Social Computing
By analyzing natural social interactions and applying behavioral theories, social computing researchers have identified what makes online social interaction and communities successful and how to build better collaborative digital user experiences.
HCII faculty for decades have been leaders in research on computer-supported cooperative work, computer-mediated communication, the analysis and design of online communities, and investigating the social impacts technology has on society.
Today, social computing platforms and tools are a part of everyday life for many. For example, Wikis enable users to collaboratively edit content and share knowledge; industry-specific platforms offer community and collaboration (eg. GitHub for developers); platform-based workers (eg. ridesharing, freelancing, or crowdsourcing) find work and community online; and social networking platforms provide online space for community groups and real-time communication.
Students who want to learn more about social computing might be interested in the following HCII courses:
Social Ideation Systems
PROJECTThis project investigates how social computing systems can optimize real-time creative collaboration, whether in teams or with crowds. We are actively dev...
Social Cybersecurity
PROJECTOur research into the human factors of cybersecurity focuses on people as social actors whose security behaviors are influenced by their relationships, co...
PrivacyGrade
PROJECTMany people are surprised to learn how much data smartphone apps are collecting about them. PrivacyGrade is a website we are creating that presents the re...
Interpreting Behavior With Crowds
PROJECTSocial science research often relies on coding of video or other data for subjective events. This can be very time consuming and labor intensive for a sin...
Internet Support Groups
PROJECTPeople facing serious health threats increasingly use the Internet to obtain information and support. Internet support groups (ISGs), online communities w...
Pediluma
PROJECTPediluma is a shoe accessory designed to encourage opportunistic physical activity. It features a light that brightens the more the wearer walks and slowl...
Combining Small Groups and Large Scale Collaboration
PROJECTThis research investigates the way that teams and communities collaborate online, with two aims: to develop new technologies to enhance collaboration and ...
Tiramisu
PROJECTThe Tiramisu project investigates how social media can provide new ways for citizens to take ownership of and responsibility for their public services. In...
inTouch: Awareness and Messaging for Mobile Groups
PROJECTinTouch is a mobile messaging platform that provides group-based communities (such as families, research work groups, carpools, etc) a better way to coord...
Social Ties in the Internet Age
PROJECTProject description: Proximity generally increases the likelihood of personal and work relationships, and geographic mobility disrupts them. Is this true ...
Marmite: End User Programming for the Web
PROJECTThe goal of Marmite is to make it easy to create "mashups" that combine content from multiple web sites and web services. Marmite lets end-users extract c...
StepGreen
PROJECTStepGreen is an umbrella project that brings together faculty and research from several disciplines including behavioral science, environmental engineerin...