ambient social tv (chi 2008)

Ambient Social TV

Gunnar Harboe,Crysta Metcalf,Frank Bentley,Joe Tullio,Noel Massey,Guy Romano

Drawing People into a Shared Experience

Introduction

Ambient Social TV: Introduction

SummarySummary

• Social Television: creating a remote shared experience around watching TV

• Ambient devices for social awareness• Two-week user-study in 2x5 households• Ambient devices helped put people in

touch• Social TV demands interaction options for

multiple levels of engagement


• Remotely shared TV-watching experience

• “Like watching TV together”

• Presence + communication (+ sharing content)

Social TelevisionSocial Television


• Buddy list with channel/program context

• Program recommendations

• Text chats

• Voice calls

• Video chats

• Emoticons

• Multiplayer quiz games

Social TV FeaturesSocial TV Features


Social TV SystemsSocial TV Systems

• AmigoTV (Coppens et al. 2004)

• Telebuddies (Luyten et al. 2006)

• Media Center Buddies (Regan & Todd 2004)

• PARC Social TV (Oehlberg et al. 2006)

• Reflexion (Cullinan & Agamanolis 2006)

• ConnecTV (Boertjes 2007)

• CollaboraTV (Harrison & Amento 2007)

• 2BeOn (Abreu et al. 2001)

Motorola Labs’Social TV Project

Ambient Social TV: Motorola Labs Project

Social TV 1Social TV 1

• Investigated live voice sessions– Provided social and

practical benefits– Some indications of

potential problems

1 2

3 4

Harboe et al. (2008)“The Uses of Social Television”in ACM Computers in Entertainment



• Investigate naturally occurring instances of interaction, not-pre arranged sessions

• Investigate behaviors leading up to a communication session

• Introduce ambient displays as extension of presence



• Test an experience without freeform communication (no voice, just presence)

• Primarily a research probe: design priority to gather data, not provide the best possible experience

System Description

Ambient Social TV: System Description

System ComponentsSystem Components


FeaturesFeatures

• Ambient devices

• Presence

• Communication


Ambient DevicesAmbient Devices

• Ambient Orb (Ambient Devices, Inc.)

• Virtual Orb (Chumby) (www.chumby.com)


Ambient DevicesAmbient Devices

• Social Awareness (even when TV off)– Changing colors– (Pulsing)

• Number of buddies watching Social TV:

None One Multiple


PresencePresence


PresencePresence

Buddy list


PresencePresence

Buddy list

Channel banner


PresencePresence

Buddy list Channel banner


PresencePresence

Buddy list Channel banner

Pop-ups


PresencePresence

Buddy list Channel banner Pop-ups


CommunicationCommunication



Suggestions


Suggestions


Emoticons



Suggestions Emoticons



Suggestions Emoticons

Canned text messages



Suggestions Emoticons Canned text messagesMetcalf et al. (2008): “Examining Presence and Lightweight Messagingin a Social Television Experience” – forthcoming

Study Description

Ambient Social TV: Study Description

Study DesignStudy Design

• 2 groups of 5 households– 1 system/household, all 5 connected– 2 weeks per group


ParticipantsParticipants

Group A– Female (+families)– 26-33– 4 married, 1 engaged– 3 with (small) children– Friends and family members

Group B– Female (+families)– 46-53– 4 married, 1 divorced– All with teenagers– Friends and family members

A1

A3 A4

A2

A5

B1

B2 B3

B4

B5


Data and AnalysisData and Analysis

• Interviews, voice mail diaries, system logs

• Qualitative analysis: Affinity method

Ambient Social TV: Usage

Measurable UseMeasurable Use

Activity A B

Social TV watched (hrs) 154 181

Buddy list views 185 390

Buddy’s show joined via buddy list 62 160

Emoticons sent 59 120

Canned text messages sent N/A 185


Reported UseReported Use

“Every time I walked back and forth, I’d see [the orb]” (B3)

“Every time I passed by, a thousand times a day, I would look to see what color it was.” (B1)


Reported UseReported Use

“Every time I walked back and forth, I’d see [the orb]” (B3)

“Every time I passed by, a thousand times a day, I would look to see what color it was.” (B1)

“Just about every time I turned it on, if I saw someone was on, I called their house.” (B1)


Use-CasesUse-Cases

“The first thing I’ll do is I’ll look at the orb. […] Then I’ll turn on the TV.” (A2)


Use-CasesUse-Cases

“I’ll quickly turn it on and see who’s on and what they’re watching.” (A1)


Use-CasesUse-Cases

“Something they were watching might grab my attention more than what I thought I was going to watch.” (A3)


Use-CasesUse-Cases

“I’ll see what they are watching and I’ll usually send out shout-outs based on what they are watching, or the thumbs down or whatever.” (A2)


Use-CasesUse-Cases

“I do thumbs up [or] thumbs down, wait to see if there’s a reaction, and if there is I’ll send a message.” (B3)


Use-CasesUse-Cases

“I’ll say, ‘Who’s there?’ and if it comes back that it’s not one of their kids and it’s my girlfriend or something, then I’ll pick up the phone.” (B1)


Use-CasesUse-Cases

“I noticed the orb was blue, so I knew somebody had their television on, and sure enough, it was [B2’s household]. And I knew that her husband’s at work and her kids were at school, so I deduced it was [B2]. And so without even saying ‘Who’s there?’ I immediately went to her channel, which was Oprah, and I sent her a thumbs-up. And then she thumbs-upped me, and then two seconds later I said [to myself], ‘This is dumb!’ And then [I called her, and] we had a whole conversation.” (B1)

Findings

Ambient Social TV: Findings

Ambient AwarenessAmbient Awareness

• Ambient orbs provided peripheral social awareness while not watching

“Since I had [the Chumby] in the kitchen, it was just while I was cooking… it was like, ‘Oh, I wonder who’s on.’” (A1)

“I notice when the color’s on, whether it’s purple or blue; I know that someone else is actually on the system.” (B3)


Feeling ConnectedFeeling Connected

• This social awareness inspired a feeling of togetherness

“I liked coming into the house and saying, ‘Oh, someone’s home watching TV too now.’ […] It was like a friendly feeling; like, ‘Someone else is home and I’m not the only one home tonight.’” (B1)


Motivation to Turn OnMotivation to Turn On

• Ambient orbs provided reasons to turn on the TV

“The orb was purple, so I thought, ‘Wow, that’s a lot of people on!’ and so I turned it on.” (B1)


Providing ContextProviding Context

• Situating the ambient displays within a larger system enriched the ambient information

“There’d be no reason to have an orb [if] I can’t turn it on and see who it’s connected to.” (B1)

“As the two weeks progressed, I kinda had a feel [about who might be on].” (A1)


Increasing EngagementIncreasing Engagement

Noticing ambient displayPeripheralawareness

Viewing buddy list

Co-viewing program

Exchanging lightweight messages

Talking on the phoneFull involvement


ReactionsReactions

• “A stupid toy” (B1)

• “Just kinda boring” (B5b)

• “I wouldn’t buy it” (A4)

• “It’s just no use” (B4)

• “So unnecessary” (B3b)

• “[Not] something that I would use” (A3)


ReactionsReactions







• Not their close friends

• Not enough free communication


ReactionsReactions







• “I love the orb” (A2, B5)

• “We liked the orb” (B1)

• “The coolest part” (A3)• “Cool” (A2, A4)

• “That was neat” (A1b)

• “The orb is the interesting thing” (B4)

Conclusion

Ambient Social TV: Conclusion

Takeaways: AmbientTakeaways: Ambient

• Television use can be a meaningful social signal, well suited to an ambient display

• Ambient information becomes richer when it is part of a greater system


Takeaways: Social TVTakeaways: Social TV

• Social television systems benefit from an ambient mode of interaction

• Need to support interactions at all different levels of engagement


Current/Future WorkCurrent/Future Work

• Study communicative Social TV systems

• Further in-home testing, longer periods

• Explore other ambient presence modes

• Embed ambient devices in other systems


ThanksThanks

• Larry Marturano

• Elaine Huang

• Seonyoung Park

• Ambient Devices, Inc.

• chumby.com


Questions?Questions?

?

ambient social tv (chi 2008)

Business

wouldnt buy

thousand times

stupid toy

kinda boring

walked back

cases ill

ill

watching