Scent field trial: understanding emerging social interaction

ABSTRACT

In spring of 2003, a mobile field trial of a concept prototype application titled Scent was conducted in a corporate environment, attracting more than 500 voluntary users. Scent was a social proximity application enabling scanning of one's immediate environment for other Scent users and initiating social exchanges with them. The design of Scent prototype application aimed at incorporating various facets of face-to-face social interaction. This gave trial users multiple options of using the application in any given social context during the unguided trial period. Both qualitative and quantitative data was collected and analyzed, which helped shaping up the foundation to further the research in understanding mediated social proximity interaction. The study revealed not only motivations of use, but also barriers of adoptions, which in turn had implications on evolutionary steps of the development and on the prospect of market entry. Identity expression was seen as the most rudimentary motivation in mediated social proximity interaction. The final section of the paper discusses how the research team utilized the field trial in the spearhead research project in an emerging arena of social interaction.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.4 INFORMATION SYSTEMS APPLICATIONS
      H.4.3 Communications Applications

Additional Classification:
  K. Computing Milieux
  K.8 PERSONAL COMPUTING

General Terms:
Design, Experimentation, Human Factors

Keywords:
concept design, field trial, mobile social application, proximity, social interaction, user creativity, user research