by Daniel Michelis
See below Miriam Meckel’s and my presentation from the Pervasive Advertising Workshop at PERVASIVE 09:
The workshop topic inspired us to develop a concept of “Calm Advertising” that refers to the vision of “Calm Computing” and focuses on a new way of public advertising that doesn`t aim to shout out lout messages to get peoples attention but enable passers-by to freely engage in the communication with advertising companies.
We are working on a position paper that we will post here. D.M.
The Proceedings of the Pervasive Advertising Workshop at Pervasive 2009 are now online.
I just came across my book “Interactive Displays in Public Space – A theoretical analysis of intrinsically motivating design elements” at Google Books (only in German language).
English Abstract:
“Interactive large format displays have presently found their way into many places in public space. After a long phase of experimenting with prototypes only recently have technically mature applications been observed that are used in an increasing number of potential areas. This dissertation examines the motivations behind the use of these applications.
Serving as the point of departure are four large format displays of the installation Magical Mirrors, developed as prototypes by the author of this work, and which allowed the first experiences with the use of interactive large format displays in public space to be collected even before the beginning of the investigation. These initial experiences were taken into consideration in developing the research questions and design.
At the center of the work is an analysis of theoretical motivations in which five motivational factors are determined according to previous research work and in consideration of the demands specific to interactive large format displays. In the analysis of these factors a set of tools of fundamental motivations are identified from which design elements for interactive large format displays in public space can be derived. The results of the analysis are subjected to an empirical examination. In 15 partial experiments the observed user behavior of a total of 4640 passersby is analyzed.
On the basis of this empirical investigation this dissertation presents – as one of the first scholarly works in this area – a contribution to the understanding of the fundamental motivations behind the use of interactive large format displays in public space.”
As announced earlier, IntertechPira offered one free pass to attend the Interactive Displays 2009 conference in San Jose, CA. The winner of this “lottery” is Pablo Jenner Paredez Angeles.
Today, my dissertation:
“Interaktive Großbildschirme im öffentliche Raum:
Nutzungsmotive und Gestaltungsregeln”
was published here.
To get an overview on the content you can download the index of contents at GABLERS official website.
As mentioned earlier it is in German only but I invited to publish english papers at Pervasive 09 (Workshop Pervasive Advertising) and EuroITV 200 (Workshop ”Designing and understanding enjoyable media experiences“).
More and more academic research projects are starting to explore the usage of interactive displays in public space but until today there are three central limitations in this area of investigation:
Limitation 1: There are merely empirical investigations
The vast majority of research projects with interactive displays in public space is based on explorative investigation only. Most projects analyze the spread large-scale displays in public space from a very generic perspective, raise general non-systematic questions and offer only hypothetic answers. The entry of interactive applications into public space is part of a greater tendency: computer usage has seeped into public life and is no longer restricted to mere task fulfillment at the workplace. While task oriented theories simply regard the “how” of an activity but not the “why”, they leave questions concerning underlying motivations unanswered. Presently there exists a significant need for furthering the understanding of motivations behind user activities. Only very little is known about the process of interaction and particularly, about how interactive displays activate engagement of passers-by and encourage intensive user-interaction.
Limitation 2: Real-world studies are needed to fully understand public interaction processes.
After a long phase of experimenting with prototypes only recently interactive large-scale are displays finding their way into public space. So far most investigations took place in protected areas inside laboratories or academic institutes. Since interaction with public displays occurs in both the digital and the real world, lab based user studies are no longer sufficient; instead only by designing real-world settings are we able to fully understand public interaction processes.
Limitation 3: Most research is based on single-display applications
Third, due to the cost of prototype development, research has widely been limited to single-display-usage. Until today, research with multi-display prototypes is very rare.
At the Pervasive Advertising Workshop at Pervasive 2009 I will try to give an answer to the question: Why Do We Want to Interact With Electronic Billboards in Public Space?.
In our paper, Miriam Meckel and I examine the motivations behind the use of interactive large format displays in public space. On the basis of the empirical investigation documented in this blog we present an analysis of user-motivations in which motivational factors are determined from which design elements for interactive large format displays in public space can be derived.
Fig. 1: Usage patterns of passers-by interacting with the prototype
“IntertechPira is offering the chance for one Magical Mirrors Blog reader to attend the Interactive Displays 2009 conference in San Jose, CA this April absolutely free. Simply send an email to Joan stating that you would like to be entered in the drawing for the free pass. A name will be picked April 1st and announced on this site as well as IntertechPira’s event website www.int-displays.com.”
Unfortunately, i cannot attend myself, but if one of you does, you are welcome to post / comment some conference highlights.
The Networked City
The network is the new urban location. Inside the network we’re no longer tied to geographical places but to inter-connectivity and bandwidth. If we want to move from one place to another we don’t need pathways and doors, we move along network connections. The ability to connect defines an ever-increasing part of our lives: “connectivity has become the defining characteristic of our twenty first-century urban condition.“ [1] In networks of various types and sizes we play various network roles. Today, the network, rather than the enclosure, is emerging as the desired place. Connectivity is becoming the central condition of our globalized world.
No more „here and now“
With the advent of omnipresent interconnectivity we’re living in an age of globalized network-time in which traditional concepts of “here“ and “now“ no longer have meaning. Digital interconnectivity has led to the existence of a networked parallelism. Daily behaviors are fragmented: “they are no longer bounded by walls, but by the reach of our networks” [1]
For some time physical proximity no longer defines the scope of our actions and social interactions. More and more, social networks are characterized as “dynamic patterns of presence”; group affiliation is experienced as a dynamic construct via electronic networks.
Crossing boundaries
Networks are the new vehicles we use to link ourselves together. It follows thus: we cannot connect without also separating. In order to maintain our distance from people we don’t know, we enclose ourselves within a variety of boundaries. Countries, cities, houses, rooms, clothes or even social or cultural boundaries all function as semi-permeable filters that determine what we let in and what we don’t. Only our network-connections have allowed us to transcend these physical barriers. Connection crosses boundaries. Yet only those who have access to the network – an access point – can connect to it. “Our networks [...] have well-defined access points, and between these points things are in a kind of limbo.” [1] We can only experience networks at their interfaces.
The spread of urban displays
Following the global inter-linking of computers, the digitalization of physical space has now begun: “At the beginning of the twenty first century the research agendas, media attention, and practical applications have come to focus on a new agenda – the physical – that is, physical space filled with electronic and visual information.” [3]
My dissertation will be published shortly. The title will be “Interaktive Großbildschirme im öffentlichen Raum” (english: “Interactive Displays in Public Space”) Finally!
Unfortunately it will be available in German, only. But – papers in English are on the way (e.g. we will submit some results to the 1st Workshop on Pervasive Advertising at Pervasive 2009).
You can stay updated at Gabler’s official website but of course, I will also announce the publication date here ;)
|
Recent Comments