Homosapien Information Behavior and CitySearch.com

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Homosapien Information Behavior and CitySearch.com

• INFO 310 Individual Perspectives on Information
  Systems
• Ryan Prins
• Anthony Trotter
• Jamie Yaptinchay

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User Group

• Description of the Information Behavior of the
  User Group

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Our User Group

• Who?
• College Students Looking for Entertainment in
  Their City
• Why?
• To find out what information our user group finds
  important, useful, and are barriers in finding
  local entertainment. In addition, to determine
  what venues our user group typically chooses to
  find such information and why.

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Why?

• College students are always looking for
  entertainment
• Interesting to see how well CitySearch.com
  fulfills the information needs of college
  students.
• College students are a very accessible user group
  to study

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What is CitySearch.com?

• CitySearch.com allows users to look for various
  types of information
• Restaurants
• Bars
• Movies
• Theatres
• Hotels
• Events

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Participant 1 Anthonys Interview

• User Identifying
• Online or Offline?
• Convenience
• Lack of money for other resources
• Frequency of Searching?
• Users typical resources?
• NWSource, Ticketmaster, Google

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Participant 1 Anthonys Interview

• Human Information Behavior
• User Searching Techniques?
• Search Strategies (from the 5 search strategies)?
• Browsing - I didnt really do much searching
  there was a link, and it seemed like something
  Id search for anyway.
• Empirical
• Known-site (Ticketmaster)
• Information Encountering (browse out of boredom)
• Information Use not yet realized. Will be used
  in the future
• Take me to bars later
• Actions taken when barrier (or sense-making gap)
  encountered
• Accept barrier and adapt to the CitySearch.com
  system
• Sense-making
• Anomalous States of Knowledge (ASK)
• Information Searching Process (ISP)

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Participant 1 Anthonys Interview

• Site Improvements and Satisfaction
• Keepers!
• Browsing Tabs (most important)
• Change It!
• Add Proximity Preferences
• Too Much Information. Simplicity!
• Stupid Advertisements! Kill!

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Participant 2 Jamies Interview

• User Identifying
• Online Preference
• Quick and Easy
• Frequency of Searching
• Resources Typically Used and Why
• Yahoo!

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Participant 2 Jamies Interview

• Human Information Behavior
• How the User Searched
• Problems Encountered During Information Searching
• Excess of Information / Too Many Links
• Solution Trial and Error in Following Links

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Participant 2 Jamies Interview

• Site Improvements and Satisfaction
• Its all about the Tabs
• Satisfaction at Current Offering of Features
• Layout and the Importance of Pictures

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Participant 3 Ryans Interview

• User Identifying
• Prefers Online
• Frequency of Search 1 2 times / week
• Friends as Resource First

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Participant 3 Ryans Interview

• Human Information Behavior
• Search Process
• Location is Main Criteria
• Important Information for User
• Rating
• Distance
• Cost
• Problems
• Information Clutter

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Participant 3 Ryans Interview

• Site Improvements and Satisfaction
• Categorical Tabs
• Satisfied With Current Feature Set
• Pictures Were A Help
• Simplicity is Key!
• User Customizable Interface
• User defined portal

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Commonalities in User Need

• Proximity to Residence
• Availability of Transportation
• Cost

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Commonalities in User Demand

• Succinct Information Presentation
• Categorization by Tabs
• Pictures as an Aid

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Commonalities in User Want

• Categories
• Search Mechanism

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Applying HIB Theory

• Search Strategies
• Browsing
• Using Tabs
• Empirical
• What has worked in the past?
• Known-site
• Ticketmaster, Yahoo!, Google, etc

Whats your strategery?
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Applying HIB Theory (cont.)

• Information Encountering
• Information Use not yet realized. Will be used
  in the future
• Take me to bars later
• How Encountering Arose
• Boredom
• Felt the NEED to Do Something

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Applying HIB Theory (cont.)

• Actions taken when barrier (or sense-making gap)
  encountered
• Accept barrier and adapt to the CitySearch.com
  system
• Sense-making
• Sifting Through Recommended Information
• Anomalous States of Knowledge (ASK)
• Use of Directories Over Direct Search

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Applying HIB Theory (cont.)

• Information Searching Process (ISP)
• Initiation
• First View of CitySearch.com
• Selection
• Committed to a Way of Searching
• Exploration
• Reading the Links
• Formulation
• Applying Criteria to Links
• Collection
• Processing What is Relevant to User
• Presentation
• Information Found and Bookmarked in Personal
  Information Collection DING

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CitySearch.com

• Evaluation of CitySearch.com and Its Ability to
  Help Our User Group

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What is CitySearch.com?

• The city guide to entertainment, restaurants,
  events, hotels, movies and businesses
• Various City Portals
• A One Stop Shop for All Entertainment Needs

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CitySearch.com Demo

• http//www.citysearch.com

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Pros and Cons Determined by the User Group

• Pros
• Wealth of Information
• Multiple Locations
• Tabbed Browsing
• Pictures
• Proximity Metrics
• Directions

• Cons
• Too Much Information
• Invasive Nature of Advertisements

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Intended Audience

• Young Adults
• Special Events
• Concerts
• Movies
• Restaurants
• Adults
• 21 Events / Locations
• Family Oriented
• All the Above Listed

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Authority

• Nature of Domain
• Commercial Site (.com)
• The Organization Who Compiled It
• Ontario Inc.
• Partners
• Expedia, Evite, Entertainment.com, TicketMaster,
  Match.com, ReserveAmerica
• Inclusion of Advertisements
• Targeted Advertisements Prevalent Throughout

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Documentation

• Ways To Get Help and Learn About Advanced
  Features
• Availability of Help Link Right Next to Our
  Users Beloved Tabs

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Format

• Layout
• Fonts
• Effects
• Blinking, Sound, Animation
• Size
• Number of Graphics

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Access and Organization

• Navigation Methods
• Search Features
• Links
• Categories
• Lack of Language Options

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Quality of Information

• Accuracy
• Dependent on Third Party Information
• Van Helsing Example
• Completeness
• The Amount of Information Available
• Language
• English Only, Variety of Language Style in User
  Reviews
• Who Determines and Creates the Content?
• CitySearch acts as a portal that compiles the
  outside information.
• The Content is Created and Determined by Outside
  Sources (Al Qaeda)

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Privacy and Cost

• No Registration is Required
• Privacy Policy
• http//seattle.citysearch.com/templates/profile/po
  licy.html?cslinkbottombar_private_policy
• No Fees Are Required to Use the Website
• Advertisements

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CitySearch.com

• Ideas About Improvements

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To Fulfill Our User Groups Needs

• Inclusion of Cost as a Broader Search Criteria
• Finding Entertainment within Certain Pre-Defined
  Proximity
• More Succinct Information
• Summary / Expanded Option
• More Emphasis on Outdoor Recreation
• Similar to Activities Found _at_ the WAC

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El Fin.