Participatory IT in semi-public spaces

Abstract

This paper reports on an in-the-wild design experiment aiming to support participation and engagement in the semi-public space of a temporary art exhibition. Through interviews with 19 visitors we analyze the collaborative production of text about artworks in the exhibition in the physical space of the gallery. Our design, deployed throughout the venue for one month, makes use of people's personal mobile phones to interact with shared digital displays in the gallery. The findings help us understand and develop the notion of local participatory IT from actual use. We discuss people's diverging perceptions of what one is participating in and why as well as the impact of previous experiences with mobile technology. This leads us to propose three strong concepts to support understanding and design of technologies that foster local participation: Local area networking, hyperlocality, and global read/local write.