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csci5839

CSCI 5839: User-Centered Design and Development graduate level course at CU Boulder

Assignment 3: Formative Research

Readings

Assignment

Note which articles you read. Why did you pick them? Do you think they will be helpful for your work in this class and elsewhere?

Cultural Probes

I remember previously hearing the term “cultural probes”, and recalled it being an interesting technique for designers. I wanted to read this article to reunderstand what they were used for, and some examples of it in action.

While reading the article, I found it strange how zero context was given on the concept of cultural probes before the study was explained. I had to reverse engineer to understand what was happening.

I learned the goal of cultural probes is to understand the thoughts, emotions, interests, and environment of a user. This is done by providing the user with a collection of tools and items.

The study from the article wanted to find a better way to involve the senior living population with their communites. To find a solution, designers put together the following items for their cultural probe to better understand their audience:

The designers didn’t seem to recieve a ton of new information from the probes. Some of the elderly communities lost interest and continued on with their daily lives. Although, this didn’t seem to affect the new design decision regardless. Which made me wonder, what is the point of using cultural probes?

I loved learning about the media diary and how it was used to record daily interactions. Elders recorded information in the study such as every instance they watched TV, how long they watched it, etc. I think using a diary to collect any form of usage data is powerful. For example, recording dreams in a dreambook, instances of a specific emotion being triggered, amount of water intake per day, etc.

Recording these things helps the user be more aware of their environment, which I think is the whole point of a probe. I think whatever technique people choose to use, it is an excellent idea to gain more understanding of our actions and environment. I would be interested in creating a cultural probe to see how affective it can be, but am also happy asking the right questions at a smaller scale to gain the same understanding.

Youth and Social Networks

This article observed teenagers (age 14-18) in the mid to late 2000s using primarly MySpace as their main social media network.

It is really interesting observing how much social media has changed in the last ten years with new platforms like Facebook and Instagram. I think communities with large followings contributes to one of the largest changes.

When MySpace was the primary social network, it was noted bands and artists took advantage of the platform to network with their fans. I think this still happens today, but at a larger scale. Not only do bands still have a social media presence, but companies also bring in a large number of followers. This brings in an entire new level of complexity to social media. Marketing content is in the user’s fingertips daily. Advertisments flow in through business accounts, and through other channels including social media influencers. Social Media has expanded from a socializing platform, to a news source of the latest products in the market.

I enjoy using social media as an outlet to share my experiences. I love using the social media app Strava to keep track of hikes I do in Colorado. I can look back at past information including my HR, elevation gain, duration, as well as photos taken. Having a platform to keep track of my activites is really powerful. I enjoy using Strava for my hikes and workouts, but also enjoy using Instagram to keep track of my memories and experiences. I love to scroll through my profile and recall photos from past events. For me, social media is a place to store things and look back at. I love the element of customization, and using the space how I desire.

I never used MySpace, but am amazed at the amount of customization available on the platform. I never knew the HTML, CSS, and JavaScript were editable for the users to manipulate. I’m almost upset that social media platforms have high security today which locks down the source code. Allowing users to customize their own profile, essentially creates one giant website linking individual users own mini websites! I love the idea of that.

One way I use social media today is through Twitter. I follow 100s of developers as well as many technology companies. It is a great way to stay up to date on the latest changes in the industry. I also use social media to create and manage my own personal tech blog. To me, these are huge benefits of using social media. I am networked in my industry, and have a channel to share my developer learnings.

I’m glad that we use a blog for this class to keep track of our homework assignments. I know I will have the ability to come back in the future and be reminded of all the past learnings and discussions we had in CSCI5839 - which is exactly why I love social media. :)