Supporting Identity & Presence Online: Beyond Chat and Forums Anthony Christopher Digital Places
Online Presence n Support for individuals to express their identity and/or to develop a reputation online n Expanding presence increases interaction n Presence => Member Communications => Community Experience
Digital Places Presence Online n signature n Personal web pages n Profiles
Digital Places Profiles n Information about the member n Provided by the member n Structured by Community Developer n Contains information important to the community
Digital Places Ebay
Digital Places Motley Fool
Digital Places Avatars n Avatar definition: graphic representation of an individual in online social space n Support rich social interactions among participants
Digital Places Blaxxun
Digital Places WorldsAway
Digital Places Palace
Digital Places Why Avatars? n People who like them spend a lot of time in online avatar social spaces n Ultimate Stickiness –December 1998 research of 1,200 Palace & WorldsAway users –56 + % stay more than 1 hour per visit –48 + % visit 4 or more times per week
Digital Places Avatar User Comments Its a bit easier to relate to a pixel person than just words. This beats all text chats Ive ever seen. One gesture can save you 100 words here. Its weird but most conversations here begin with hello, thats not common on any text chat.
Avatar User Satisfaction Avatars Message Boards