Table Of ContentDesigning and Evaluating a
Slow Technology for Personal Media Sharing
by
Daniel Robert Hawkins
B.Sc., McGill University, 2008
Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree of
Master of Science
in the
School of Interactive Art and Technology
Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology
© Daniel Robert Hawkins 2015
SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
Spring 2015
Approval
Name: Daniel Hawkins
Degree: Master of Science
Title: Designing and Evaluating a Slow
Technology for Personal Media Sharing
Examining Committee:
afChair:
Chair: Wolfgang Stuerzlinger, Professor
Dr. Carman Neustaedter
Senior Supervisor
Assistant Professor
Dr. Lyn Bartram
Supervisor
Associate Professor
Dr. Will Odom
Internal Examiner
Post Doctoral Fellow
Simon Fraser University
th
Date Defended/Approved: January 16 2015
ii
Partial Copyright Licence
iii
Ethics Statement
iv
Abstract
Personal media sharing of photos and video has become a spectacle of the immediate,
yet it may come at the cost of meaning and significance. To explore this design space, I
created a new tool, Postulater, which supports time-delayed photo and video sharing.
The goal of my research was to understand how media sharing tools should be designed
and how they might be used for sending media, if users were able to select delivery time
explicitly. I conducted a field evaluation of Postulater over six weeks and found that
participants valued sending time-based messages to send reminders, share personal
memories and reflections, affect future time periods, and send social greetings. These
messaging acts often garnered strong emotions from the participants. The implication is
that time-based messaging systems should be designed in a cautionary way that
balances the need to send messages ‘into the future’ with the complex human emotions
that such practices can create.
Keywords: Slow Technology, Reflective Design, Family Communication,
Asynchronous Communication, Media Sharing, Photo Sharing
v
Dedication
This thesis is dedicated to my Mom and Dad for their endless support. You are a
constant source of love and encouragement. Thank you for everything.
vi
Acknowledgements
I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to my senior supervisor, Carman
Neustaedter. Your work ethic and constant support is beyond inspiring; I often wonder
where I would be without your guidance and mentorship. It has been a great pleasure
working with you over these years and I am truly thankful to you for taking me under
your wing at SFU. I would also like to thank my committee member, Lyn Bartram, for
her support. And a special thanks to the SIAT Faculty for their inspiration, the SIAT Staff
for their patience, and the rest of my colleagues at SIAT for their support.
I would also like to extend thanks to the Connections Lab. First, a special thanks to
Jason for your endless help with building Postulater. Serena, Carolyn, Jason, Azadeh
and Erick, thank you for your inspiration, collaboration, and constant laughs. You made
every day at school fun and enjoyable. Remember, last one in, first one out.
vii
Table of Contents
Approval ............................................................................................................................. ii
Partial Copyright Licence .................................................................................................. iii
Ethics Statement ............................................................................................................... iv
Abstract .............................................................................................................................. v
Dedication ......................................................................................................................... vi
Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... vii
Table of Contents ............................................................................................................ viii
List of Tables ...................................................................................................................... x
List of Figures ................................................................................................................... xi
1. Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1
1.1 Background ................................................................................................................. 1
1.2 Thesis Problems ......................................................................................................... 3
1.3 Thesis Goals ............................................................................................................... 4
1.4 Methodological Approach ........................................................................................... 5
2. Related Work ............................................................................................................... 8
2.1 Family Communication Routines ............................................................................. 8
2.2 Media Sharing Practices ........................................................................................ 10
2.3 Slow Technologies and Reflective Design ............................................................. 11
2.4 Time Capsules and Digital Artefacts ...................................................................... 18
2.5 Summary ................................................................................................................ 25
3. The Design of a Time-Delayed Multi-Media Sharing Tool .................................. 27
3.1 Motivation ............................................................................................................... 27
3.2 Early System Design .............................................................................................. 28
3.3 Final System Design .............................................................................................. 32
3.4 Example Usages ....................................................................................................... 35
3.5 Summary ................................................................................................................... 38
4. Evaluation Method for a for Time-Delayed Multi-Media Sharing Tool ................. 39
4.2 Participants ............................................................................................................... 39
4.2 Methods .................................................................................................................... 41
4.3 Data Collection and Analysis .................................................................................... 43
4.4 Summary ................................................................................................................... 47
5. The Appropriatrions of a Time-Delayed Multi-Media Sharing Tool ................... 48
5.1 Message Sending Patterns ....................................................................................... 48
5.2 Personal Memories and Reflection ........................................................................ 50
5.2.1 Sending to Close Friends and Family ........................................................ 50
5.2.2 Sending to Oneself ..................................................................................... 52
viii
5.2.3 Self Reflection During and After Sending ................................................... 53
5.3 Practical Reminders ............................................................................................... 54
5.4 Greeting for Special Occasions .............................................................................. 56
5.5 The Butterfly Effect ................................................................................................. 58
5.6 Usability Issues ...................................................................................................... 60
5.7 Summary ................................................................................................................ 62
6 Design Implications ................................................................................................ 63
6.1 Reflection ............................................................................................................... 63
6.1.1 Reflection through Continued Use and Awareness ................................... 64
6.1.2 Reflection through Impacting Future Events .............................................. 67
6.2 Location and Time Communication ........................................................................ 68
6.2.1 Locative Communication ............................................................................ 68
6.2.2 Time-Based Communication ....................................................................... 69
6.3 Element of Surprise ................................................................................................ 70
6.4 The Virtue of Waiting: Slowing Down and Sending Into The Future ...................... 71
6.5 Guaranteeing Service ............................................................................................ 73
6.6 Message Reviewing ............................................................................................... 74
6.7 Message Retraction ............................................................................................... 75
6.8 Text versus Media .................................................................................................. 76
6.9 Message Display .................................................................................................... 77
6.10 Summary ................................................................................................................ 78
7 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 80
7.1 Research Objectives .............................................................................................. 80
7.2 Research Contributions .......................................................................................... 81
7.3 Limitations and Future Work .................................................................................. 83
7.4 Final Words ............................................................................................................ 83
References .................................................................................................................. 85
Appendices
Appendix A. Recruitment Poster ................................................................................ 89
Appendix B. Pre-Study Survey .................................................................................. 90
Appendix C. Sample Interview Questions .................................................................. 92
Appendix D. Recipient Survey ................................................................................... 96
Appendix E. Follow-Up Survey .................................................................................. 98
ix
List of Tables
Table 1 Description of Participants ................................................................................. 40
x
