Wiberg M. - The Interaction Society[c] Practice, Theories and Supportive Technologies (2005)(en)
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This excerpt indicates the importance of field support and the lack of onsite information sources. Spectators not equipped with mobile support have to rely on information available through word of mouth from fellow spectators. While being mobile and away from available announcements it is difficult for the spectators to access the correct information at the right time.
Situated Content
Each car’s race time is clocked several times during a stage. The race times are repeatedly reported in the radio broadcasts with a main focus on the top competitors. Some of them use the printed program to get an overview of passing competitors, although it is hard to use in the dark. Some use radio receivers to listen to the status of the race, or a combination of these two sources of information. The following excerpt reflects upon the existing informationsupport.
Catherine at one of special stages: The radio receiver is generally good, but they seldom mention the overall ratings and times. And when they do, it’s rather difficult to grasp all of what they are saying, due to the high pace. Another drawback is when they broadcast a four minute long interview with a foreign driver; in that case I prefer the race information only. I think it’s kind of the wrong way round when you get lots of timestamps on competitors passing the finish line when you actually are standing at the middle of the course.
The broadcasts lack a continuous general overview regarding how the race evolves. Further, reporting journalists have to transfer information to the listeners almost as fast as the events in the field. Therefore, the pace of the information transfers varies upon the intensity of the event and arrives at intervals. The result is that users picking up the broadcast run the risk of losing important information. The example also shows that the spectator is not fully satisfied with the content of the broadcast. Still, spectators have no influence on the broadcasted content, or when it is broadcasted. Several observations were made of how spectators equipped with radios informed other spectators. The excerpts also show that the possibility of being updated decreases when away from the start and finish lines. The radio broadcast, as the only existing
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mobile support, cannot address shifting demands of information content. Next, the study of the Roskilde Festival is described.
The Roskilde Festival
The Roskilde Festival is an annual four-day music festival with a 30-year history. The number of participants during 2000 was around 100,000. The Roskilde Festival is an established and popular festival in Scandinavia and attracts a lot of young people. Fans from various countries attend the festival to experience the concerts of their favorite stars. The vast festival field turns slowly into mud, littered with paper programs and thousands of spectators stomping around. Various concerts go on until early morning. People continuously walk between different stages, tents and accommodation areas. It is a place for experiencing the bands and to socialize with friends and other people. Attending spectators feast on beer and have a good time together, stumbling around within the event area.
The festival is held on a vast, flat field. The spectators camp on the enclosed, pre-prepared camping sites in tents or in campers, although some stay in hotels in the vicinity. The festival area is fenced and accessed only through controlled gates. There are eight different stages with different musical focus. During the festival it is possible to access the Internet (www) through a small number of terminals placed in bars and at gates. There is also a daily festival newspaper available. These sources serve as information support regarding, for instance, the festival program during the event.
Supplement to the Event
The attention of the spectators in the festival is different from the Rally. It still has a periodic nature, but there are no two-minute intervals. The intervals are exclusivelydefinedindividually,asaresultofeachpersonfocusingondifferent things. The happenings of the event do not set the same explicit rules for visual attention among the spectators as of the Rally. The concerts on stage are defined in time in line with the festival program. The experience of the concerts isalsolessdependentoncontinuousvisualattention—itismusic.Theattention of the spectator varies on the concert on stage and social interaction with others. During a concert there is no obvious need for continuous information in comparison to the Rally. Event information becomes of interest between the
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items in the festival schedule in order to plan the day. Observations suggest that event information is mostly used to schedule concerts and other activities and to handle deviations from the program, as a basis for how spectators go about their decision-making. As opposed to the Rally, the spectators at Roskilde are notasinterestedinbackgroundinformationabouttheartistsparticipatinginthe event. Their main purpose is to experience the festival and its belonging concerts together with friends and other people as a social event. Therefore, event information plays a subordinate role, as a facilitator of these activities.
Spectator Mobility
Thespectators’searchforsuitablelocationstowatchfromdependsexclusively on individual and group preferences on which concert to attend. Many spectators come in groups and there are different outcomes of their discussions on which concerts to attend. The result can either be that the group decides to unanimously attend a specific concert or split up to later reunite again. Depending on each spectator’s decision, the spectators are scattered over eight stages (see Figure 2). When the concert ends, the groups reunite at
Figure 2. Sketch over the festival area showing the performance areas consisting of stages, tents and spectator accommodations at the other end of the vast field
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locations agreed upon. All concerts offer a large standing room for the spectators, in which a good crowd is drawn.
People have to attend most concerts as early as possible to get a good spot. Many spectators remain in the accommodation area until the time comes for an interesting concert. The distance between the performance area and accommodation is up to a 20-minute walk. As a result, the spectators walk this distance to attend a concert, and seldom for a spontaneous stroll. During their stay within the accommodation area they engage in other activities, such as social interaction with friends and other spectators.
The excerpt below illustrates the relation between spectator mobility and existing information sources, situated at fixed locations.
Gil standing in line for a terminal: When the concerts are later in the evening at 10 and lasts until 2 in the morning they follow a tight schedule. There is a constant flow of spectators between different stages and performance tents that feature different artists. They make a lot of changes to the program and the updates seldom match between the available forums, for instance the program and announcement boards. The terminals in the area seem pretty well updated, but it is often long lines to get to use them. Since the area is so heavily crowded it is hard to reach places where you can get the latest festival information, for instance the concert schedule. Walking several hundred meters through a crowd of thousands of spectators is simply not worth the effort to get hold of it.
Theexcerptshowsthatthereareinconsistenciesregardinginformationfromthe differentsources,whichincludechangestothefestivalprogram.Similarlytothe Rally case, the spectators have much left to wish for when being located away fromexistingsourcesofinformation.Theonlyinformationthatisfairlyfreshis available at certain locations, provided by interactive terminals and announcement boards. Since the spectators to a large extent are mobile during the evening it is often troublesome to reach the locations where information can be obtained. As a result, it becomes difficult to find sufficient information to make a schedule for the evening. Moreover, due to inconsistency between different sources of information it is hard for the spectators to determine the validity of each source to rely on. The excerpt also indicates that spectators are likely to,
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at times, give up the effort of trying to reach locations where information can be obtained due the crowd of people combined with being remotely situated.
Situated Content
Festivals do often have to deal with a lot of changes to the pre-determined schedule.SomevisitorsplantheirvisitlonginadvanceusingtheofficialInternet site to sort out artists of their interest. They access the online program and some bring printouts of it to the festival. Information from the organizer is often broadcasted in conjunction to concerts. There is some redundancy between the terminals and the announcement boards. The printed program is of course impossible to keep up-to-date and consequently announcement boards, terminals and public announcements constitute the sources of information when it comes to fresh updates. The spectators are situated at many different locations during the event and the need for information and time for access depends a lot on what kind of situation they are currently in. The excerpt below shows the situation of how spectators are having difficulties in establishing whether they are up to date with the latest information depending on where they are currently situated.
Nick waiting in the accommodation area: The initial program works as a rough summary of the schedule since it is continuously changed. I mean we have a general idea of which concerts that are going to take place but the time when things are going to start is the uncertain part of it. Mostly my friends and I remain here between the concerts. When we return from a concert to the accommodation area we often try to get hold of information concerning the next concert before we head off to the tents. The bad thing is when we leave and they change the schedule after you left the announcement boards. Of course you can ask other people but it’s tiresome to constantly hunt the latest updates all the time.
This example indicates that spectators try to stay up-to-date with the changes of the festival schedule by either checking available sources before leaving the performance area or by talking to other spectators that might have learned the latest changes. When the spectators are located away from the performance area, it is difficult for them to get hold of the latest information. This also
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generally applies since the spectators are not aware when the content changes and if there are updates available. When spectators await upcoming concerts within the accommodationarea, they havetorelyonother spectatorsthat arrive after they left the available information sources. This way the search for valid information also comes into conflict with other activities that the spectators occupy themselves with.
The Swedish Match Cup
In mid-June, the Island of Marstrand on the Swedish West Coast becomes the focal point for sailing enthusiasts. For a week, the Swedish Match Cup dominates the waters around the island. The sailing form is match racing where two boats in each heat sail against each other for about 30 minutes on a relatively small course defined by three placed buoys — checkpoints. This event has returned annually for ten years and includes 80 heats, which attracts around 150,000 fans. The positions of the buoys are only altered when there are severe changes in the weather. The Cup is unique in the way that the spectators can follow the race from the shore, from boats or from any of the small islands surrounding the course. In a way, the setting is shaped as an arena (see Figure 3). The media content providers were volunteers working for the organizer of the Swedish Match Cup. Race officials are located in a tower at the shore and got constant updates and information from the race control, on the top of the tower. Information concerning the event was published on the Internet site and in local newspapers. Live video from the match cup was also broadcasted via the Internet.
Supplement to the Event
The Swedish Match Cup attracts a varied audience. People attend the event to enjoy the weather, the races and to socialize with friends sharing the interest of sailing.Betweenthestages,peoplespendtimeinrestaurantsandotherfacilities offering spectator services. It is a social event, which attracts the upper class of people. The main purpose is to take part of the live event. Certain event informationfacilitatesafundamentalunderstandingofthedifferentheatstaking place, such as rules of the competition, overall standings and ranking lists. However, event information is somewhat of a secondary matter for the spectators. The live event and the social value of it come in first-hand. Similar
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Figure 3. Sketch over spectators located on the base cliff at the site of the Swedish Match Cup, the race checkpoints and surrounding spectator boats
tothestudyoftheRoskildeFestival,eventinformationservesmainlyasanaddon value. The information gives the spectators knowledge about what is going to take place in the competition.
Spectator Mobility
In their search for a good spot, the spectators at the Swedish Match Cup have a few alternatives available. The race is held close to the shore and enables the
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spectators to find different places, such as the base cliff, to locate themselves prior to the race starts. Several placed lighters at the shore of the base cliff are also popular spots. The terrain is very open and enables the spectators to see competitors approach at a distance, arrive and pass them by from the shore or the provided lighters. Some spectators are more mobile during the race, and watch the heats from small boats in the vicinity of the competition course. The spectators equipped with boats vary their position for a more exciting view of the Cup (Figure 3). Spectators without boats do not have the same opportunity ofalteringtheirposition.Themajorityofthespectatorswerelocatedatthecliffs in the vicinity of the race and the provided lighters placed at the shore. Spectators situated at the shore and on lighters are locally mobile between the spots from where they are spectating, restaurants and other facilities. People frequently move within these areas depending on the highlights of the event.
Situated Content
Unlike the two earlier studies, the spectators at this event are not forced to make priorities regarding information updates and their geographical position, sincealoudspeakersystemisstrategicallyplacedthroughoutthearea,covering almost the whole course surroundings. The spectators can make use of the local broadcast and at the same time get a clear overview of the action taking place, due to the open field of vision. Sound travels easily over water, which increased the coverage of the area supported by the speaker broadcasts. Large screens were also placed in the area at pre-defined places to display various updates. The locations of the screens were decided by estimating where larger parts of the audience would be situated. To get the essentials of the event experience, an understanding of the competition rules is needed. This information is, however, not communicated by the local broadcast or in other public forms available. Some spectators prepared themselves prior to the event by looking up competition rules on the official website of the Cup. For most people, it is difficult to determine which of the races that was really of high interest and importance. In a way, the Swedish Match Cup resembles the Rally study. The spectators’ focus of visual attention hovers between the race and social interaction with other spectators. When spectators leave for lunch for instance, they have no contact with how the race evolves or when the next race is up. Many spectators claimed to be alerted mostly by the speaker broadcasts. The speaker announces something, which alerts the spectators that something is about to happen. As a result of this situation, they leave the restaurant area and
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head towards the shore again, resuming their attention to the race, as the following excerpt describes.
Warrick at the base cliff: There are highlights of the race that just turns up. The chance of knowing when things are going to happen is really small. Sometimes you actively watch from the shore, and at times more passively, like, you do other things with your friends waiting for things to happen. On some occasions the crowd cheered outside and we went out there to check out if anything interesting was about to happen. We could also overhear the speaker broadcast, which was another way of knowing upcoming things.
Thisexampleshowsthatthesomewhatlongintervalsbetweenhighlightsofthe event lead to spectators engaging in other activities alongside the race. It also suggests a deficient awareness among the spectators when interesting events are going to take place. As a result, spectators run the risk of missing important parts of the race while being located away from the course of events. To facilitate a limited awareness, spectators rely on alerts made by the speaker or signs of activity from other spectators. In order for the speaker broadcast to provide sufficient support, it is required that the spectators to some extent are situated within earshot. At times, the spectators located away from the race can get an idea of potential upcoming activity through passively listening to the broadcast, although without catching what it is about.
Discussion
This section discusses the contextual requirements. Further, the main challenges for design are described. Moreover, we discuss the use of theory, i.e., the background perspectives concerning the notions of context that previously havemostlybeenusedinworkrelatedsettings.Thesectionendswithanoutline of implications for the design of IT support of spectators at distributed events.
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Supplement to the Event
General event information often becomes of secondary interest. Detailed and more specific information on the other hand, serves to enhance the event experience. The Swedish Rally and the Swedish Match Cup are events with an increasedemphasisoncompetition.Fromthatpointofview,eventinformation complements the understanding of how the event evolves and plays a more active part of the event experience in comparison to the Roskilde Festival. In the Roskilde study, event information plays a different role. Most importantly, theinformationisusedtoplanactivitiesoftheday.Theexperienceofthefestival consists of the concerts, as well as social interaction with friends (sharing reactions). These two aspects of the event get intertwined, which results in a lot of planning and negotiating among the spectators. This is a continuous activity, which calls for easy and instant access to event information regardless of the situation at hand or current location.
•Usersareofteninvolvedinotheractivitiesbesideslisteningtoinformation broadcasts; they seldom exclusively direct their attention to it.
•General event information becomes of secondary interest, while more detailed, specific information is a supplement that enhances the event experience.
Spectators are often engaged in the action of the event or interaction with others, which indicates that the user should initiate the interaction with the system.
Spectator Mobility
The spectators face different kinds of mobile situations, often varying within a singleevent.Forexample,spectatorsattheSwedishRallycontinuouslychange location. Often they walk to a point of the stage where neither visual nor sound information sources are available. At this location they are able to get close to the action, but at the same time, their information support gets diminished. Similarly with Roskilde, spectators experienced on repeated occasions that there was much left to wish for when it came to festival program updates. This information also proved to be difficult to get hold of depending on where the
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