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Slides from the CHI 2008 talk for the paper "Exploring the Role of the Reader in the Activity of Blogging" by Eric Baumer, Mark Sueyoshi, and Bill Tomlinson
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Exploring the Role of the Reader in the Activity of
Blogging
Eric Baumer, Mark Sueyoshi, Bill TomlinsonUniversity of California, Irvine
CHI 2008 – Florence, ItalyApril 9, 2008
Blogs Abound
Increasing numbers of blogs Increasing research on blogging What about the reader? Readers' practices, roles, and perceptions
Reader Response Theory
Meaning neither in text nor in reader, but in interactions
“good literature... permits, invites, or even compels good reading” (Lewis 1961)
Blog enables explicit interaction
Methods
Qualitative study, ethnographic methodology, emic perspective
Semi-structured, open-ended interviews Demographic survey Iterative coding process, open then axial
Participants
15 readers, 11 female, 4 male Students or young professionals Ages 18-33, avg. 23.3 Diverse reading habits
Findings
Common practices Definition of the term “blog” Identity presentation and perception “Being a part” of a blog
Common Practices
Habitual, like checking email Not information overload Non-chronous – timing less relevant than
position Overloaded terminology
What is a blog?
Usually structural or technical definition “It depends”
“A blog is something that's still going on, that still has a conversation going on, that has people commenting,... it [has] this dialogue between the person who's posting
and the people who are reading...” Interactional definition
Presentation and Perception
Authenticity, personal Online/offline identity negotiation Reader's expectations Reader's felt obligations
“Being a Part”
Partly belonging, partly participation “Just by reading I feel like I'm
participating” Connection to blog, connection to blogger
Conclusion and Future
Readership in other social media: Flickr, YouTube, Wikipedia
Readers of specific blogs Tools for reflective reading Social implications
Acknowledgments California Institute for
Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2)
Summer Undergraduate Research Funding in Information Technology (SURF-IT)
Social Code Group Donald Bren School of Information and
Computer Sciences
