Supporting content discovery and organization in networks of contents and users (original) (raw)
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ACM Transactions on the Web, 2012
We propose a new way of navigating the Web using interactive information visualizations, and present encouraging results from a large-scale Web study of a visual exploration system. While the Web has become an immense, diverse information space, it has also evolved into a powerful software platform. We believe that the established interaction techniques of searching and browsing do not sufficiently utilize these advances, since information seekers have to transform their information needs into specific, text-based search queries resulting in mostly text-based lists of resources. In contrast, we foresee a new type of information seeking that is high-level and more engaging, by providing the information seeker with interactive visualizations that give graphical overviews and enable query formulation. Building on recent work on faceted navigation, information visualization, and exploratory search, we conceptualize this type of information navigation as visual exploration and evaluate a prototype Web-based system that implements it. We discuss the results of a large-scale, mixed-method Web study that provides a better understanding of the potential benefits of visual exploration on the Web, and its particular performance challenges.
From Information Retrieval to Information Interaction
Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2004
This paper argues that a new paradigm for information retrieval has evolved that incorporates human attention and mental effort and takes advantage of new types of information objects and relationships that have emerged in the WWW environment. One aspect of this new model is attention to highly interactive user interfaces that engage people directly and actively in information seeking. Two examples of these kinds of interfaces are described.
2010
This paper details a way to extend classic information architecture for web-based applications. The goal is to enhance traditional user experiences, mainly based on navigation or search, to new ones (also relevant for stakeholders' requirements). Examples are sense making, at a glance understanding, playful exploration, serendipitous browsing, and brand communication. These new experiences are often unmet by current information architecture solutions, which may be stiff and difficult to scale, especially in the case of ...
A Basis for the Exploration of Hypermedia Systems: A Guided Path Facility
This thesis examines the potential of a paths facility as an aid to navigating large hypermedia systems. The use of the navigational metaphor as applied to finding information is continued with the idea of following a path through information ‘space’. This idea assumes that each node, or chunk of information, on the path can be considered a landmark that can be easily returned to when side-trips are taken off the path to explore the surrounding space. The idea of a guided path assumes the re-use of a path, and also assumes that there is extra information available about the path. This meta-information is very important for providing information to help path-followers make better sense of the path, both in terms of content and context, but also in making more effective use of the nodes on the path and in navigating the variety of interface conventions seen in the test environment — HyperCard. A small pilot study has been carried out using two groups of users performing a directed information-seeking task. One group used HyperCard’s navigational facilities to find information in a group of stacks, while the other group used a guided path as a base on which to explore the same group of stacks. Both groups had a time limit, at the end of which they completed a number of questionnaires to indicate task completion, as well as providing a subjective evaluation of the facilities they used. The guided path facility appears to be most effective for inexperienced users for a number of reasons. It presents a simplified view of the complex system — the information available has already been filtered and selected, and a simple and consistent navigational interface reduces the cognitive overheads associated with learning a variety of mechanisms present in different stacks. An important feature of a path facility seems to be the provision of meta- information, especially scope information which can reduce the incidences of disorientation. Another feature is the provision of a history facility which provides a backtracking capability. It may also be used in the creation of paths using the length of visit as a criterion for node inclusion on a new path.
The vista project: broadening access to digital TV electronic programme guides
Psychnology Journal, 2003
The Exploratorium is a virtual environment within which immersants can explore both places and feelings. The "narrative" it implements is structural/architectural rather than linear/story telling. Different areas of the Exploratorium present different experiences: scary, normally busy, or very calm. At the same time, the Exploratorium as a whole is fundamentally safe, a self-contained play area. Immersants are free explore the different areas, under their own control. Navigation is by means of the Body Joystick, using only breath and balance. Using balance for movement and turning feels natural, like riding a bike, flying, or skating. Using breath control maps naturally onto vertical navigation, as in diving and snorkelling. Physiological changes induced by breathing patterns are reinforced by mood changes induced by moving from one zone to another, creating a form of "psycho-feedback by navigation". The goal of the Exploratorium is to stimulate curiosity, leading to navigation and a consequent sense of control and empowerment, at the same time as the user experiences, explores and investigates her own feelings and emotions.
2016
Digital video on-demand (VOD) content libraries offer users deep and wide-ranging choices about what they should watch on television. However, the search and discover mechanism of digital video on demand services support a more information seeking interaction than relaxed yet serendipitous and time-sensitive discovery. In subsequent studies, users tell us that it's less rewarding and social. In this paper, we share lessons learned across multiple studies: that users delight in the serendipity and low-commitment associated with linear browsing, particularly in the interactive guide. We suggest that future recommender systems consider the delightful serendipity of hunting for something to watch on television as a hedonic experience. We also question whether growing digital content libraries will render this behavior obsolete—or whether a new user experience will cause it to evolve beyond the current experience.