User Insights into Mobile Social Nancy Broden, Interaction Design DirectorPunchcut

Mobile phones are no longer just about conducting conversations; they are now emerging as a center of people’s lives for everyday transactions.”

Navin Mehta, MotorolaV.P. of Applications Management

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Mobile is

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The Promise of “2.0”

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The Rush to Mobile

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New Technologies create New Contexts

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New Technologies create New Contexts

New Contexts demand New Solutions

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New Technologies create New Contexts

New Contexts demand New Solutions

New Solutions require New Thinking

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Punchcut Study: PurposeThe mobile social networking study provided us with an understanding of why individuals engage in social networking behaviors and how the use of a mobile device supports these behaviors. We sought answers to

How often do the study participants engage in social networking behavior?

Under what circumstances do study participants engage in this behavior? What triggers it?

To whom is this activity directed? What is the relationship of the creator/sender to the recipient(s)? Is the behavior different based on the intended audience?

What percentage of the behavior is accomplished via mobile device versus other means? What are the circumstances under which one method is used versus another?

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Punchcut Study: Participants4 women, 7 men19 - 30 years old (m = 25.6)Residing in San Francisco and Oakland, CA2 were full-time students; 3 attended school part-time and worked part-time; 6 worked full-time. 3 of those employed full-time had flexible work schedules and/or locations.3 participants lived with a parent; 2 shared space with a room-mate or partner; 6 participants lived alone.All owned a mobile phone with a data plan that enabled them to access the internet via the deviceAll owned a personal computer and had high-speed broadband access to the internet

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Punchcut Study: MethodologyTwo methods were used to gather data:

Contextual and structured one-on-one interview session with each participant. This allowed us to witness first-hand the participant’s social networking activities in the context in which they occur, and to probe on the participant’s perceptions and attitudes toward social networking in general, and on the activities they had performed during the contextual portion of the session in particular. The data from the session was collected by the observer using handwritten notes and still images.

Completion of an online questionnaire by participants over a 14-day period to capture daily self-reported social networking activities. The data from the questionnaires was compiled into a spreadsheet for analysis.

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Social Networking Activities

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We gathered data on the use of:

Results: SMSText messaging via mobile phone was the one activity performed the most by study participants

Differences noted between participants under- and over-25sText message recipients were close friends of the senderSMS is “easier”, “less formal” and “quicker” than voice callsText messaging replacing instant messaging?

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Results: Community-base Web Reading, posting comments and/or updating personal content on community-based Web sites was the most popular activity

PC-based access was preferredVisiting the sites was a routine, performed at the same times every day“Reluctant members”: peer-pressure responsible for         membership in one community site over another Useful for keeping in touch with extended networks of friends and family

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Results: Photo/video Creation & Taking and sharing photos happened with equal frequency on mobile and PC

Frequency and method determined by contextSharing photos was the easiest and least time-intensive method to engage with networksMobile video creation and sharing is “too difficult”

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Results: Instant MessagingInstant messaging is a PC-based activity

Used for same reasons as SMS by “computer-centered” participantsIM clients used to reveal buddy status, but not to initiate chat

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ConsiderationsBuild on already occurring social networking activities

Provide a variety of tools tools to suit the range of contexts and levels of engagement

Mobile communication devices are not little PCs

Usability considerations are magnified

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Ask yourself// Who is the service targeting?// How will they be related to others using

the service?// How else will they be interacting with the

service?// How will the service change over time?

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Remember…

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Punchcut is a user interface design company specializing in improving mobile user experiences. We provide strategy, design, and development services — from user research to the complete design and development of custom interfaces and applications.

Our clients span the wireless industry, including operators, device manufacturers, application developers, and