Results
The project does not only show how energy end-user appropriate consumption feedback technology, but also provides new insights into ‘what people do with technology’ in everyday life. The project also investigates how people make their consumption accountable and explainable with the help of interactive feedback systems. Based on the findings, the project can explore how design could better support energy accounting practices of people to satisfy the identified need for consumption information.
Social Media – User oriented design of applications to explore convergence innovations on platform boundaries
The digitization of the media scene entails far reaching changes in domestic applications and information technology. The SOCIAL MEDIA Project focuses on dynamic Home-IT infrastructure and integrated Cross-platform concepts such as mobile devices, ambient-approaches with an intelligence diffused with everyday objects, and the investigation of suitable methods to involve the user in the process of idea generation and evaluation. An important part of the SOCIAL MEDIA project focuses thereby on the research and development of new concepts and strategies of in-house information systems, including consumption feedback.
Studying Technology in Everyday Life
Methodologically, we have decided on the founding of a Living Lab and the accompanying implementation of participatory developmental methods. The peculiarity of this approach is both a feature of a permanent incorporation of users in research and development (participatory design processes), and sustainable evaluation possibilities in a reality-like context of application. Our test environment, called SocialMedia Experience and Design Lab (SMEDL), consists of about 20 households in the greater Siegen-Wittgenstein area and allows for the gradual procurement and evaluation of prototypes in a reality-like environment.
Research Activities
SocialMedia is being promoted by the Ministry for Innovation, Science, Research and Technology of the county of North Rhine-Westphalia with resources from the European Union and European funds for regional developments. In the project, the work is carried out by the Institute of Economic Information Sciences and New Media at the University of Siegen (WiNeMe), by the Institute of Media Research at the University of Siegen (IfM), the Frauenhofer Institute for Information Technology (FhG FIT) as well as cooperations like Kit Digital AG, Pixelpark AG, ODSoft multimedia and RTL interactive.
