What Is Social Interaction Design? SxD_Principles-AdrianChan-2012.pdf. I just killed a social game mechanic. Techcrunch this week posted a copy of a social gaming playdeck used by SCVNGR. Social gaming is indeed hot these days. But there’s some confusion around game mechanics and social gaming dynamics. I don’t see any social in the playdeck provided below. So I’ve added my own commentary to each of the deck’s 47 points. My apologies to its author, but the descriptions completely and entirely miss the socio-logical factors that make social gaming what it is.
In fact the disclosure of a deck such as this one might cause one to wonder just who the hell designs our social tools — and whether they are even qualified to execute on the subtleties of social interaction and shared online practices. Where, in this document, is presence? From SCVNGR’s Secret Game Mechanics Playdeck, with my commentary added. 1.
Definition: A virtual or physical representation of having accomplished something. Example: a badge, a level, a reward, points, really anything defined as a reward can be a reward. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Eleven tips on how to apply social interaction design thinking. One of the key social interaction design deliverables is the social interaction design requirements document. Like the market requirements document, this spec covers social needs and requirements. Social needs of the product, of users, and of course, the business served by each. And its value applies equally to social media startups, campaigns, enterprise applications. Writing a social requirements spec, much like the MRD, involves organizational and company goals. What are your business interests in social media?
This requirements document serves startups in the social media space as well as brands or companies using social media for “campaign” purposes. The social interaction design requirements spec thus wants to address user diversity. I thought I would share some of my own insights and approaches, in a roundup of simple tips. This list is not exhaustive, and for many of you it will seem basic. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Social software is not regular software. 6. 7. Know your blindspots. 8. The Theory Behind Social Interaction Design. I view social interaction design as a field that seeks user-centric descriptions of experiences and behaviors on social media, with an eye on emergent social practices. I see user interactions as occurring between users, mediated by social tools — not as interactions with the tools only.
Social practices, in the view of social theory, involve users who know what they’re doing, what’s going on, and how to participate. Not on the basis of what’s on the screen, at the level of the interface and its design, but in terms of the social activity in which they are involved. Social theorists usually refer to cultural norms, traditions, routines, and so on to explain the reproduction of structures and systems of daily life. Macro structures are reproduced by means of these daily repetitions. The Paradigm Shift I view social interaction design as a paradigm shift in design thinking for two reasons. When social interactions are mediated by software, design is structuring and organizing. Psychology.