An international study of MySpace user experience : An international study of MySpace user experience December 2006
Agenda : Agenda Introduction
Cross-cultural summary
Usability findings
Country-specific findings:
UK
Germany
Italy
China
Conclusions
About the Authors This report represents the findings of an independent research study conducted by the International Usability Partners
What was done? : What was done? Exploration of the user experience of MySpace.com in 4 countries:
UK
Germany
Italy
China
Usability testing and qualitative interviews
A total of 27 participants:
50/50 split male and female
50/50 split MySpace users and non-MySpace users
One-on-one 60 minute sessions comprising:
Qualitative interview around general internet use
Task-based evaluation of MySpace site;
Users walk through scenarios
Facilitator measured task performance
Verbal feedback from user
Agenda : Agenda Introduction
Cross-cultural summary
Usability findings
Country-specific findings:
UK
Germany
Italy
China
Conclusions
About the Authors
Slide5 : We focus on the following topics:
1. Disclosure of information at registration
Did users feel comfortable with the disclosure of data when filling out the registration form at MySpace.com? Are there country-specific differences?
2. Networking and communication behavior
Are users interested in expanding their network? Would they initiate contact with users they don’t know?
3. Personalization of profile
How important is it for users to personalize their profile? Discussion of cross-cultural findings
Slide6 :
Some participants are reluctant to enter birth date and postcode; they wonder why this data is necessary for registration
Users do not want to disclose their primary personal email address
Because of security concerns, they enter fake data for birth date and postal code and upload a fake or censored profile photo
Users are happy to disclose all the information needed for registration
The information requested is “standard information” users expect to be asked when registering for a website
Participants did not have any problems giving away their personal details. Disclosure of information at registration
Slide7 :
Most users communicate with family and friends and search for old friends, classmates etc., but are less interested in getting to know strangers
50% of the users communicate only with ‘real world’ friends, accept requests from friends of friends
but don’t initiate contact to strangers
Don’t look for local people with the same interests
Participants use MySpace to get to know new people from all over the world and to find language partners
Users prefer to make an effort to seek out people rather than have people seek out them.
Users want to enlarge their network and meet new people Networking and communication behavior
Slide8 : None of the participants rate personalization as very important. They provide a minimum of information in order to use the features they are interested in.
Personalization is not very important for users. The market for networking sites where users individualize their own profile is just emerging. The ability to personalize their profile is the main attraction for users and reflects a need for self-expression
There seems to be a competition with friends to create the best profile.
Profile personalization is fundamental for most users. More simple options to enrich personal space are wanted. Personalization of profile
Agenda : Agenda Introduction
Cross-cultural summary
Usability findings
Country-specific findings:
UK
Germany
Italy
China
Conclusions
About the Authors
Scenario 1: Exploration of homepage : First Impressions:
Too much information
Not very attractive
Most users log in without ever looking at content of the homepage
Expected /missing information:
Step by step guide to personalizing profile Scenario 1: Exploration of homepage
Scenario 1: Exploration of homepage (non users) : First Impressions:
Information overload
Poorly structured
Not very attractive
Too many adverts
Expected/missing information:
Explanation of what MySpace offfers
Scenario 1: Exploration of homepage (non users)
Scenario 1: Exploration of homepage (non users) : Use of search:
Not clear what search box is for (web or MySpace?)
Not clear why ‘Search’ is also offered in the main navigation
Navigation labels:
Some words in the main navigation are not clear (Favourites, Events)
Difference between ‘Browse’ and ‘Search’ not clear Scenario 1: Exploration of homepage (non users)
Scenario 2: Registration (non-users) : Disclosure of information:
Users are happy to disclose all the information needed for registration.
The information requested is ‘standard information‘ users expect to be asked when registering for a website.
Some concern that entering email will result in spam. Scenario 2: Registration (non-users)
Scenario 2: Registration (non-users) : Problems filling out the form:
Participants encountered error messages during the registration process.
All entered a password that was too short.
After entering a longer password they received a second error message saying that the password must contain a number or punctuation mark Scenario 2: Registration (non-users)
Scenario 3: Upload a photo : MySpace users found the process of uploading a photo easy and intuitive, it uses a well known convention (Browse and Upload)
Non-users also found the process easy and did not encounter any problems.
The second step in the registration process is to upload a photo. Non-users uploaded photos to their profile immediately. Scenario 3: Upload a photo
Agenda : Agenda Introduction
Cross-cultural summary
Usability findings
Country-specific findings:
UK
Germany
Italy
China
Conclusions
About the Authors
UK – Use of personal profile : Information disclosed:
Real name,
Picture of themselves and their friends,
Age,
Current occupation,
Education,
Likes and Dislikes,
Favourite films and books,
Musical preferences.
Information not disclosed:
Telephone number,
Home address,
Email address. UK – Use of personal profile
UK – Features not used : UK – Features not used Most current users do not maintain a blog and do not participate in forums
Users feel uncomfortable publishing a diary online, think that their lives are not of interest to others or do not have the time to maintain a blog
None of the users make use of the Instant Messenger function on the site, most believe it does not work
Some users do not personalize their profiles because they do not know how to, and cannot find appropriate instructions on the site
UK - Restrictions on uploaded content : UK - Restrictions on uploaded content Users are aware that Myspace has rules about the type of content that can be uploaded (e.g. sexually explicit, slanderous or copyrighted material)
Users find that the rules are not strictly enforced and they frequently encounter copyright infrigement and sexually explicit material on the site
Most current users have not been personally affected by restrictions on the type of content they can upload to the site
The size of photos uploaded to users‘ profiles is restricted, so they are forced to use software to resize photos
UK - Communication with other users : UK - Communication with other users All current users communicate with other MySpace users by leaving comments on the profiles or sending them messages similar to emails
Half of current users communicate exclusively with friends and family that they know in the ‘real world’ and do not accept friend requests from strangers
Half of current users will accept friend requests from friends’ friends and from new bands, but will not initiate this contact
None of the current users interviewed browse the site to find people with similar interests in their local area.
UK - Trust in information provided by others : UK - Trust in information provided by others All current users trusted the information provided by other users on their profiles
The majority of other users they interact with are people that they know in the ‘real world’
They can easily discern whether information provided is accurate or not
Other social networking sites : Other social networking sites All UK users had heard of other social networking sites (e.g. Bebo, Flickr, Friendster etc)
Most users have accounts on these sites too, but used them much less frequently than MySpace
Users performed similar tasks on these other websites as they do on MySpace - sending and reading messages from friends and family
The importance of MySpace for users lies in having a critical mass of friends using the site
Advantages of MySpace : Advantages of MySpace Intuitive and easy to use - different functions have similar user journeys, users know how to perform novel tasks by infering from past experience with the site
Ability to personalise profile reflects a need for self-expression – element of competition with friends to create the best profile
Larger community/ greater number of friends use MySpace compared to other social networking sites
MySpace Music is well established and attracts new bands, so is better for searching for new music than other sites
Non-users knowledge of MySpace : Non-users knowledge of MySpace Half of non-users have never heard of MySpace before
They used different social networking sites – those used by the majority of their friends
Most users had registered at these sites because they were not able to access friends’ profiles without registering - they used the sites to send pictures and messages to friends and family
After hearing a description of MySpace, non-users thought it sounded very ‘teenage’ and could not imagine themselves using the site
Agenda : Agenda Introduction
Cross-cultural summary
Usability findings
Country-specific findings:
UK
Germany
Italy
China
Conclusions
About the Authors
DE – Social networking sites : DE – Social networking sites The German “social network market” is just starting to take off
“Lokalisten” is one of the emerging leaders
Most participants of this study use multiple social networking sites (e.g. OpenBC, Lokalisten, Flickr, Studienverzeichnis, Munich Singles)
Reason for registration: invited / asked by friends
What participants mainly do: searching for old friends and check their profile
What users disclose: minimum required to use the site, e.g. search for other people
What participants upload: portrait, general information about oneself
What participants don’t upload: telephone number, postal address, private email address
Advantages of social networking sites: find old friends, who knows who
Functionalities that are not used: diary, blog, communication with unknown users
DE - Use of MySpace : DE - Use of MySpace German version of MySpace has been launched in summer 2006
MySpace is not yet a common site in Germany
Difficult to find participants for the usability test
Some participants use the site “MySpace” to listen to music and search for bands without signing up for it
Upload bigger files, e.g. videos and photos, to exchange them with friends
DE – Personal profile : DE – Personal profile Importance of personalization: none of the participants rated the personalization as important
If it is possible to give access rights to friends, participants make more effort to personalize the own profile
Trust in information provided by other users: Participants do not rely too much on what is disclosed by others.
DE - (Non)Disclosure of personal information : DE - (Non)Disclosure of personal information If the site can only be accessed by friends, …
participants are willing to disclose more personal information, such as telephone number, postal address and the private email address
If the site can be accessed by the public …
participants are reluctant to disclose personal information such as postal address, private email address, telephone number, etc.
the amount of personal information that is disclosed depends on the site: if participants trusted the site, (e.g. OpenBC) they disclosed more information
the amount of personal information that is disclosed depends on what other users disclose, e.g. in OpenBC it is normal to disclose the email address
participants want to make sure that they can be found and recognized by friends
DE - language : Personal profile:
participants are irritated that the whole site is in English. During registration, they could select a language, e.g. German
participants are annoyed by “flashing” advertisements on their own profile.
DE - language
Agenda : Agenda Introduction
Cross-cultural summary
Usability findings
Country-specific findings:
UK
Germany
Italy
China
Conclusions
About the Authors
IT - Registration (current users) : IT - Registration (current users) Time since registration
All participants had joined MySpace recently: 3-12 months
Purpose of registration
Listening to music
Discovering new bands
Messaging with other people
How did they hear about MySpace?
Through friends or relatives
IT - General use (current users) : They use Myspace everyday for:
Listening to music
Posting comments
Messaging with other people
Reading bulletins
They rarely upload some content:
Profile pics, in order to be recognized by other users
Landscape pics (updated one time a week)
Videos downloaded from YouTube IT - General use (current users)
IT - Use of MySpace – Functions (current users) : The most used functions are communication (comments, messaging, bulletins…) and music
The purpose is to enlarge own friends network
The main conversation topic is music (in particular, “emo” music):
“MySpace is a sort of game, the goal of which is to meet new people”
“MySpace is a kind of content-enhanced chat”
There are some functions they had never used:
Blogs, Forum, Comedy, Groups, Events, Classifieds, Favorites
Because:
They have not enough time
They have never been stimulated to explore them IT - Use of MySpace – Functions (current users)
IT – Satisfaction (current users) : In general they are satisfied with MySpace.
The main benefit is the enjoyment it provides “I can take my mind off routine”; “It is a funny place to stay”.
They describe it as:
Easy to use but not initially
Well designed visually
Rich in content
They encountered sometimes problems with reliability of the site, but were not particularly worried about this
They do not use similar websites because MySpace satisfies their online social needs IT – Satisfaction (current users)
IT Use of personal profile (current users) : Profile personalization is fundamental:
In general they are satisfied of the options offered
They personalized their profiles with pictures and music
They are not prepared to disclose: Surname, telephone number, email address, home address
Suggestions for improving the profile:
They would like to learn how to enrich their page
They would like the process of personalizing their profile easier to be easier
Trust in information provided by other users:
The users believe that they cannot trust too much the information other users provide in their profile
They have far more trust in the information bands provide
They rarely meet people they have met on MySpace in the ‘real world’ IT Use of personal profile (current users)
IT - Do you know MySpace? (non users) : Knowledge of MySpace:
In general My Space is not known
Participants that know MySpace by name, describe it as a “modern phenomenon”, as a website that offers people the opportunity of setting up a personal space
Like a “content enhanced” blog
IT - Do you know MySpace? (non users)
IT - Use of personal profile (non users) : There is no agreement about the importance of personalization, but:
Users value graphic editing tools
They would publish personal pictures
They are not prepared to disclose:
surname
telephone number
primary email address
occupation (not in any detail)
school or employer
marital status
religion IT - Use of personal profile (non users)
Agenda : Agenda Introduction
Cross-cultural summary
Usability findings
Country-specific findings:
UK
Germany
Italy
China
Conclusions
About the Authors
CH – Use of Internet : CH – Use of Internet Duration
all participants have been using the internet for more than 6 years almost every day
all were non-Myspace users
Frequency
seeking information
get news
communicating with friends
games
Communication with friends via the internet
Instant Messengers (QQ, MSN, Yahoo)
Skype
e-mail
CH – Social networking sites : CH – Social networking sites The online social networking scene is still only emerging in China
There are no clear Chinese social networking sites that are taking the lead.
Participants had never heard of social networking, or knew of any social networking websites. Those who did knew only of popular western sites (Such as MySpace).
Reason for registration: Seeking new friends
What participants mainly do:
Find language partners to practice English
meet people from around the world
What users disclose: the most basic of information required
What participants upload: general information about oneself, headshot
What participants don’t upload: telephone number, personal detail (e.g. married or not), postal address, private email address
Perceived advantages of social networking sites: meet different people
CH – Use of MySpace : CH – Use of MySpace Little to non-existent
Very difficult to find participants for the usability test
Some participants have seen the site, but never used it because it has no Chinese language version
CH – Personal profile : CH – Personal profile Will use a variety of email addresses (never use “main” personal email address)
Use of fake or censored profile photo
Very skeptical in the truth behind profiles
CH – (Non) disclosure of personal information : CH – (Non) disclosure of personal information If the site can only be accessed by friends:
participants are willing to disclose more personal information, but still very conservative, sighting security concerns
If the site can be accessed by the public …
participants are reluctant to disclose personal information such as postal address, private email address, telephone number, etc.
Very conservative about the type of information given out, regardless of the site
participants prefer to make an effort to seek out people rather than have people seek out them
CH – Scenario 1: Exploration of homepage : First impression
No Chinese
“Don’t understand”
Can’t tell what the purpose of the site is
Looks like a search engine
Expected / missing information
Chinese language option
CH – Scenario 1: Exploration of homepage
Agenda : Agenda Introduction
Cross-cultural summary
Usability findings
Country-specific findings:
UK
Germany
Italy
China
Conclusions
About the Authors
Conclusions : Conclusions Users in UK personalise their pages and disclose more personal information than users in the other countries
Linked partially to maturity of the social networking site (MySpace has a greater ‘critical mass’ of English speakers than other languages)
Linked also to reasons for using MySpace:
Chinese and Italian users hope to meet new people and need not be linked to their ‘real world’ persona
UK & German users use MySpace to communicate with their existing social networks, and need to identify themselves online
Conclusions (2) : Conclusions (2) Users in UK personalise their pages and disclose more personal information than users in the other countries
German and Chinese users are more worried about Internet security than users in UK
Germany has a low incidence of credit card ownership, therefore disclosure of personal information online is less common
Chinese users are worried about surveillance of their activities and routinely use fake identities online
Conclusions (3) : Conclusions (3) Key driver for use is an existing critical mass of friends or family - early adopters recommend sites to their circle
For early adopters, good user experience is the key differentiator between sites
Non –UK users are frustrated by the use of English throughout MySpace
Partial translation of registration process raises false expectations of true localisation
Even English-speaking Germans found its use annoying
MySpace has a number of usability problems in registration & homepage design which frustrate users further and reduce likelihood they will use the site
Agenda : Agenda Introduction
Cross-cultural summary
Usability findings
Country-specific findings:
UK
Germany
Italy
China
Conclusions
About the Authors
International Usability Partners : International Usability Partners The International Usability Partners are an established network of independent usability companies who have joined up to provide user experience services worldwide, from North America to the Far East. Each partner is an expert in global user experience design, specialised in the cultural and linguistic characteristics of their home country
Amberlight Partners ltd (UK)
Design for Lucy (France)
Experientia s.r.l (Italy)
ISAR User Interface Design (China)
User Interface Design GmbH (Germany)
IUP also have an extended network of other usability companies all around the world, including
USA, Canada
Brazil, Mexico
Spain, Sweden, Finland, Netherlands,
Poland, Russia, Austria, Switzerland
India, Japan, South Korea
Amberlight Partners Ltd : Elsa Plumley
Research Analyst Robert Gillham
Usability Consultant Amberlight Partners Ltd
London, UK
http://www.amber-light.co.uk
Amberlight Partners Ltd
Slide53 : Experientia s.r.l.
Torino Italy
http://www.experientia.com
Emanuela Sabena
Usability Consultant Experientia
Slide54 : ISAR User Interface Design Co. Ltd Peking & Shanghai, China
http://www.isaruid.com
Jason Ward
Usability Consultant ISAR User Interface Design
User Interface Design GmbH : Sylvia Thalmeier
Usability Consultant Jakob Biesterfeldt
Usability Consultant User Interface Design GmbH Ludwigsburg, München, Mannheim, Germany
http://www.uidesign.de
User Interface Design GmbH
Slide56 : Contact: Robert Gillham
rob@amber-light.co.uk
58 Bloomsbury Street
London WC1B 3QT
+44 (0)207 307 7770
www.amber-light.co.uk