Assignment 5a

Proposal 5a

Using An Interactive Voting Device To Make Soaps ‘Stickier’

Having studied the Stickiness Factor in the Tipping Point, I chose to develop the idea of greater audience participation in ‘soaps’ to make these shows even ‘stickier’. Creating an interactive voting system would allow people to become more involved and interested in the selection of story lines, which could increase viewing figures. The proposal would be to discover the most appropriate type of electronic voting system, selected through direct interaction with the soap viewing public, as their views (interviewing ) and the way they interact with the machines (observation) are essential.

I feel that the two above mentioned research methods would help me gather the most effective results. I also read a journal about electronic voting systems and these results were gathered mostly by watching people use the machines and by talking to them/ collecting info from questionnaires. Observing people interacting with different types of machines would let you see how user-friendly they are and also let you watch people’s reactions/behaviour. Observing how capably different generations cope with each type of system would be important, as this would cover a broad spectrum of people. It would be important to notice any difficulties with use, so helping with the selection of the most appropriate device for the majority of viewers. To get viewers to vote for storylines they wanted to watch would involve finding a system that was easy and quick to use. For a more realistic and valid review , It would be best to observe from the background so people feel less conspicuous and embarrassed about being watched interacting with a device, especially if it’s new to them. Also, observing people as a group would let them feel more comfortable and relaxed. Previously, when I carried out an observation I found that people on their own were more wary and self conscious. Having that feeling of being watched might cause you to disregard the device or make mistakes with it, putting you off. My previous observational experience justifies getting a group of people together to try out different systems as they may be more willing to try it out and be less hesitant to take part. I noticed before that people, who were with others didn’t seem to notice or bother about their surroundings and appeared oblivious to others around them. As people would be less aware of me observing, I could watch for as long as I felt I needed to. Groups of people of different age would also allow for them to help each other out – maybe families could participate in the experiment. When I read the journal on “The Accuracy of Electronic Voting Systems” (Herrnson, PS (2007), the researchers observed people casting their votes. In doing so, they were able to identify types of errors and accuracy levels of different voting systems. Using a similar approach I would also be able to identify occurring errors and get accurate results for the different devices being used. Viewers would be less likely to vote for the storyline they wanted to watch if they were unsure about how to use the system, so by observing I would be able to home in on the most appropriate one for the majority of viewers, which should be easy and fast to use, to encourage viewers to vote for specific story lines and so make ‘soaps’ even stickier.

Conducting Interviews would also be a good research method, to find out people’s views about using an interactive voting system to select specific story lines and whether they would want to participate. Asking people of different generations, race and culture would provide a wide range of opinions and preferences. Would an interactive voting system be effective and practical for all groups of people or just certain viewers? When interviewing before, I realised many people have personal preferences on how they organise, arrange and do things. The interviewees were all willing to give me a lot of information as well as reasons for their decisions. I came to the conclusion that many people’s decisions were influenced by factors such as personality, social experience and personal choice. Interviewing would allow me to find out whether picking certain story lines via an interactive system would be worthwhile or impractical. Perhaps, some people will be more willing to vote than others. After talking to people before some said things had to be practical and if they weren’t then it would get on their nerves. So, I would have direct feedback on how appropriate the idea was. Apart from the practicality of the proposal, I would also get immediate feedback about devices tried out, as they would be able to make comments about their suitability and ease of use and whether they would be likely to use them or not. Following on from this, I could obtain more information about people’s views and attitudes by handing out questionnaires. Some people might prefer and feel less inhibited about writing down their views, but on the down side, others might find this method too time-consuming and disregard it.

Giving people a series of photographs, from which they could then create a ‘soap’ storyline from, could be interesting and creative, as people interpret images in many connotational ways. However, storylines could become more unrealistic as a result and ‘soaps’ are supposed to depict real life issues. I read a journal about how television can confuse people's ideas of social reality "The Role Of Source Confusion In Television's Cultivation Of Social Reality Judgements" (Mares, M (1996)which is why i feel this method wouldn't be as appropriate. Viewers could opt to participate online in this activity and would certainly be very involved, but practically, would viewers bother to sign in or remember to do so? It may only involve a percentage of viewers.

To conclude, when considering whether having an interactive system for viewers to pick specific ‘soap’ storylines they want to see would be viable, observation and Interviewing would seem the most appropriate methods to discover people’s attitudes and reactions from which to act upon. Observing people directly would allow me to witness user preferences/reactions to voting interactively. Gathering information from interviewees of different race, culture and age would provide a lot of information on viewers’ attitudes and opinions about interactive voting, leading to appropriate selection of device.



Bibliography

Herrnson, PS (2007) Voting Technology: The Not- So- Simple Act Of Casting A Ballot, Washington D.C: Brookings Institution Press

Mares, M (1996) The Role Of Source Confusions In Television's Cultivation Of Social Reality Judgements, Human Communication Research, Volume 23 issue 2, Pages 278 - 297: International Communication Association