts about a topic of
common interest: How should the principles and practices of
human-centered design, Agile development, and the
overarching process of HCDAgile be applied to products that
have no obvious user interface?
The group’s objective was to develop guidance based upon
shared knowledge across disciplines and industries for
leveraging HCDAgile in data projects. In this paper we share
our initial observations from the meeting.
Fair balance: I participated in the huddle that led to this paper, but not in writing up the paper. Thanks to Carol Righi for doing the needful.
TOWARDS UNIVERSAL RATING OF ONLINE MULTIMEDIA CONTENTcscpconf
Most website classification systems have dealt with the question of classifying websites based on
their content, design, usability, layout and such, few have considered website classification
based on users’ experience. The growth of online marketing and advertisement has lead to
fierce competition that has resulted in some websites using disguise ways so as to attract users.
This may result in cases where a user visits a website and does not get the promised results. The
results are a waste of time, energy and sometimes even money for users. In this context, we design
an experiment that uses fuzzy linguistic model and data mining techniques to capture users’
experiences, we then use the k-means clustering algorithm to cluster websites based on a set of
feature vectors from the users’ perspective. The content unity is defined as the distance between
the real content and its keywords. We demonstrate the use of bisecting k-means algorithm for
this task and demonstrate that the method can incrementally learn from user’s profile on their
experience with these websites.
‘Trends in, and reflections on, library discovery services’. Ken was the keynote speaker at the JIBS event: ‘New dawn: the changing resource discovery landscape’ in February 2013.
Presenting the latest work from our team of talented designers.
Learn about Jakt team, our latest achievements, and our favorite partner work. In this deck, you'll find designs for user flows, wireframes, UX, UI, branding strategies, and more.
Focusing on user experience, task analysis and mental models, this is a brief introduction to methods we can use to make content easier and more enjoyable to access on the mobile.
Setting up an enterprise wide User Experience function can be a challenge in any industry. Higher education presents its own challenges, particularly in light of recent digital disruption emerging in the industry.
This presentation looks at the disruption that can be expected, explains the importance of User Experience, provides examples of UX and suggestions for setting up centralised UX.
Bootstrapping the Information Architecture (Italian IA Summit)Peter Boersma
When I design, it is in the early stages of an interactive system’s life. There are no widgets to place on screens, or menus to collapse or expand. No wireframes, no screen flows, no accessibility or SEO issues. No search, no controlled vocabulary, no settings screens or personalisation options to design. In short: the project needs to be bootstrapped.
I am involved when a lot of things need to be explored and modelled; the scope and environment of the system, the core concepts that make up its parts, their relationships and their names. So what do we produce in that stage? Mostly so-called concept diagrams.
In this talk, I explain what concept diagrams are, referencing other people’s experiences as well as my own, and how they are useful when a design needs to be bootstrapped. I show how I have used variations of them in recent assignments for KLM and the City of Amsterdam, among others. I will try to convince you that you should create one for each and every situation that needs bootstrapping.
TOWARDS UNIVERSAL RATING OF ONLINE MULTIMEDIA CONTENTcsandit
Most website classification systems have dealt with the question of classifying websites based on
their content, design, usability, layout and such, few have considered website classification
based on users’ experience. The growth of online marketing and advertisement has lead to
fierce competition that has resulted in some websites using disguise ways so as to attract users.
This may result in cases where a user visits a website and does not get the promised results. The
results are a waste of time, energy and sometimes even money for users. In this context, we design
an experiment that uses fuzzy linguistic model and data mining techniques to capture users’
experiences, we then use the k-means clustering algorithm to cluster websites based on a set of
feature vectors from the users’ perspective. The content unity is defined as the distance between
the real content and its keywords. We demonstrate the use of bisecting k-means algorithm for
this task and demonstrate that the method can incrementally learn from user’s profile on their
experience with these websites.
No Interface? No Problem: Applying HCD Agile to Data Projects (Righi)Kath Straub
This paper will be published in the Nov 2020 Issue of Journal of Usability Studies. (https://uxpajournal.org/). Its being pre-printed here with permission from the author and the Journal Board.
In October 2019, a group of human-centered designers,
agilists, data scientists, and other technology enablement
practitioners joined to share their thoughts about a topic of
common interest: How should the principles and practices of
human-centered design, Agile development, and the
overarching process of HCDAgile be applied to products that
have no obvious user interface?
The group’s objective was to develop guidance based upon
shared knowledge across disciplines and industries for
leveraging HCDAgile in data projects. In this paper we share
our initial observations from the meeting.
Fair balance: I participated in the huddle that led to this paper, but not in writing up the paper. Thanks to Carol Righi for doing the needful.
TOWARDS UNIVERSAL RATING OF ONLINE MULTIMEDIA CONTENTcscpconf
Most website classification systems have dealt with the question of classifying websites based on
their content, design, usability, layout and such, few have considered website classification
based on users’ experience. The growth of online marketing and advertisement has lead to
fierce competition that has resulted in some websites using disguise ways so as to attract users.
This may result in cases where a user visits a website and does not get the promised results. The
results are a waste of time, energy and sometimes even money for users. In this context, we design
an experiment that uses fuzzy linguistic model and data mining techniques to capture users’
experiences, we then use the k-means clustering algorithm to cluster websites based on a set of
feature vectors from the users’ perspective. The content unity is defined as the distance between
the real content and its keywords. We demonstrate the use of bisecting k-means algorithm for
this task and demonstrate that the method can incrementally learn from user’s profile on their
experience with these websites.
‘Trends in, and reflections on, library discovery services’. Ken was the keynote speaker at the JIBS event: ‘New dawn: the changing resource discovery landscape’ in February 2013.
Presenting the latest work from our team of talented designers.
Learn about Jakt team, our latest achievements, and our favorite partner work. In this deck, you'll find designs for user flows, wireframes, UX, UI, branding strategies, and more.
Focusing on user experience, task analysis and mental models, this is a brief introduction to methods we can use to make content easier and more enjoyable to access on the mobile.
Setting up an enterprise wide User Experience function can be a challenge in any industry. Higher education presents its own challenges, particularly in light of recent digital disruption emerging in the industry.
This presentation looks at the disruption that can be expected, explains the importance of User Experience, provides examples of UX and suggestions for setting up centralised UX.
Bootstrapping the Information Architecture (Italian IA Summit)Peter Boersma
When I design, it is in the early stages of an interactive system’s life. There are no widgets to place on screens, or menus to collapse or expand. No wireframes, no screen flows, no accessibility or SEO issues. No search, no controlled vocabulary, no settings screens or personalisation options to design. In short: the project needs to be bootstrapped.
I am involved when a lot of things need to be explored and modelled; the scope and environment of the system, the core concepts that make up its parts, their relationships and their names. So what do we produce in that stage? Mostly so-called concept diagrams.
In this talk, I explain what concept diagrams are, referencing other people’s experiences as well as my own, and how they are useful when a design needs to be bootstrapped. I show how I have used variations of them in recent assignments for KLM and the City of Amsterdam, among others. I will try to convince you that you should create one for each and every situation that needs bootstrapping.
1. 2010 CRC PhD Student Conference
Understanding the Influence of 3D Virtual Worlds on Perceptions of
2D E-commerce Websites
Minh Q. Tran
Centre for Research in Computing
The Open University
m.tran@open.ac.uk
Supervisors
Dr. Shailey Minocha Prof. Angus Laing
Centre for Research in Computing Business School
The Open University Loughborough University
s.minocha@open.ac.uk a.w.laing@lboro.ac.uk
Dr. Darren Langdridge Mr. Dave Roberts
Department of Psychology Centre for Research in Computing
The Open University The Open University
d.langdridge@open.ac.uk d.roberts@open.ac.uk
Department: Computing
Status: Full-time
Probation viva: Passed July 2009
Starting date: October 2008
Introduction
The aim of our research is to understand consumers’ experiences in 3D virtual worlds (VWs) and how
those experiences influence consumers' expectations of 2D e-commerce websites. As consumers
become familiar with the affordances and capabilities of 3D VWs, do their expectations of 2D e-
commerce websites change? The outcome of this research project will be an understanding of
consumers’ experiences in 3D VWs and 2D e-commerce websites. Furthermore, design guidelines will
be developed for e-commerce in 3D VWs and for the integration of 3D VWs with 2D e-commerce
websites.
3D Virtual Worlds
3D VWs are online, persistent, multi-user environments where users interact through avatars [2].
Avatars are digital self-representations of users. Through avatars, users can walk in simulated physical
spaces, talk to other avatars and interact with the environment. This opens up different possibilities for
interaction; both in terms of human-computer interaction (HCI) and also business-to-consumer (B2C)
interactions. Users may be able to browse through virtual markets, shop with their friends and interact
in real-time with vendors [10]. These features suggest shopping in 3D VWs may be more immersive
compared to shopping on websites [7].
E-commerce in Second Life
Second Life (SL) is a 3D VW. SL does not cost any money to use. It is also an open-ended platform;
users of SL are encouraged to create their own content and design their own activities. Users can sell
any content (objects, scripts, animations) that they make. Content can also be bought from others. As a
consequence, SL has developed its own virtual economy [6], including having virtual stores to shop
from (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Stores in Second Life.
Page 104 of 125
2. 2010 CRC PhD Student Conference
Currently, the economy in SL mainly involves virtual items, such as virtual clothes, avatar models,
homes and land. However, there is potential for real business, involving real world items. Some
companies, such as Coca-Cola and Adidas, have already used SL to advertise their products [12]. As
the popularity of 3D VWs grows, more companies will likely make use of 3D VWs for their e-
commerce beyond marketing and advertising. 3D VWs has the potential to become a platform for
buying and selling real items, just as websites are today. However, successful implementation of e-
commerce in 3D VWs will require an understanding of what influences the user experience [11].
Research Objectives
The goal of this research is to investigate affordances of 3D VWs and their influence on consumer’s
perceptions and expectations of 2D e-commerce websites. This understanding will be used to develop
guidelines for designing positive e-commerce experiences in 3D VWs and 2D e-commerce websites.
The research questions are:
RQ1: What are consumers’ experiences in 3D VWs?
RQ2: What are consumers’ perceptions and expectations of 2D e-commerce websites who
have experience in VWs?
RQ3: What are the differences in expectations and behaviours between consumers in 3D VWs
and 2D e-commerce websites?
Online Service Encounter
Consumers’ experiences are based on what occurs during the service encounter. The service encounter
refers to all interactions between a consumer and a service provider for the exchange of a product or
provision of a service. According to the service encounter model, a full understanding of the experience
involves looking at what happens before, during and after a purchase (Figure 1).
Figure 2. Model of the service encounter [3].
Furthermore, consumers now have the option between different commerce channels (websites, high
street, telephone, etc.). Therefore, consumers’ experiences are not based only on the performance of
individual channels, but also how well the channels are integrated to provide a positive and seamless
experience. This research focuses on two commerce channels in particular, 3D VWs and 2D websites.
Affordances of 3D VWs
3D VWs support the service encounter in different ways compared to 2D websites. For example,
having products rendered in 3D can improve product ‘diagnosticity’ [8]. Diagnosticity refers to how
easily a consumer can judge a product to fit their needs. An interactive 3D model of products gives
users more information about its form and function. Therefore, users may be able to make informed
purchase decisions when shopping in VWs because they have a better idea of what the product is like.
Another advantage is the multi-user and synchronous environment. VWs produce the sense ‘being
there’, also referred to as ‘presence’ [13]. A sense of ‘being there’ with others is also possible because
avatars are located in the same virtual space; users can ‘see’ each other. As a result, the e-commerce
experience has a social dimension that is not experienced when shopping on websites.
Affordances of 2D Websites
Websites have their own advantages that VWs do not. Presently, websites can provide more
information compared to VWs as they use text effectively [5]. The advantage of text is that it can
describe many details about a product, such as specifications and warranties, which cannot be easily
conveyed through images or 3D models. The web also has the advantage of being faster than 3D VWs
because of its low bandwidth and CPU requirements.
Page 105 of 125
3. 2010 CRC PhD Student Conference
Methodology
The methodology of this research project is empirical and qualitative. Three studies involving users are
planned (Figure 3). The first two studies are based on in-depth interviews. The interviews will be
conducted in SL. During the interviews, participants are encouraged to describe their own shopping
experiences in detail and from their own subjective viewpoint. The interview technique is based on
phenomenology [4]. Phenomenological interviews, and subsequent phenomenological analysis, allow
the researcher to obtain the structure and content of experience. During the interviews, each participant
is asked to describe the pre-purchase, purchase and post-purchase interactions from a service encounter.
The data consists of descriptions of shopping experiences, including behaviours, thoughts and feelings.
For this project, data analysis includes both descriptive phenomenological analysis [4] and a general
thematic analysis [1]. A descriptive phenomenological analysis of each interview produces use cases
(or individually structured narratives). Thematic analysis produces a set of themes relating to
affordances and user experience. The use cases and themes provide grounding to reason about design
implications and design guidelines. Design guidelines will be validated through a third study. The
guidelines will be evaluated by users who have experience creating content in 3D VWs and websites.
Part of the validation study will involve making the guidelines usable for the intended audience of
designers and marketers.
Figure 3. Project methodology
Preliminary Findings
The first study is now complete. A list of themes based on affordances and use cases are being
compiled. The aim is to provide a comprehensive list of affordances in 3D VWs for designers to think
about when designing e-commerce systems. The long-term goal is to provide guidance on how to best
use these affordances to create positive experiences. Some affordances identified so far are the ability
to:
• navigate through 3D environments facilitated by the spatial metaphor in a 3D VW
• browse pre-arranged displays similar to a real-world store
• interact with others in real-time as avatars
• blend the 3D virtual world experience with 2D websites
Through further analysis, a set of use qualities and their design implications will be derived. Use
qualities relate to emotional aspects (sensations, feelings, meaning-making) [9]. For example, some use
qualities that characterize the 3D virtual world experience are:
Page 106 of 125
4. 2010 CRC PhD Student Conference
• Disembodied presence: presence and interaction in VWs requires a combination of interaction
metaphors, some from avatar-centred (or game-based) interactions and some from pointer-based
(WIMP-desktop) interactions.
• Touristy shopping: VWs are still a relatively new technology. Consumers are open to the idea of
simply enjoying the sights and sounds through visiting new store. The element of discovery and
wonder partly contributes to the positive feelings associated with the shopping experience.
• Effortful: consumers perceive the shopping experience as requiring non-trivial effort. This may be
due to the difficulty of finding stores or the time required to travel through the virtual world
because of ‘lag’. The way that consumers describe shopping experience in 3D VWs suggests
shopping is more difficult in VWs compared to shopping on websites.
• Socially situated: consumers are not alone in VWs. The motivation and consequence of
consumer’s actions are influenced by their social network and activity. For example, consumers
often choose to buy products because they see someone else with the product. Or, they buy
products so that they can share it with others in the virtual world.
Further Work
The second and third empirical studies will be completed within the next year. The final outcome will
be design guidelines for usability of e-commerce in VWs and on websites. Additionally, the guidelines
will address how to integrate 3D and 2D e-commerce environments for a positive and seamless
consumer experience. The outcome of this research will benefit designers and marketers by providing
guidance and a framework for designing positive e-commerce experiences. Consumers will also benefit
by having e-commerce systems that meet their requirements and address their expectations.
References
1. Braun, V. and Clarke, V. Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative research in
psychology 3(2), 2006, 77–101.
2. Castronova, E. Synthetic Worlds - The Business and Culture of Online Games. University of
Chicago Press, London, 2005.
3. Gabbott, M. and Hogg, G. Consumers and Services. Wiley UK, 1998.
4. Giorgi, A. P. and Giorgi, B. Phenomenological psychology. In Willig, C. and Rogers. W.S. eds.
The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research in Psychology. SAGE Ltd, London, 2008.
5. Goel, L. and Prokopec, S. If you build it will they come?—An empirical investigation of consumer
perceptions and strategy in VWs. Electronic Commerce Research, 9(2), 115-134.
6. Hale, T. 2009 End of Year Second Life Economy Wrap up (including Q4 Economy in Detail).
Retrieved March 10, 2010, from Second Life Official Blog:
http://blogs.secondlife.com/community/features/blog/2010/01/19/2009-end-of-year-second-life-
economy-wrap-up-including-q4-economy-in-detail.
7. Hemp, P. Are You Ready for E-tailing 2.0? Harvard Business Review 84, 1028-29.
8. Jiang, Z. and Benbasat, I. Virtual Product Experience: Effects of Visual and Functional Control of
Products on Perceived Diagnosticity and Flow in Electronic Shopping. Journal of Management
Information Systems, 21(3), 111-147.
9. Löwgren, J. and Stolterman, E. Thoughtful Interaction Design. The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA,
2004.
10. Maamar, Z. Commerce, E-Commerce, and M-Commerce: What Comes Next? Communications of
the ACM 46, 12, 2003, 251-257.
11. Petre, M., Minocha, S. and Roberts, D. Usability Beyond the Website: an Empirically-Grounded
E-commerce Evaluation Instrument for the Total Customer Experience. Behaviour and
Information Technology, 25(2), 189-203.
12. Rymaszewski, M., Au, W. J., Ondrejka, C., Platel, R., Gorden, S. V., Cezanne, J., Batston-
Cunningham, B., Krotoski, A., Trollop, C. and Rossignol, J. Second Life: The Official Guide
(Second Ed.). Wiley Publishing Inc, Indiana, 2008.
13. Taylor, T. Living Digitally: Embodiment in VWs. In R. Schroeder, The Social Life of Avatars:
Presence and Interaction in Shared Virtual Environments. Springer-Verlag London Ltd., London,
2002, 40–62.
Note: All studies involving participants has been approved by The Open University’s Human
Participants and Materials Ethics Committee (HPMEC). The study protocol is consistent with
guidelines from the British Psychological Association (http://www.bps.org.uk) and Second Life
Community Standards (http://secondlife.com/corporate/cs.php).
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