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conventions outside the digital world may account
for variations in effectiveness.
2 COMMUNICATION
CONVENTIONS
In the context of the web we talk about users - not
viewers, listeners or readers. We might talk about
shoppers, clients, students, customers or
collaborators. A web user may be any of these things
at different times and at the technology level
communication is always, essentially two-way -
unlike television, radio or print media where
reception is typically anonymous. In these latter
media feedback is relatively loose, voluntary,
limited in specificity, reliant on respondent honesty
and subject to sampling error. According to Sobol
(Sobol and Stones, 2002) "The web offers us more
possibilities for data on real consumption patterns
than any other medium before it…". There is much
we can learn from careful analysis of these data
mountains - but because we can do things does not
mean that we should.
The communications technology that underlies
the web might be necessarily two-way - but that is a
matter for the devices involved and the protocols
that marshal the data that flows between them.
Human communication, on the other hand, takes
place via narrative. Whole industries and professions
have grown up which explicitly seek to convert data
to narrative (market research, medical research,
forensic science…) and back again (market strategy,
medicine, the law…). Because, in the case of the
web, the technical processes behind each conversion
are so closely allied we run the risk of ignoring the
established conventions of communication adopted
by, for example, viewers (passive receivers) and, for
example, customers (active participants in a
transaction). The thesis is then that personalization
strategies must take into account the communication
role of the user.
Communication conventions evolve. Security
cameras were once widely seen as a gross intrusion
but have become an accepted part of modern living.
If I have my newspaper delivered I know that I can't
expect to keep my address secret from the
newsagent - but if the vendor advises me to change
my paper I am outraged. The technology involved
in the transaction demands some participation from
me - some information from me - but only enough to
enable the sale. This is a data exchange. If I engage a
lawyer, or a doctor, my participation levels - and
information supply - will, typically, be much higher
and I will expect to receive advice and guidance
tailored to my personal circumstances. These are
narrative exchanges - and by the amount of
information I give I 'authorise' a personal response.
Collaborative working on interactive systems has
been found to be successful in circumstances where
levels of 'shared goals', 'trust' and 'impact' are high
(Stack, 1999; Sobol and Roux, 2004). It may be that
personalization can achieve some of its objectives by
accelerating development along these dimensions
but also the level of personalization that users find
acceptable may well be restricted by user scores on
the same factors. Personalization will 'work' if the
user submits, in principle, to guidance and
recognises its authority. In these cases mechanical
personalization may be able to steer a behaviour.
3 EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN
To explore these ideas users of a web-based
discussion forum at the Institute of Communications
Studies at Leeds University were given an online
questionnaire to complete on entry to the system
(The Forum). The system is used by staff and
students.
Access to The Forum is by username and
password - thus the system has the wherewithal to
deliver basic personalization. Users are welcomed
by name. Access to most discussion areas is
restricted and users only see areas (and can only
participate in areas) to which they have been granted
access. The system features a choice of methods
when it comes to entering a message. Users can
either have a plain HTML text box or can elect to
have a 'fancy text box' instead. The fancy text box
allows users to alter font sizes and colours as well as
apply bold and italic formatting. The resultant
HTML code can sometimes cause problems when
viewed in The Forum's talk areas. The system keeps
track of a user's preference in this regard and
delivers according to their last selection - always
allowing them to change.
On arrival members see a screen which shows
the most recent contributions to the areas open to
the user. Because of the large number of talk areas
on the system this can sometimes make the opening
page slow to load.
So, the system includes a very basic level of
personalization which does not prejudge - guess, or
deduce user requirements - rather it 'remembers' and
uses personal information (full name, email address)
openly to facilitate communication. The volume of
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