quotes from 2008 CHI

live report of 2008CHI
http://www.nova100.ilsole24ore.com/viewposts.php?tag=chi+2008

about Facebook:

Based on your research, what are the purposes and the major gratifications in using Facebook?
“The main use of Facebook is the recreation of social connections between people who had, or still have, a connection in their everyday lives. So, people mainly used Facebook to reconnect with people they went to school with, worked with, or friends they lost touch with. But, the key question is 'what do people do once they have created this network?' The results of the research suggest that this can be divided into four main activities – they can use applications within the site to interact with their network, they can browse their friends' friends and learn more about them, they can join groups and express their identity via shared social experiences, or they can use the site to inform others of their news, and keep up to date with others' actions.”


How do you think social networking sites should improve? What should they do or not do in the future?
“The issue is what do these sites provide once you have built your network. If they do not provide additional activities or social networking resources, the danger is that they become nothing more than a glorified contacts database. Two uses - photographs and people's news - came out clearly as possible motivators of repeat visits to the site. If they want to remain central to people's online lives, social network sites need to find ways to encourage people to use them to not only make contact with others, but also to keep that contact alive.”