Design considerations for community portals in master-planned developments in Australia and Mexico

ABSTRACT

This paper presents a discussion of design considerations for community web portals as social networking systems. We analyse and compare the social interaction approach, design considerations and socio-technical requirements with regards to community portal technology employed in two master-planned urban developments in Australia and Mexico. We focus on how the human and social concepts and local contextualisations affect technology design and use. In response to our analysis, and to face the challenge of designing for variability and diversity, we present the communicative ecology model as a conceptual tool to help researchers and designers grasp the situated context and purpose of these systems in order to inform the design and development of better community technology.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.3 Group and Organization Interfaces
          Subjects: Collaborative computing

Additional Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.3 Group and Organization Interfaces
          Subjects: Web-based interaction
      H.5.m Miscellaneous

General Terms:
Design, Experimentation, Human Factors, Security

Keywords:
communicative ecology, master-planned communities, portals, social networking, urban computing, urban informatics