Everyday Favors: A Case Study of a Local Online Gift Exchange System

Emmi Suhonen, Aalto University School of Science and TechnologyAiri Lampinen, Helsinki Institute for Information TechnologyCoye Cheshire, Berkeley School of InformationJudd Antin, Yahoo! Research

November 8, 2010GROUP’10: Create, Donate, Collaborate

We all have skills and possessions that others need but do not have. At the same time, we often lack some resources ourselves, and can benefit from seeking others who can help…

1. A geolocated community: students on a university campus

2. Online – offline interaction

3. Generalized exchange

4. System allows many different ways to participate in collective action

Aspects that render Kassi interesting

Profile

Listings

Favors Items

What can we do?

How can we help each other?

What items can we lend?

What is sold or given away?

• What reasons do people have for participation? • What affects the quantity of participation? • How can gift exchange systems be designed to encourage

positive participation?

USERS' MOTIVATIONS TO CONTRIBUTE TO AN ONLINE GIFT EXCHANGE SYSTEM WITHIN A GEOLOCATED COMMUNITY

Two-wave survey

• September 2009 (N=72) & March 2010 (N=84)• Open ended questions “Why did you or didn’t listed favors in your profile?”

• Likert-scale questions “Kassi is a useful service in a campus setting”

RESEARCH MATERIAL

Usage Logs

User activity Favor Item Other

Posting a listing (N=459)

38 (8%) 362 (79%) 59 (13%)

Adding a profile offering (N=330)

120 (36%) 210 (64%) N/A

Completing an exchange (N=103)

34 (32%) 68 (65%) 3 (3%)

Total (N=984) 192 (22%) 640 (72%) 62 (7%)

USAGE PATTERNS

Statement All (N=84) Frequent (N=19)

Infrequent (N=28)

Kassi is a useful service in a campus setting. 88% 95% 82%

Kassi is a useful service for me personally. 39% 56% 18%

I wish Kassi had more users. 87% 100% 82%

I think Kassi is easy to use. 71% 84% 61%

ATTITUDES TOWARDS KASSI

http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcinmoga/4240686102/lightbox/

REASONS TO USE KASSI

1. “Just for fun”

2. “It’s nice to help”

3. The service is local: trust and ease of exchanging with one’s community

Reasons related to user Number of instances (N=181)

Difficulty of figuring out what items and favors to list. 71

Nothing to offer (no items or skills). 42

Difficulty of completing the exchanges offline and not worth it. 19

Doesn’t live close enough. 11

Reasons related to service

Not interested in the service. 26

Uncertainty of the service. 5

Not knowing this is possible. 7

USERS’ REASONS NOT TO USE KASSI

REASONS THAT INHIBIT THE USE OF KASSI

©DrJohnBullas (Flickr)

©DrJohnBullas (Flickr)

1. Lack of practices and social culture for gift exchange with strangers

2. Lack of operational information

3. Lack of examples

4. Social inconvenience

1. Problematic for research and design

2. …but not necessarily for end-users – their goals can be achieved effectively

3. Challenge: How to give people feedback & show the activities in the system without complicating use?

INVISIBLE EXCHANGES

http://www.flickr.com/photos/supersonicphotos/4483487579/

1. Generalized exchange can feel puzzling – incentives?

2. Asking for help may feel awkward even when others have explicitly stated their willingness to help

3. Contextual interest and/or geo-location helps, especially when completing exchanges requires meeting face-to-face

RECIPROCITY

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jeff-bauche/2230236391/

INTERPRETATION & INTERVENTION

1. How the existing culture should be taken in account?

2. How can we create a culture of generalized gift exchange?

Balance between interpreting and changing culture

http://www.flickr.com/photos/m0php/530526644/

1. Online exchange is a rising phenomenon and attitudes towards it are favorable but there are challenges to tackle

2. Interplay of online and offline interaction

3. Participation requires learning and shared understanding

– Items vs favors

– Generalized exchange may feel puzzling or awkward

– Feedback and examples

CONCLUSIONS

http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcinmoga/4240686102/lightbox/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/supersonicphotos/4483487579/

THANKS!

Emmi Suhonen, Aalto University School of Science and Technology, emmi.suhonen@tkk.fi

Airi Lampinen, Helsinki Institute for Information Technology HIIT, airi.lampinen@hiit.fi

Coye Cheshire, UC Berkeley, School of Information, coye@ischool.berkeley.edu

Judd Antin, Yahoo! Research, jantin@yahoo-inc.com