Sideshow: Providing Peripheral Awareness of Important Information

Abstract

A fundamental issue with user interfaces is how to help users stay aware of information without being overly intrusive or distracting. In this paper we describe Sideshow, a peripheral awareness interface designed to help users stay aware of people and information. We present data from a field trial of Sideshow where several hundred employees within our company used Sideshow over a seven-month period of time. The data indicate that Sideshow's design accomplishes the goal of providing awareness of important information without being overly distracting. Keywords Situational awareness, peripheral awareness, awareness, computer mediated communication, information overload 1