The authors performed qualitative study on people's behaviors around large public displays in parities. Qualitative studies are good at pointing out the existence of a phenomenon: Momentum is required for people to start playing around with public displays. And from the interviews they identified a few key factors considered by a person when deciding to interact with a display:
- How long an interaction takes
- What they will get out of it
- What steps are involved
- If it will be a comfortable experience
- If there is a quick let out, where they can walk away gracefully, without it disturbing the ongoing public activity
I feel the factors are highly linked to those particular settings. I wonder if the result would be different for occasions such as subway hallways. I also wonder if systems responding to people's presence can at some level "forced" people to be involved in a public display. Therefore would the transition between focal activities and interaction activities become easier since the user is already involved when he realized it.
What is a public display? Is it a display can be used by the public or a display can be seen by the public? Can a small display on the parking meter be considered a public display? Many displays in the public today is that it can be seen and used by the public, but as soon as someone operating it, the display becomes a personal display. I feel the meaning of public display is a little unclear.
