The OII asks how much Email troubles its Users

"Can the Internet Survive? Internet Security, Technology and Governance: Problems and Solutions", an Oxford Internet Institute (OII) seminar day at the London Business School dealt with a range of high-level policy issues but ended on a more individual note.

Exploring, in particular, email and the response that users have to its shortcomings, Bill Dutton, director of the OII, referred to the Institute's recent study on the hazards of using email. It all came down to how much you used the Internet and how experienced you were as to whether you were plagued by viruses and spam; there were no significant demographics, he said. The more you use it, the more trouble(d) you get.

But in looking at what this signalled for the future of email, he pointed to the need for some qualitative research to make sense of these findings. People may identify themselves as concerned, but, he said, 'some people are ballistic if they get just one spam, whereas for others it is 80 out of 100 messages'. The OII is about to undertake some work to find out more about tolerance.

Putting this in the context of how one uses email and manages the quantity of uninvited messages that arrive (even from work colleagues or friends), Dutton said that people were building artificial secretaries for themselves, using filters, adware and the like. 'It is the politics of reconfiguring access: we make it more difficult to get access to ourselves, but each strategy produces a counter-strategy.'

The discussion of email was taken on by Susan Douglas of the University of Michigan, who is a cultural historian specialising in radio and who identified many parallels between the development of the two media, but kept reminding the audience how young email really is.

Speaking about the way she approaches email herself, she said 'Two years ago, when I opened email, I would say: "Who's out there hailing me?" and now I see myself as repelling trespassers.'

She talked about the depersonalising effect of email, both as a medium with limited social cues, and also in terms of the exposure it brings. 'I'm imagined as a resource node on the Web, not a person. Telephone does not give that sense of entitlement to people who don't know me.'

She continued: 'They say that the Web has flattened hierarchies. Well, I'd like to see some reinstated. I don't want to help with every question. The good thing, though, is that if I do get messages I don't want, I have the time and space to count to 10.'

Nonetheless, she acknowledged that she was both a slave to email because it was now so embedded in working practices and simulataneously attracted by its lure.

All change at the top for System Concepts
Source: System Concepts Ltd, 3 July 2009
 
Leslie Fountain has been promoted to joint Managing Director of leading usability consultancy System Concepts.

Life in UCD immortalised in fiction: you couldn't make it up
Source: UN, 2 July 2009
 
Sarah Herman's fictitious book on life in a user-centred design company has hit the shelves and The Guardian's book pages...

Interfaces Magazine - Issue 79: The Education Issue
Source: Interaction Group, 1 July 2009
 
The latest issue of Interfaces is now available as a free download from the Interaction Website.

Two new Behavioural research Tools from Noldus
Source: UN, 30 June 2009
 
Tool updates make on-site behavioural data collection easier.

Cell Phones that Listen and Learn
Source: MIT Technology Review, 29 June 2009
 
New software tracks a user's behavior by monitoring everyday sounds.

Top Six Don’ts for Usability Testing
Source: FutureNow Inc., 27 June 2009
 
Six tips for creating quality usability tests to ensure useful feedback from testers.

Usability: ‘Lovely software. But I can’t work it’
Source: FT.com, 26 June 2009
 
In a recent survey by Global Graphics, 77 per cent of office workers estimate they lose up to one hour a week because business software is difficult to use.

And what do you do?
Source: Dexo Design, 25 June 2009
 
How do you describe your job role? Here are the results of a recent 'Preferred UX/UI Title' Poll.

Most Doctors cite Usability as critical to Electronic Health Record Adoption
Source: TMCNet, 24 June 2009
 
It's all about 'meaningful use'.

Glossy monitors look good but can hurt
Source: QUT, 23 June 2009
 
A new advisory cites research which suggests high gloss monitors make users sit awkwardly.