Social PrintersSocial Printers are physical devices that create a pseudonymous social network between households during televised political debates. Through studies conducted around the Scottish Parliamentary Election and EU Referendum in 2016, we aimed to understand how physical devices could be used to engage viewers with televised political debates.
Research type:
My role:
Team: Nick Taylor, University of Dundee |
Problem
Technology has long played a vital role in how we engage with politics. Ever since the 1960s, when the first televised debate between Kennedy and Nixon arguably swung the race for the White House, television has been perhaps the most influential medium in this area. However, in recent years, the enormous growth of the Internet and social media has challenged its supremacy. |
Opportunity
One of the great advantages of online platforms is that they not only allow politicians and news organisations to broadcast content, but can also help members of the public make their own voices heard and drive an alternative agenda. Connected products and the Internet of Things would likely impact the way we communicate. This leads us to ask: what might it mean to engage with television and politics in a world of connected objects? |
Research aims
The Social Printers act as research products, designed to address two questions: 1. How can physical devices be used to engage people in political discourse around televised debates? 2. What can we learn about existing social networking and second screen applications through these devices? |
Lessons learned
The qualities of the physicality of the object were often intertwined with their perception of the experience, creating an experience that captured many of the behaviours of second screen use but also exceeded it. |