Designing complementary communication systems

[摘要] We have long assumed that being face to face is the best environment for social interaction. But is ;;being there;; the best we can aspire to? One common approach to improving face-to-face contexts is to add new communication channels - a strategy often described as creating ;;backchannels.;; In my work, I use a series of novel complementary communication systems to show how adding communication platforms to collaborative situations can be useful while also arguing for a new conceptual model of a main stage and a side stage (in the Goffman sense) that contrasts with the traditional model of backchannels. I describe a series of projects that embody this approach and explore its limits. My work covers virtual world meetings and presentations, an audience interaction tool for large groups (backchan.nl), a tablet-based system for small group discussions (Tin Can), and a platform for connecting huge distributed audiences (ROAR). In each of these projects I trace my three major research themes: understanding how conversational grounding operates in these environments, how non-verbal actions complement text-based interaction, and how people make decisions about how to manage their attention in environments with multiple simultaneous communication channels.

[发布机构] Massachusetts Institute of Technology