Interrelativity

Category: Web/Tech

  • Transmitting vs. Transforming Customer Dissatisfaction

    I've encountered several examples of customer dissatisfaction recently that prompted me to consider the various channels customers use to signal their dissatisfaction, and how well or poorly those channels serve to resolve the issue(s) in a satisfactory way. In reflecting on the word satisfy – which derives from the Latin satisfacere: satis enough + facere…

  • The Dark Side of Digital Backchannels in Shared Physical Spaces

    Recently, I've been disturbed to read about some significant frontchannel disturbances arising through the use of Twitter backchannels to heckle speakers at conferences. Having finished off my last blog with an example of the beneficial ways that Twitter helps us connect with consequential strangers, I want to revisit some issues that initially arose [for me]…

  • Consequential Strangers and Acquaintanceships, Online and Offline

    Consequential strangers are the people with whom we enjoy casual relationships in our neighborhoods, workplaces and third places that can be as vital to our health, wealth, wisdom and well-being as our family and closest friends (or what I like to call speed dial friends). According to a new book by Melinda Blau and Karen…

  • Strands Labs Seattle, A Retrospective

    On October 1, Strands Labs Seattle effectively closed. With the tightening economy, our parent company, Strands, has decided to focus its resources on its three primary business units – Strands Business Solutions, Strands Personal Finance (moneyStrands) and Strands Social Discovery (strands.com). The CoCollage application that we developed in the Seattle lab continues to be supported…

  • Interactive Displays at Disney World

    As I noted in my notes from UbiComp 2009, I missed a few sessions during the last day of the conference so I could explore more of Disney World, taking advantage of my free birthday pass to look for examples of how interactive displays were used to enhance guest experiences at Epcot Center. It felt…

  • Notes from UbiComp 2009

    Having earlier posted some notes from the pre-conference Doctoral Colloquium and Hybrid Design Practices workshop, I've finally gotten around to compiling – and augmenting – some notes from the main technical program of UbiComp 2009, the 11th International Conference on Ubiquitous Computing, held at the Disney Yacht Club in Orlando, Florida, last week. Before delving…

  • Pins, Positivity and Practices: Hybrid Design at Disney World

    The day after the Doctoral Colloquium at UbiComp 2009, I attended a workshop on Hybrid Design Practices. Given my interests in hybridity, design and practices, I was eager to see how these all might fit together, and to meet others with shared interests. The Call for Participants included a number intriguing dimensions, including a field…

  • Discussions about Doctorates and Dissertations at UbiComp 2009

    I was a panelist at the Doctoral Colloquium (DC) at the 11th International Conference on Ubiquitous Computing (UbiComp 2009) last week, the first time I’ve participated in that particular track of a conference. The goal of the DC is to give graduate students working on their doctorates (PhDs) an opportunity to present their dissertation work…

  • Semi-reciprocal Transparency in Social Networks

    I'm put off by the offers I see on various social networking sites for seeing "who's viewed my profile". While this feature may be attractive to some profile owners, it has a dampening effect on my use of these networks – I am less likely to look at someone's profile if I know that they…

  • Communities, Technologies and Participation: Notes from C&T 2009

    Participation was the overriding theme at the 4th International Conference on Communities and Technologies (C&T 2009) last week. We can design and deploy technology to support a community, but how do we truly engage that community and motivate its members to participate? One way I was personally trying to promote engagement via technology within the C&T…