Contextualizing Experiences: Tracing the Relationships Between People and Technologies in the Social Web

Liza Potts Old Dominion University ; Dave Jones Old Dominion University

Abstract

This article uses both actor network theory (ANT) and activity theory to trace and analyze the ways in which both Twitter and third-party applications support the development and maintenance of meaningful contexts for Twitter participants. After situating context within the notion of a ‘‘fire space’’, the authors use ANT to trace the actors that support finding and moving information. Then they analyze the ‘‘prescriptions’’ of each application using the activity-theory distinction between actions and operations. Finally, they combine an activity-theory analysis with heuristics derived from the concept of ‘‘findability’’ in order to explore design implications for Social Web applications.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
2011-07-01
DOI
10.1177/1050651911400839
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
Export

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (22)

  1. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  2. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Show all 22 →
  1. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. Communication Design Quarterly
  4. Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Technical Communication Quarterly
  6. Communication Design Quarterly
  7. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  8. Technical Communication Quarterly
  9. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  10. Technical Communication Quarterly
  11. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  12. Communication Design Quarterly
  13. Technical Communication Quarterly
  14. Technical Communication Quarterly
  15. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly
  16. Technical Communication Quarterly
  17. Journal of Business and Technical Communication

References (28) · 5 in this index

  1. Akrich, M. & Latour, B. ( 1992). A summary of a convenient vocabulary for the semiotics of human and nonhuman…
  2. Callon, M. ( 1986). Some elements of a sociology of translation: Domestication of the scallops and the fisher…
  3. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  4. Convergence culture: Where old and new media collide
  5. Datacloud: Toward a new theory of online work
Show all 28 →
  1. SIGDOC ’10: Proceedings of the 28th ACM International Conference on Design of Communication
  2. 10.1145/1120212.1120321
  3. Acting with technology: Activity theory and interaction design
  4. Kuutti, K. ( 1996). Activity theory as a potential framework for human-computer interaction. In B. A. Nardi (…
  5. Science in action: How to follow scientists and engineers through society
  6. Pandora’s hope: Essays on the reality of science studies
  7. 10.1093/oso/9780199256044.001.0001
  8. Law, J. ( 1999). After ANT: Complexity, naming, and topology. In J. Law & J. Hassard (Eds.), Actor network th…
  9. Situating technoscience: An inquiry into spatialities
  10. Proceedings of the 27th ACM International Conference on Design of Communication
  11. Ambient findability
  12. Nardi, B.A. ( 1996). Studying context: A comparison of activity theory, situated action models, and distribut…
  13. Proceedings of the International Professional Communication Conference
  14. Technical Communication Quarterly
  15. Twitter mouseover security flaw affecting thousands of users [WARNING]
  16. 10.1017/CBO9780511509605
  17. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  18. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  19. Plans and situated actions: The problem of human-machine communication
  20. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  21. Twitter is the best way to discover what’s new in your world
  22. Twitter spawned 50,000 apps to date, will open up firehose for more. TechCrunch
  23. Proceedings of GROUP ’04