Synopses & Reviews
Social navigation is an emerging field which examines how we navigate information or locate services in both real and virtual environments and how we interact with and use others to find our way in information spaces. It has led to new ways of thinking about how we design information spaces and how we address usability issues, particularly in collaborative, web-based systems. This book follows on from Munro et al, Social Navigation of Information Space, which was the first major work in this field. It provides a similar broad overview of the field, but is much more practical in focus.
Synopsis
Includes bibliographical references (p. 427-450) and index.
Synopsis
That's a look at an array of social proxies. The purpose was to make it clear that the concept of social proxy is quite general. Social proxies can be designed to support a wide range of on-line interactions, whether they involve conversation or not. They may be synchronous or asynchronous, and they may be associated with activities which are an end in them selves (e. g. auctions), or activities which are simply a means to an end (e. g. waiting in queues). We believe that by providing a shared represen tation of the activity in which participants are involved, social proxies can help create shared expectations, shared experiences, and can serve as a resource which participants can use to structure their individual and collective interactions. That is, at least, our claim. However, it is important to note that, except for the first, the proxies described so far are concept pieces, meaning that they haven't been implemented and deployed to real situations. Now, however, we will turn to an implemented system, and look at a real example. 1. 4 Experience: The Babble System In the previous section we introduced the concept of social proxies and discussed examples illustrating the wide range of situations to which social proxies can be applied. In this section, we focus on our experience in designing, implementing and studying a social proxy in the context of an on-line system called Babble."
Synopsis
Unlike Human-Computer Interaction, which looks at how a single person interacts with a single computer, the field of Social Navigation looks at how people interact and communicate with each other in virtual or electronic worlds. It therefore offers a different perspective to traditional HCI on issues like system design and usability. It will be a key topic for anyone involved in the design, evaluation or use of shared information systems, such as virtual communities on the World Wide Web.
Table of Contents
Introduction: Footprints in the Snow.- Part I. Systems and Theories: Social Translucence: Using Minimalist Visualizations of Social Activity to Support Collective Interaction. Collaborative Filtering: Supporting Social Navigation in Large, Crowded Infospaces. Screen Scenery: Learning from Architecture and People's Practices of Navigation in Electronic Environments. Navigating the Virtual Landscape. Experiential Design of Shared Information Spaces. GeoNotes: A Location-Based Information System for Public Spaces. Arcadian Knowledge Spaces. Social Navigation of Food Recipes. Results from the Footprints Project. WebPlaces: Using Intermediaries to Add People to the Web.- Part II. Theories and Principles: Where the Footprints Lead: Tracking Down Other Roles for Social Navigation. Social Connotation of Space. Informatics, Architecture and Language. A Sociological View of Social Navigation. Navigation: Within and Beyond the Metaphor in Interface Design and Evaluation. The Conceptual Structure of Information Space. Information Space Navigation: A Framework.- References.- Index.