Speed Dating #1 Responses
March 5 — Evaluating our direction before spring break
During the speed dating session, we utilized the time to ask our peers questions about Instagram. (This session was held on February 28). Prior to the Round Robin discussion, we had placed design probes around campus to get people’s feedback about Instagram use, unspoken rules of the platform and how people felt about Instagram.
What we found — The probe worked well because it was eye opening. People paused and chose to participate in our research. It confirmed some of our hypotheses but it also presented new information. Through the responses, we generated a sheet of data that tracked what people were saying about Instagram and the use of the application. We learned about the use of “finsta” or a “fake Instagram.” This phenomenon stems from the idea that the finsta would be used to post more candid, authentic content and the “real Instagram” was used to continue to keep up the social stigma, appearance and measures that the social media platform had created.
After discussing our findings from the design probe, we came up with a list of curated questions for the other teams participating in our Speed Dating or Round Robin discussion.
Questions for our group/other teams:
- What is your relationship to Instagram? Can you give an analogy and elaborate?
- How is Instagram reflective of yourself?
- How much is Instagram for you or for your followers?
- Do you have a finsta? Do you follow someone’s finsta?
- What made you decide to get a finsta?
- What would have to change about Instagram as a platform so that you don’t feel a need to make multiple accounts?
- What kind of content do you see or post from finsta accounts?
- What do you think a finsta provides that Instagram doesn’t?
We found the Round Robin to be insightful and provocative. The other teams asked us more about what we were hoping to create or get out of the project. They wondered if our project could have more of a gamification side to it or something where people would be interacting with our information.
From this feedback, we talked more about the idea of a system of things to present the findings. We considered a 360 view, creating a printed version or booklet and we were thinking of creating an installation, which had been something we were playing with from the beginning.
At the moment, our biggest question from our feedback session had been: what’s your goal? We spoke with Kristin Hughes, one of our professors, and she had the same response from what we were creating. What could be new and exciting about our project compared to things that might already exist? Are we social advocates? What is our mission? What are we trying to accomplish or tell people about?
