MySpace and Space to hang out

Catching up with tons of papers, feeds, emails and crap after one week away, I was struck by a talk by Danah Boyd about MySpace called "Identity Production in a Networked Culture: Why Youth Heart MySpace". Apart from the identity production topic as well as the social analysis of this platform, I was particularly interested in this:

So what exactly are teens _doing_ on MySpace? Simple: they're hanging out. (...) For many teens, hanging out has moved online. Teens chat on IM for hours, mostly keeping each other company and sharing entertaining cultural tidbits from the web and thoughts of the day. The same is true on MySpace, only in a much more public way. MySpace is both the location of hanging out and the cultural glue itself. MySpace and IM have become critical tools for teens to maintain "full-time always-on intimate communities" [4] where they keep their friends close even when they're physically separated. Such ongoing intimacy and shared cultural context allows youth to solidify their social groups. (...) It is not the technology that encourages youth to spend time online - it's the lack of mobility and access to youth space where they can hang out uninterrupted. (...) structured activities in controlled spaces are on the rise. After school activities, sports, and jobs are typical across all socio-economic classes and many teens are in controlled spaces from dawn till dusk. They are running ragged without any time to simply chill amongst friends.

By going virtual, digital technologies allow youth to (re)create private and public youth space while physically in controlled spaces. IM serves as a private space while MySpace provide a public component. Online, youth can build the environments that support youth socialization.

Yes, what lots of researchers and designers tries to do in the late 90s with VR about creating virtual space topology so that people could "hang out" on-line has been achieved through blogs, social software and platform such as MySpace.

Why do I blog this? what I found important in this analysis is that the author is taking space as the cornerstone of the activity. This is an important topic: how space affords social (and also cognitive) practices. And of course, compared to parents concerns, it's less visible than thinking that myspace is a dangerous place to meet peodphiles. This situation expresses a very relevant spatial phenomenon.

Arm-worn device for service technicians

the abb mobile service technician is a project led Daniel fallman.

Based on the findings of an ethnographic study at two vehicle manufacturing companies, we have designed and implemented computer support system for service technicians. The system is arm-worn as opposed to traditionally handheld. It allows the user to interact with the physical environment by pointing as well as it lets the user one-hand navigation of the graphical user interface by tilt.

The research goals of this project are to explore novel interaction styles, pointing and tilting, for mobile human-computer interaction applied in a specific work environment.

More about it here (.pdf)

Why do I blog this? I am often intrigued by whether such arm-worn devices are really used and how. I tend to think that it's easier in specific contexts like manufacturing workers, for which there are normative behavior and procedures.

Using video-game controllers/devices for other purposes

I recently came across this DTEC-BC-PRO (550$!):

The DTEC-BC-PRO is quite simply THE BEST boost controller ever made. It turns your Gameboy Advance SP into a powerful Electronic Boost Controller cabable of controlling boost pressures in excess of 60psi. The DTEC-BC-PRO allows everything from simple "one number" boost control that can be set up in minutes to the most advanced closed loop, gear dependant, RPM, and throttle position based programmable boost controller ever conceived. (...) The Gameboy Advance SP is not included. While it is required to set up the boost controller you do not have to leave it plugged into the DTEC-BC-Pro.

Why do I blog this? there are now numerous examples like this, what is interesting is to use the video games as a basis for:

• taking advantage of people's habits to make them doing other activities with a game controller, like using a PS2 pad to control a missile
• having certain affordances to trigger specific behavior
• making device converging: more and more the portable consoles and cell phones get closer (even though the Nintendo Ds is not a cell phone yet, you can browse the web with it)

Prototyping in video games

There is a great account of Maxis Senior Development Director Eric Todd's talk at the GDC on Gamasutra about pre-production through prototyping, which is a very important question in game design: what can game designers learn from prototypes? how early in the development of a game could they use them?

The talk was about pre-production. Some excerpts:

a prototype is used to convince others that your concept is "worth the risk of a full production".

Todd explained that the benefit of having a working mechanical model at hand is that, as far as communicating about design concepts is concerned, "words are fundementally a terrible way of communicating interactivity." (...) Demonstrating the concept, Todd showed a utility that allowed an amorphous worm creature to be prodded, deformed, and manipulated – he demonstrated how it felt to mess around with the utility, which seemed pretty tactile. As Todd said, having a tool like this "short-circuits" an inane conversation (...) prototypes should be as focused as possible upon just the few things you need to demonstrate to someone; (...) when someone finally threw together a prototype to show off the battle system and its animation style, he hot-wired the utility with PlayStation controllers and unveiled it during a staff meeting so as to delight the team and get them fired up about the project. Of course, there was no practical need for the Dual Shocks; there are no plans to place Spore on any console, and anyway users aren't really meant to interact with the game that way. That didn't matter; turning the battle system into a free-for-all brawl created energy. It led to people feeling more ownership over the project and to have more fun with it. The prototype also effectively educated the team what that game component was like, giving them a further impression for the way the game as a whole might come together.

An example of a prototype from the game Spore: Why do I blog this? these elements are very interesting and have a wider impact than just video game design. It made me think of the discussion we had at the Crystalpunk workshop about tools and architecture.

Button mashing

According to Wikipedia, button mashing is:

Button mashing is the term given to repeated button presses over a short period. Most of the time, button mashing is seen in athletic and fighting video games. (...) Button mashing was first popularized by Track & Field in 1983 (...) Sometimes, random button mashing is actually more effective than skilled button pushing. This is frustrating to skilled players, who consider button-mashing a mindless action. There are many games that greatly rewarded the player for punching, kicking, or shooting a gun as fast as possible, which must be achieved through button-mashing. In order to reduce wear on controllers and allow players to gain the advantages of button mashing without having to actually mash the buttons, some game controllers feature a turbo button. This easily allows the player to maximize performance in games where a single button must be pressed repeatedly, but gives no advantage in fighting games or when two buttons must be pressed repeatedly one after the other. (...) Modern game designers recognize that many players do not enjoy hours of button mashing to complete games. The designers often incorporate auto-fire features or power-ups that alleviate button mashing requirements in their games. Button mashing is still used in gameplay, but sparingly during climactic points, such as a tight grapple with an enemy or breaking free from a confining attack.

Why do I blog this? button mashing refers to the good ol' day of video games but in terms of interaction design it was quite not that effective (not talking about the impacts of your joystick). However, the total craze it generated was quite funny (especially in those old sports games).

The uniqueness capabilities of pervasive devices

In the paper I blogged about earlier, Interweaving Mobile Games with Everyday Life, there was this very interesting quote:

Players also became aware of some technical features that we were only vaguely aware of ourselves. In one case, a player became aware—and angry about—the fact that his PDA’s 802.11 antenna had a significantly lower sensitivity than his team–mates’, even though they were using the same model of PDA.

It makes me think that nowadays, current technologies are unique, and 2 PDAs do not have the same sensitivity... How this would be reflected in the design of applications? Especially when talking about sensor-based services that may detect anything (network, proximity of others, temperatures...)? Of course, users do not like this situation but they will have to deal with it. More chaos and uncertainty in the Internet of Things, things will be unique and unequals...

Some thoughts about Mogi Mogi

At Ubicomp2005, there was a workshop about pervasive games (the website seems to be down). An interesting analysis of the pervasive game Mogi Mogi has been presented by Benjamin Joffe (from the french company Newt Games). The results of the field study are quite pertinent. From his presentation, I like two things. The first one is that as he says "Ubiquity does not necessarily mean “the same service on all devices”, which is so true, the richness of ubiquitous application might emerge from the complementarity between services (be it games or other applications).

The second one is that though the game was mobile and location-based, most of the game was played at home. Of course it refers to different part of the gameplay (trading and sending messages) but that's an important component.

About toilet usability

Yes that's a field too! I ran across this interesting blogpost about it.

Forget web sites and technology interfaces for a minute. What about public bathrooms? They generally rank high on the "suck meter" for usability and customer experience. Here are just a few common irritants:

Horrid stall doors with locks that never seem to work Hand dryers that wouldn't blow an eyelash of your skin Toilet and sink sensors that play hit or miss games Soap dispensers that reguarily fail and clog Small, narrow, wall-mounted garbage bins overflowing with trash Double roll vice-grip dispensers that will not dispense the T.P. Banked sink counters, which collect puddles of water that: --> Dampen your personal property if you set it down --> Dampen your pants if you lean in to wash your hands Airport bathroom stalls too narrow for a person and a roll-aboard

Now, I am presenting my next complaint largely from the perspective of "a sitter." I'm sure you "standers" have your own bathroom usability problems, and I don't paricularily want to know what they are. However, even the standers need to sit eventually, and I am sure all of us want to know the answer to this question:

Who was the braniac that invented the gigantic roll of one-ply toilet paper?!

Why do I blog this? well it's sort-of a way to show that user experience of technology is broader than some folks expect it to be.

PC and mobile phones personalization

Blom, J. and Monk, A.F. (2003): Theory of Personalization of Appearance: Why Users Personalize Their PCs and Mobile Phones, Human-Computer Interaction, Vol. 18, No. 3, Pages 193-228, Human-Computer Interaction, Vol. 18, No. 3, Pages 193-228.

Abstract: Three linked qualitative studies were performed to investigate why people choose to personalize the appearance of their PCs and mobile phones and what effects personalization has on their subsequent perception of those devices. The 1st study involved 35 frequent Internet users in a 2-stage procedure. In the 1st phase they were taught to personalize a commercial Web portal and then a recommendation system, both of which they used in the subsequent few days. In the 2nd phase they were allocated to 1 of 7 discussion groups to talk about their experiences with these 2 applications. Transcripts of the discussion groups were coded using grounded theory analysis techniques to derive a theory of personalization of appearance that identifies (a) user-dependent, system-dependent, and contextual dispositions; and (b) cognitive, social, and emotional effects. The 2nd study concentrated on mobile phones and a different user group. Three groups of Finnish high school students discussed the personalization of their mobile phones. Transcripts of these discussions were coded using the categories derived from the 1st study and some small refinements were made to the theory in the light of what was said. Some additional categories were added; otherwise, the theory was supported. In addition, 3 independent coders, naive to the theory, analyzed the transcripts of 1 discussion group each. A high degree of agreement with the investigators' coding was demonstrated. In the 3rd study, a heterogeneous sample of 8 people who used the Internet for leisure purposes were visited in their homes. The degree to which they had personalized their PCs was found to be well predicted by the dispositions in the theory. Design implications of the theory are discussed.

GRRR I cannot get the pdf (registration required)

Available position in Olso about tangible computing

Timo told me that there is an available PhD position at the Oslo School of Architecture and Design for his Touch Project:

A PhD in Touch Radio Frequency IDentification is a wireless technology that is is currently finding applications in the replacement of barcodes in supply chains and logistics. This cheap and potentially ubiquitous technology is likely to influence the interactions we have with many products and services. The Touch project therefore looks at user-centred applications of the technology. A PhD is now available as part of the project.

Touch is interested in developing user-centred applications and services: assessing ways in which the technology might be used in everyday life in useful, fun and non-invasive ways. The growing integration of RFID readers in mobile phones enables simple interactions between phones and physical objects with a ‘swipe’ or ‘touch’. In Japan there are around 10 million people paying for tickets and other services with ‘wallet phones’ and near field communication. These applications in ticketing and retail are the first areas to emerge as mass-market uses.

An initial exploratory period will develop specific research questions and application areas. Touch will look closely at social practices around mobile use and RFID. How does the increasing digitalisation of physical objects affect identity, culture, play, and issues of social transformation. Are there areas of everyday physical activity that would benefit from network intervention? Are there networked, online activities that could be supported by interactions with the physical?

The project will develop a number of practical investigations of the relationship between the digital and the physical. In particular looking at shifts in advertising or marketing, retail activity, public and civic services, gaming or play, and issues around personal, social and communicative uses. Through the design of digital and physical artefacts, applications and prototypes, the project will build a body of knowledge around near field interactions.

The PhD will work on specific themes within the project. This will require self-initiated research, as well as collaborative development with other designers, an anthropologist, software developers, the mobile industry and user groups. Applicants should have a design background and be able to demonstrate knowledge of social, tangible or mobile interaction design. Applicants are encouraged to submit a diversity of themes and approaches within these areas.

The fellowship is provided by Institute of Design, AHO, Oslo, Norway, and has a duration of 3 years, starting date early to mid 2006. The yearly salary amounts to NOK 292.000.

Deadline for applications: Postmarked no later than 22 March 2006.

Applications should be sent to: Attn: Timo Arnall / Interaction Design Oslo School of Architecture and Design Maridalsveien 29 0175 Oslo Norway

Questions or submissions via email to timo.arnall [at] aho.no

Knowing some bits an pieces about the project that Timo explained to me, this seems to be a tremendous opportunity!

Internal/external memory

While reading studies-observations board topic about "what's the most "everyware" thing available today?", I thought about the importance of USB keys. But here what interest me is less the pervasiveness (or the non-ubiquity) of this objet but rather the fact that lots of people carry a bag of external of knowledge with them. What is even more amazing is often WHERE it's carried: with a necklace.

It's funny seeing people carrying out "their external memory" with a necklace, there is an intriguing connection between this fashionable trend and the fact that this external prothesis is close to the mouth (where we somehow express information through language):

I put the "so-called" thing because the notion that memory is in people's brain is somehow passé given the situatedness of cognition (as well as some phenomenological theories).

Why do I blog this? well... I thought the connection was funny enough to be raised.

NADA: code in flash or java to control analog devices

Shown by Mike Kuniavsky at eTech yesterday: NADA:

According to a transcript of his talk:

NADA is a suite to let designers code in flash or java to control analog devices - demoing NADA * NADA component in flash * draws a circle, adds actionscript to it to respond to an old volume knob of a tv hooked up to his computer. turns the knob, circle's transparency changes. 30 secs of coding. cool. one like of AS * has an airplane force sensor configured to zoom the image, a light sensor controlling transparency, potentiometer to rotate the image. like 50 lines of code.

free version of NADA available at http://sketchtools.com, tutorials also avail for those who have no flash experience (for design students) - examples in flash and java

Why do I blog this? talking with some (game) designers complaining about the lack of tool to create physical objects/prototypes, this tool seems to be a good starting point. This appears to be an interesting ubiquitous computing design tool.

Weather in video-games

Just ran this interesting discussion about the weather in video games. The author, Matt Barton (University of South Florida) worked on this topic for a paper called "How's the Weather?: A Look at Weather and Gaming Environments" (in the "Playing with Mother Nature: Video Games, Space, and Ecology" book).

hat are some examples of good and bad use of weather in videogames? I'd really like a list of games that used weather not just as decoration or "atmosphere" but in ways that really affected gameplay. An example off the top of my head was Weather War, where players controlled hail, sleet, lightning, and rain? to destroy each other's castles. Help me out here, please.

1. What are some games you know of that make interesting use of weather? 2. What were the first games to include weather? How did they use it? 3. What are examples of games that turn the weather into a character, or feature bosses and such that manipulate the weather?

Why do I blog this? I won't enter into the details of the discussion but the questions brings some interesting ideas about the connection between game design and video games weather. The weather is one of the contextual feature of an environment.

In certain circumstances people do not even notice if a room grows to four times its size

A paper in Current Biology by Andrew Glennerster and colleagues shows that humans ignore the evidence of their own eyes to create a fictional stable world as described in the Oxford University News.

The Virtual Reality Research Group in Oxford used the latest in virtual reality technology to create a room where they could manipulate size and distance freely. They made the room grow in size as people walked through it, but subjects failed to notice when the scene around them quadrupled in size. As a consequence, they made gross errors when asked to estimate the size of objects in that room. (...) These results imply that observers are more willing to adjust their estimate of the separation between the eyes or the distance walked than to accept that the scene around them has changed in size,’ says Dr Glennerster. ‘More broadly, these findings mark a significant shift in the debate about the way in which the brain forms a stable representation of the world. They form part of a bigger question troubling neuroscience – how is information from different times and places linked together in the brain in a coherent way?’

Why do I blog this? this is an interesting example of the weird connections between cognitive systems and space perception.

Millenials and workplace behavior

The last newsletter of Steelcase is about the behavior of millenials (born 1978-1999) in the workplace. Some excerpts of the findigns I found pertinent:

The youngest generation, the millennials, is entering the workplace. The oldest millennials are still in their 20s, but already they're creating some workplace trends of their own. (...) Among the findings: Millennials are three times more likely to work off-site or while traveling, compared to other office workers, Formal meeting spaces are less important to millennials than their older co-workers, Millennials are less distracted by noise. (...) “Millennial workers come to the business world prewired. Four out of five colleges offer wireless networks, and the average time a typical college student spends online has nearly quadrupled in the past eight years,” (...) Campuses provide a broad observation deck for seeing what’s likely to come next in the workplace, Roy continues. “We spend a lot of time on campus observing students and faculty. How are they using the space? How are they interacting? Are there any gaps? What could we provide that would make the environment work better? Students today want more flexibility, more technology, more cool spaces. They’re not looking to come out of school and go backward in time.” (...) Tech is both part of the millennial multitasking workstyle and an enabler of it (...) There’s also growing evidence that millennials, more than any other generation, value natural daylight in the workplace, and they’re more apt to ask questions about air quality, efficient energy use, “green” materials and maintenance procedures,and other environmental issues. (...) “When millennials start with a company, the Number One thing they request – and require -- is a mentor,” says Simoneaux. “One of the strategies we've proposed is a 'mentor pod,' an open workspace where experienced people can go to work. By simply being there, it signals they're available to counsel others.”

I like this result also:

For example, 91% of boomers, gen-Xers and traditionalists say that having meeting spaces available for scheduling is an important factor that affects their satisfaction with their workplace. Fully one-third say it's a problem finding those spaces. Fewer millennials think it’s of medium or high importance – 81%. After all, when you're used to collaborating informally, you tend to worry less about meeting rooms with big conference tables. As long as there’s a casual space like a cafe or lounge area, millennials can and prefer to work in a variety of places.

Why do I blog this? the relation between space and collaboration is both a research project here at the lab and one my favorite concerns. These results nicely highlights the relationships between space and collaborative work.

Beyond the QWERTY keyboard of gaming

An eTech2006 talk that might be interesting for completing a report on game controllers I did last year: From Paddles to Pads: Is Controller Design Killing Creativity in Videogames? by Tom Armitage

The videogames market is stagnating. The primary cause is not the domination of the industry by larger companies, the rising costs of next-gen games, or even lack of imagination.

The primary cause is the interfaces we play the games with.

There is almost no emerging technology in the field of physical videogame interfaces. The field is stuck at the Dual Shock, the QWERTY keyboard of gaming, and this is a bad thing--it is an unnecessary barrier to entry. Nintendo is bucking trends left, right, and center, but they're going to have to work against public reaction and the hell that is modern cross-platform development.

The talk covers:

History How we got where we are now: a history of interfaces, from Pong paddles and trackballs through to modern joypads.

Creativity Some examples of one-off controllers and interfaces that demonstrate real ingenuity, through to controllers that are endlessly adaptable.

Assumed skills There are unwritten conventions gamers know. The difficulty in coordinating two thumbsticks, for instance. What are the skills that develop through a history of gaming? What do we need to stop assuming?

Development What's been touted for next-gen. Are we looking at a leap forward or back? Just how much control do we demand anyway? The boundary between hardware and software interfaces.

What's needed A conclusion. How the barriers to entry can be lowered--and the gaming demographic widened-- through interface design.

Why do I blog this? I am interested in how game controller evolves and how they could redesigned to better support innovative game design and be adapted to gamers' context and cognitive skills.

Video Games usability evaluation

The last issue of the journal of usability studies has recently been released. Among other papers, there is one about usability evaluation and game development:Do Usability Expert Evaluation and Testing Provide Novel and Useful Data For Game Development? by Sauli Laitinen (Journal of Usability Studies, Issue 2, Vol. 1, February 2006, pp. 64-75)

In sum, game developers were then asked to rate the findings of a usability test and give other feedback about the methods used and the results gained. Some results:

Practitioner's Take Away Traditional usability expert evaluation and testing provide novel and useful data for game development. All the usability specialists who participate in the usability expert evaluation of a game do not necessarily have to be double experts. When designing a game usability test it is important to notice that thinking aloud and interrupting the player are not always possible. Design the test so that there is a mixture of think aloud and uninterrupted play. The game developers are interested to learn about the user experience. Use post-test questionnaires and other survey methods to study the user experience. (...) In addition to the usefulness and face validity of the methods it was studied whether the usability experts participating in the game usability expert evaluation should be double experts. It was found that there was no significant difference in the number or the rated relevancy of the problem the gamer and non-gamer usability specialists found.

Why do I blog this since I work on user experience evaluation of video games (sometimes involving usability testing), this paper offers some thoughts about it. The field of usability testing in games seems to be more and more formalized lately. However, I have doubts about some of the issues the author raise. For instance using post-test questionnaires and other survey methods to study the user experience. I find way better to use interview (first open interviews and then semi-structured ones with probes); I also finf very useful to have self-confrontation of gamers to a replay of what they did. Of course, the cost of doing that is high but I found more valuable data from this kind of verbalization, coupled with both logfiles/games data and videos of players. Maybe, this is because we had enough time to do it and because I tend to favor the mix of both qualitative and quantitative data (in research and R&D projects but also testing).

Junk prototyping

In the last issue of ACM Interactions, there is an intriguing article about prototyping with junk by Nancy Frishberg. The idea is to go beyond paper by using the materials of kindergarten to the world of design. This can be used to achive four goals: encourages communication both within a team, gives a product concept or workflow a physical instantiation, quickly visualizes proposed solutions with little investment of time or money and promotes fun at work (this would please people from imagination lab).

What Is Junk?

Materials collected from the recycling bin are great additions to those found at school supply shops, the dollar store, and sale tables of your favorite craft counter. Picnic supplies, such as paper plates, as well as cafeteria (or fast food) cardboard trays work well as a base or frame for other structures. Pipecleaners, packing materials, coffee stirrers, toothpicks, wooden ice cream sticks, wire hangers, egg cartons, and the usual selection of old magazines or gently used gift-wrapping paper and ribbons also make great prototyping materials. We supply inexpensive plastic toys, party supplies, twist-ties, modeling clay, candy past its expiration date, and beads, as well as various sorts of cutting implements, glue, and tape. Paper, pens, and crayons are invited as well

The only drawback the author mentions is:

"One downside of prototyping with junk is that its benefits accrue to physically present participants. We've attempted to include people remotely by audio or even video conference, but so far have found it difficult to integrate the local and remote.

The overt, externalized results appear as these representations made of otherwise useless materials. The covert, intangible results include lasting communication within an ephemeral or stable work group."

Why do I blog this? even though we often use this kind of technique during our workshop, I am sometimes dubious of the outcome of such activities. Some others have pointed on the drawbacks of prototyping: it can't emulate complex interactions, it can't find complex issues or it can't simulate “real” interaction with a live system. But perhaps the point in prototyping sometime is not to create something altogether but rather to tighten team relationship, make colleagues/partners aware of specific phenomenon and for instance, for R&D/foresight people to translate ideas, concepts and content to marketing or people more in the production process. And this is already a huge achievement (given certain types of organization for which ideas are difficult to transfer to support innonovation). And then that's why we still do that :)

Anyway, the whole issue of the journal about this topic and there are worthwile paper about good examples!

Usability of video-games HUDs

In Gamasutra, there has been a good article about Heads-Up Display last week. It adresses the topic of HUD usability. As they say, the developer's challenge is the following: how do you convey necessary information to the player without utilizing a traditional HUD?.

A HUD is simply a collection of persistent onscreen elements whose purpose is to indicate player status. HUD elements can be used to show, among many other things, how much health the player has, in which direction the player is heading, or where the player ranks in a race. (...) what would make console developers suddenly rethink the necessity of such a seemingly essential and time-honored technique as the HUD? Here are three compelling reasons. (...) millions of high-definition televisions have an Achilles heel that can hinder developers as well: burn-in. (...) it is caused by persistent onscreen elements that, over time, create a ghost image on the screen even after they are no longer shown. (...) yes traditional HUDs can pose a risk to many who play console games for extended periods of time on their HDTVs. (...) Just as a filmmaker doesn't want a viewer to stop and think, “This is only a movie,” a game developer should strive to avoid moments that cause a gamer to think, “This is just a game.” (...) nothing screams “this is just a game” louder than an old-fashioned HUD. It is not a part of the game world; it is an artificial overlay. (...) [casual] Gamers looking for a “pick up and play” experience are not inclined to spend time figuring out what all those bars and gauges are for.

The article then investigate "how to go HUD-less":

• remove useless information, decide “Is this information essential to the game experience?”
• use audio cues to either reinforce a visual cue or offer a unique message that is not easily shown visually.
• if a HUD is really need, only show an element when the player status changes.
• another solution is to allow the player to control the appearance of the HUD.
• remove static elements from the HUD

Cyworld control room

Doing some research on Korean virtual communities, I ran across this picture of South Korean Cyworld (taken on Wikipedia):

Cyworld (Korean: 싸이월드) is a South Korean web community site operated by SK Communications, a subsidiary of SK Telecom. Literally translated, "Cyworld" means "relationship world."

Members cultivate on- and off-line relationships by forming "first-degree" (Korean: 일촌) buddy relationships with each other through a service called "minihompy," which encompasses a photo gallery, message board, guestbook, and personal bulletin board. A user can link his/her minihompy to another user's minihompy to form a buddy relationship. It has been reported that as much as 90 percent of South Koreans in their 20s are registered users of Cyworld, and as of September 2005, daily unique visitors are about 20 million.

Why do I blog this? Web platforms/virtual communities control displays might be amazingly relevant with regard to the kind of information designers could access to. Following in real-time what happen on Google, Web2.0 applications or multi-user games might be impressive.

Judging from the picture, there seems to be lots of quantitative data (various vizualisations) and some qualitative data (harder to summarize them visually). This raises lots of questions like what do they extract? how do they use them? + What's about privacy concerns!