Flickr Comments as Convergent Media ComputerMediated Communication CMCMC

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Flickr Comments as Convergent Media
Computer-Mediated Communication (CMCMC)

• Susan C. Herring
• Indiana University, Bloomington
• Persistent Conversation Workshop
• HICSS-08, January 7

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Live via Internet
Greetings from Indiana!
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Convergent Media CMC

• Text-based computer-mediated communication that
  takes place in convergent media formats in which
  it is secondary, by design, to other information
  or entertainment-related activities

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Continuum of Convergent Media CMC

• Offline-gtOnline Online-Online
  Online-gtOffline

And more
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My Perspective

• Computer-Mediated Communication
• from a linguistic discourse analysis perspective
• Conversational coherence
• Sustained, topic-focused, person-to-person
  exchanges
• Problematic in CMC, especially in
  multi-participant, public environments (Herring,
  1999)
• Disrupted turn adjacency
• Topic digression
• Even more problematic in CMCMC, but people try to
  converse anyway
• An example of unintended consequences in system
  design

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Instant Messaging (dyadic)
Internet Relay Chat (group)
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The Dissident Café (better equipment better
photography?)
Dogs Dogs Dogs (celebrate your dogs bday?)
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Observations

• Design of Flickr tends to promote prompt-focused
  comment sequences, rather than user-user
  conversation
• Photos, questions at top of page are stimuli
• Strict linear comment display
• No system for cross-referencing comments
• BUT all comments are on one page, in
  chronological sequence (cf. YouTube and online
  newssites)
• However, some conversation takes place that is
  more or less coherent
• Given even rudimentary tools, some people will
  use them to converse!
• Users devise strategies for enhancing coherence

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In conclusion

• Devils advocate
• Why should we care about conversation on Flickr?
  Its not what Flickrs for!
• SCHs response
• Convergent media such as Flickr comments are the
  future of CMC
• Unintended conversational uses and user
  adaptations of CMCMC systems constitute
  serendipitous feedback for convergent media
  designers

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Questions?

• Comments?