the role of video in personal communication

One App to Rule them All?

The role of video in remote intimate

communicationby daniel strazzulla ([email protected])

Advisor: Wendy E. Mackay

mailto:[email protected]

Stanford HCI Master’s

Software Engineer at IBM

UX at Apple

PhD at InSitu (Inria/CORDI)

About Me

about me

Computer Mediated Communication

Intimate Social Networks

Research and Design Methods

Interaction Design

Co-adaptation of Communication Channels for Key Privileged Relationships

thesis work

MotivationRelated WorkStudyStories of Video in Remote Intimate Communication

Who?When?How?What?Why?Conclusion and Future Work

today

research questions

How do people use communication technologies with different relationships?

How do relationships change after the introduction of new technologies?

What motivates the selection of specific communication tools for different relationships?

assumptions - richness

“Face-to-face communicative behavior in the real world is not always an appropriate baseline for the evaluation of mediated communication.” [Dourish et al., 1993]


“[Long Distance Relationship(LDR) assumptions] 1.Frequent Face-to-Face(FtF) communication is necessary for close personal relationships.” [Stafford, 2004]



“Relationships develop more slowly online, but given time, CMC can be as personal as other modes.” [Stafford, 2004]

“[Long Distance Relationship(LDR) assumptions] 1.Frequent Face-to-Face(FtF) communication is necessary for close personal relationships.” [Stafford, 2004]


assumptions - frequency

“[The] frequency of interaction among family members is not directly associated with the satisfaction or quality of the relationship.” [Stafford, 2004]

assumptions - one app for remote communication

“Communicative modalities exist side by side, rather than in competition with each other.” [Dourish et al., 1993]

assumptions - one app for remote communication

“Though each relationship is unique in that each develops its own "miniculture" (Wilmot, 1995), these minicultures take place within a context of other networks.” [Stafford, 2004]

“Communicative modalities exist side by side, rather than in competition with each other.” [Dourish et al., 1993]

one dedicated private channel

one flexible multimedia channel

industry technology focus

Technology

RelationshipContext

three places (Oldenburg, 1999)

three ‘email’ places

@gmail @inria @hotmail

one email to rule them all?

email

‘Same’ TechnicalFeatures

Different Social Contexts

Used for DifferentPeople

@gmail @inria @hotmail

beyond technical features

communication today

We are connected

but how? to who? and why?

Medium text images audio video

Bandwidth low high

Synchronicity synchronous asynchronous

Symmetry symmetric asymmetric

Mobility fixed movable mobile

Location

Time Zone same overlap oppositeSetting work home school commute

Placement bedroom kitchen living room entrance

Context awareness

dumb passive active

Interaction

With device input outputBet. devices peer client/server active passiveBet. users sharing collaborating monitoring

Background gender age nationality culture

Relationship coworkers couples families strangers

Sizewearable portable static

small medium installation

Content location status emotion weather

Comm. Structure

one to one one to many many to many

Device Hardware Softwaredesign space

computer mediated communication

Technology

RelationshipContext

study context

Technology

RelationshipContextIntimate KPRs

Any Technology

Key Privileged Relationships

who do you talk to?

“Intimate relationships differ from more casual associations in at least six specific ways: knowledge, caring, interdependence, mutuality, trust, and commitment.” [Miller, 2011]

study

Study 2

Group 2 Group 3201312 participants8 nationalities23 to 27 years old

201414 participants11 nationalities20 to 29 years old

Semi-structured interview


Questionnaire

Diary Study

Cultural Probe

Survey

Questionnaire

Survey

Group 1201124 participants11 nationalities20 to 34 years oldSemi-structured interview

Study 1

study

201124 participants11 nationalities23 to 28 years oldSemi-structured interview2 hourscollection of 4 weeks of communication data logs

communication patterns

motivation

use of media

relationships

frequency

Study 1 Goals

Group 1

Group 2 Group 3

study

Study 2





Questionnaire

Diary Study

Cultural Probe

Survey

Questionnaire

Survey

Overall Goalscommunication patternsmotivationuse of mediarelationshipsfrequency

Group 2 Group 3

study

Study 2





Questionnaire

Diary Study

Cultural Probe

Survey

Questionnaire

Survey

Overall Goals

motivation and stories

media and relationships

disruption and frequency

self-understanding

availability and preferences

communication patternsmotivationuse of mediarelationshipsfrequency

study

Questionnaire

study

Diary Study

study

Cultural Probe

study

Survey

Mobile OS use

Installed communication applications

Privileged contacts within those applications

Preference of applications for each medium

challenges and opportunities

variability

evolving trends

sample sizes

idealization

self-awareness

economics

disruption

extensive monitoring

private data collection

demographics

self-report

memory

shame mediated communication

medium

technology knowledge

access to technology

quality

usability

bandwidth

interview insights


medium



quality

usability

bandwidth


habit

cost

trends

fidelity

belonging

hardware

productivity

interview insights

medium



quality

usability

bandwidth


time-zone

relationship

privacy

accessibility

features

emoji

stalking

habit

cost

trends

fidelity

belonging

hardware

productivity

interview insights

trends use of media by relationship

who uses video?

“Rich media allow instantaneous feedback and multiple channels to allow a wide range of cues. In theory, the richer the media, the greater the potential to reduce ambiguity.”

-Stafford, Laura (2004)

intimate social networks

who

Group Proxy

“I don’t think I ever call my dad to talk with him without my mother, but I didn’t realize it before” -Mary

“Parents share a single Skype account, so it’s more like calling home than either one of them” - Lola

who

“With my grandma I only use video when my sister is there, I mean, only when my grandma is at my home and my sister is also there and has time.” -Andrea

“We just sit and talk [when on video communication] and she would say comments like ‘I think you’re getting a little fatter’… My dad usually shows up on the video conversations” -Mary

Group Proxy

what

TopicsInteractions

"I would discuss something that needs discussion on WhatsApp, like if its more than 30 words, I wouldn’t, I’d wait and then talk about it on Skype” -Simon

“A normal conversation: start with stories, then mundane daily things, talk about trips and computer tech support, it usually lasts an hour.” -Simon

Weather, health, exams, travel , ’dumb trivial things’ and administrative issues are most popular topics

“I don’t know what to talk about with my dad, so I just repeat the things my mom asked me about before putting him on the call” - Mary

what

TopicsInteractions

“When Skyping with my friend I move all over my room, but when talking with my parents it’s a bit formal, I have to sit down on my desk and be ready” -Norman

"Once, I chose to share screen using Skype, and then show them my pictures on my iPhoto gallery, but that was too slow because of internet speed, so I only did it once and I didn’t like it.” -Andrea

"I use WhatsApp and Skype to share files with my GF, I use email to do it with my mom and I never really share files with my dad”- Simon

what

TopicsInteractions

“I use Skype to call home, but it’s a little strange. I have my PC back home open all day, and I call it and if someone is in the room, we have the speakers loud, it’s like a phone… So I use Skype like a phone. I have also installed TeamViewer, a program for remote desktop, so that I sometimes call the PC and respond by myself… because if nobody is here, or I know somebody is here but in another room, it’s like checking if somebody is in my PC” - Ugo

when

routinesschedules

"We[she and her boyfriend] Skype every night to fall asleep”. -Kate

"We whatsapp during the day, since she is at work. Then we Skype at night." -David

“Sundays are Skype days” -Pedro

“We Skype in the evenings (video) everyday” -Oscar

“Skype is always open” -Pedro

“After work, around 8pm she’s back at home so we use video [GF]… We text each other first to see if available and then start the conversation, some sort of “virtual handshaking” like "can I call you” kinda thing, but for instance my father just calls, I find it annoying” -Simon

when

routinesschedules

“We just know each other’s schedule because we talk a lot”-Oscar

“My routine is: finish eating, then check if either is online, if they’re I call them, first one then the other” -Simon

"To deal with TZ differences, I simply told them to never call me after their 3pm, because they would wake me up, and that worked. At the same time, I also don’t contact them during my daytime, because I realized that when I text or email my dad, I wake him up… and he replies to me at his 2 or 3am, so I made myself a rule to not contact them until 1pm here. We basically had to agree on periods of time where communicating is appropriate between us” -Andrea

how

application

device

direction

“Skype is for video” - Martín

how

application

device

direction

“I prefer using Skype on laptop since I don’t have to sync, I’m faster and the webcam works just fine” -Oscar

Approximately half use it on mobile devices and other half on laptops

“My girlfriend prefers to use Skype on her computer, since it’s more comfortable to type. However I prefer using it on my phone, so that I can use it in bed or while moving around” -Oscar

how

application

device

direction

" My mother feels like she has to talk to me.”- Ian

"Mom doesn't calls me on Skype, she thinks I'm busy. I have to call her instead.”-Ian

“With my mother and father I use Skype with them, they get super annoyed if I’m not there every night… With my dad is[the virtual check-in] every 24 hours, with my mom is every 3 or 4 days (they’re divorced)”-Simon

"I only call landlines with my grandma, also with Skype credit. This is the only way I can communicate with her. Sometimes she tells me she would like to call me too, but she cannot since it’s very expensive and has no alternatives” - Andrea

why

relationship

contexttechnology

"My mom doesn't chat through Skype. Her understanding is that Skype is only for calling." -Ian

“I usually use weChat for video, is my main video app, however sometimes I use Skype is more serious or business partner, I use it for work related communications, or with my [now] American friends [colleagues]” -Peter

“We’re [dad and I] always online on Skype, then we text each other to ask to for video conversation” -Oscar

"Me and my sister just leave the Skype conversation open in the background while we're both at home, you know? to hangout… we really became friends after I moved away." -Jacky

why

relationship

contexttechnology

Despite being “friends” on Facebook, we [dad and I] try to avoid it as much as possible, that’s why we stick with Skype” -Roberto

“We [dad and I] don’t use Facetime despite having Apple devices, because by now Skype has become part of the communication between us.” -Oscar

"Mom got technological after I left” -Martín

“I used Skype once and I hate it, the quality was terrible…Instead I use hangouts to talk with my parents, they use an add-on to their browser so it’s always there” -Roberto

why

relationship

contexttechnology

"I avoid using video when the house is a mess.” -Oscar

“The alternative to call from one phone line to another, doesn’t exist between us[family], it’s just not an option, because it’s outrageously expensive, so we just find ways to communicate around Skype” -Andrea

“There’s another problem, my mom is completely technology zero… they have a laptop there [mom and husband] and I installed Skype on it, told her to click on this icon for me to show up… The problem is that her husband is always using the computer, so I never know who is on the computer, even when I see her ‘online’… so I contact her directly on WhatsApp to make sure she’s the one online” -Simon

why

relationship

contexttechnology

"I sometimes video chat with my mom only because QQ forces us to, there is no voice only option. I don't think video is necessary. That's why sometimes we just exchange voice messages instead, which QQ allows. “ -Mary“I have this love/hate relationship with Skype… It always works, from a Network point of view, even if you can’t open Google, Skype still works, it’s always like that… If you have a network problems try using Skype… I like that, but when the time comes to call people,it’s sluggish, it crashes, I don’t like the UI… I use it on the iPad mostly, I feel more comfortable like that, I can use it while I’m eating” -Simon

“On Skype messages arrive and don’t arrive” -Simon

role of video in remote intimate communication

“Rich media allow instantaneous feedback and multiple channels to allow a wide range of cues. In theory, the richer the media, the greater the potential to reduce ambiguity. In this view, FtF communication is the richest communication. This theory suggests that individuals make rational choices matching a particular medium to a specific objective and to the richness that tasks require.” [Stafford, 2004]


“Most available technologies however focus on the transmission of explicit information, which neglects the emotional and subtle communication so typical for close relationships” [Knobel et al., 2012]

video is a closed medium

“The issue is one not only of technological design, but appropriate deployment and the flexibility to be able to shape the space.” [Dourish et al., 1993]

“Field studies (e.g.,) show that video is merely treated as a “technical feature.” It remains left to people to appropriate the feature, that is, to make it work as a social practice.” [Ames et al., 2010]

reasons for video

symmetry

proxy

topics

interactions

routines

settings

schedules

application

device

direction

relationshipcontext

technology

reasons for any media

symmetry

proxy

topics

interactions

routines

settings

schedules

application

device

direction

relationshipcontext

technology

medium



quality

usability

bandwidth

accessibility

features

emoticons

stalking

time-zone

privacy

habit

cost

trends

fidelity

belonging

hardware

productivity


Technology

RelationshipContext

conclusion

Technology

RelationshipContext

Control

ClosenessAvailability

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

the role of video in personal communication

Technology

faceftf communication

communication technologies

remote intimate communication

different relationships

assumptions frequency

close personal relationships

different people

real world