Ellen Isaacs

The character, functions, and styles of instant messaging in the workplace

Current perceptions of Instant Messaging (IM) use are based primarily on self-report studies. We logged thousands of (mostly) workplace IM conversations and evaluated their conversational characteristics and functions. Contrary to prior research, we found that the primary use of workplace IM was for complex work discussions. Only 28% of conversations were simple, single-purpose interactions and only 31% were about scheduling or coordination. Moreover, people rarely switched from IM to another medium when the conversation got complex. We found evidence of two distinct styles of use. Heavy IM users and frequent IM partners mainly used it to work together: to discuss a broad range of topics via many fast-paced interactions per day, each with many short turns and much threading and multitasking. Light users and infrequent pairs mainly used IM to coordinate: for scheduling, via fewer conversations per day that were shorter, slower-paced with less threading and multitasking.

Integrating communication and information through ContactMap

Visualizing personal social networks, the system allows users to model and arrange their own in maps of individual contacts and groups, along with the relationships among them.

Supporting distributed groups with a Montage of lightweight interactions

The Montage prototype provides lightweight audio-video glances among distributed collaborators and integrates other applications for coordinating future contact. We studied a distributed group across three conditions: before installing Montage, with Montage, and after removing Montage. We collected quantitative measures of usage as well as video-tape and user perception data. We found that the group used Montage glances for short, lightweight interactions that were like face-to-face conversations in many respects. Yet like the phone, Montage offered convenient access to other people without leaving the office. Most glances revealed that the person was not available, so it was important to integrate other tools for coordinating future interaction. Montage did not appear to displace the use of e-mail, voice-mail, or scheduled meetings.

Activity-based serendipitous recommendations with the Magitti mobile leisure guide

This paper presents a context-aware mobile recommender system, codenamed Magitti. Magitti is unique in that it infers user activity from context and patterns of user behavior and, without its user having to issue a query, automatically generates recommendations for content matching. Extensive field studies of leisure time practices in an urban setting (Tokyo) motivated the idea, shaped the details of its design and provided data describing typical behavior patterns. The paper describes the fieldwork, user interface, system components and functionality, and an evaluation of the Magitti prototype.

Hubbub: a sound-enhanced mobile instant messenger that supports awareness and opportunistic interactions

There have been many attempts to support awareness and lightweight interactions using video and audio, but few have been built on widely available infrastructure. Text-based systems have become more popular, but few support awareness, opportunistic conversations, and mobility, three important elements of distributed collaboration. We built on the popularity of text-based Instant Messengers (IM) by building a mobile IM called Hubbub that tries to provide all three, notably through the use of earcons. In a 5.5-month use study, we found that Hubbub helped people feel connected to colleagues in other locations and supported opportunistic interactions. The sounds provided effective awareness cues, although some found them annoying. It was more important to support graceful transitions between multiple fixed locations than to support wireless access, although both were useful

Piazza: a desktop environment supporting impromptu and planned interactions

Much of the support for communication across distributed communities has focused on meetings and intentional contact. However, most interactions within co-located groups occur when people happen to run into each other. Such unintended interactions should also be supported among distributed communities. We conducted a study of the communication patterns of a large, distributed organization and found that people tend to disseminate information using formal techniques, even though people usually receive information informally. We then designed a system called Piazza that is intended to support the range of communication styles evident in large communities, paying particular attention to adchessing the problems revealed in our study. Piazza allows people to be aware of others who are doing similar tasks when they are using their computers, the~by enabling unintended interactions. It also supports intentiomd contacts and planned meetings. We discuss issues for analysis in an upcoming use study.

What video can and cannot do for collaboration: a case study

As multimedia become an integral part of collaborative systems, we must understand how to design such systems to support the users rich set of existing interaction skills, rather than requiring people to adapt to arbitrary constraints of technology-driven designs. To understand how we can make effective use of video in remote collaboration, we compared a small teams interactions through a desktop video conferencing prototype with face-to-face interactions and phone conversations. We found that, compared with audio-only, the video channel of our desktop video conferencing prototype adds or improves the ability to show understanding, forecast responses, give nonverbal information, enhance verbal descriptions, manage pauses, and express attitudes. These findings suggest that video may be better than the phone for handling conflict and other interaction-intense activities. However, the advantages of video depend critically on the nearly-instantaneous transmission of audio, even if it means getting out of sync with the video image. Nonetheless, when compared with face-to-face interaction, it can be difficult in video interactions to notice peripheral cues, control the floor, have side conversations, point to things or manipulate real-world objects. To enable rich interactions fully, video should be integrated with other distributed tools that increase the extent and type of shared space in a way that enables natural collaborative behaviors within those environments.

Teen use of messaging media

Teenagers compromise a large proportion of our population, and their technology use is a bellwether of future trends. Todays teens are coming of age with the rapid development of advanced communication and media tools. This paper describes a study exploring teen communication media usage patterns and their design implications.

A comparison of face-to-face and distributed presentations

As organizations become distributed across multiple sites, they are looking to technology to help support enterprisewide communication and training to distant locations. We developed an application called Forum that broadcasts live video, audio, and slides f rom a speaker to distributed audiences at their computer desktops. We studied how distributed presentations over Forum differed from talks g iven in face to face sett ings. We found that Forum attracted larger audiences, but the quality of interaction was perceived to be lower. Forum appeared to provide more f lexib le and e f f ec t ive use of sl ides and other visual materials. On the whole, audiences preferred to watch talks over Forum but speakers preferred to give talks in a local setting. The study raises issues about how to design this technology and how to help people discover effective ways of using it.

Mobile instant messaging through Hubbub

Associating online buddies with musical notes, Hubbub lets users (on both PCs and handhelds) interact by way of opportunistic impromptu exchanges, even as they move about.