The Gap Between Producer Intentions and Consumer Behavior in Social Media

It can be difficult for social media users to tell who is paying attention to what they post. As producers of content, Facebook users make assumptions about who will be part of their intended audience. However, when the same user’s role shifts to that of consumer, the criteria for  consumption depends on factors outside of the original producer’s control. This creates a gap between producer intentions and consumer behavior; producing content that is actually consumed by one’s intended audience is neither guaranteed nor easily confirmed.

I am about to start collecting data for a follow-up to this study, so stay tuned!

Here’s a photo of the grounds of the conference center — it was a gorgeous place, and a really interesting procedural setup for a workshop. There were only around 30-40 participants, and an hour was devoted to each paper. The presenter was given 5 uninterrupted minutes at the beginning of that hour to say whatever they wanted to say about the paper, and then the floor was opened to the rest of the workshop to ask questions. There was also a discussant assigned to each paper whose job it was to call on people who signaled that they had questions, and generally keep the discussion on track in a direction that would be helpful for the presenter rather than an off-topic or destructive rathole.

Rick presented our paper, and we got a lot of really excellent and thought-provoking feedback, particularly about the idea that a mental model doesn’t necessarily have to be accurate to achieve a desirable effect or result. In the context of computer security, this might mean that a person who believes hackers are all teenage boys out to commit mischief could feel like they are more likely to be a target and take more steps to protect their computers, than someone who believes hackers are criminals out to make money (and therefore might only target online businesses or something like that). There was a very interesting conversation during our session about whether creating interventions that lead to incorrect mental models is ever OK, even when the result is that people may behave in a more secure manner. People at the workshop even came up with instances in the real world where this exact thing happens — for example, the way the temperature controls on a fridge/freezer combo work. Look it up! (hint: there’s only one compressor / cooling device)

It was extremely valuable for me to attend, because I don’t have much experience with the computer security community, and this was a great way for me to learn more about what current and emerging topics are in that area, as well as to experience and think about the reactions to our ideas. All in all, a great experience, and an interesting group of people to get to know! The oysters were fabulous, too