Y!RB Brain Jam, August 3rd: April Slayden Mitchell and Alex Vorbau, HP - "My iPod is my Pacifier:" August 3, 2007

Free and open to the public, followed at 4pm with a Social Jam that includes refreshments - and beer. It would be helpful if you mark attending/watching above.

April Slayden Mitchell/Alex Vorbau, HP
"My iPod is my Pacifier:" An Investigation on the Everyday Practices of Mobile Video Consumption

ABSTRACT:
New mobile digital video technologies are creating dramatic shifts in the ways that video-based content can be produced, consumed, and delivered. One such shift has been the emergence of mobile video devices like video-enabled iPods and mobile phones. In the same way that the Walkman revolutionized music consumption behaviors, these mobile video devices are changing how, when, and where people are interacting with video. Another revolutionary shift comes from video content web sites like YouTube? and Google Video which publish vast quantities of video content viewable on mobile devices. Such technology revolutions change the way users behave and change their expectations in regards to their mobile video experiences. To help understand these changing behaviors, we conducted a three week study of mobile video users in the US and in the UK. In this talk, we will share details of the study and highlight some noteworthy observations specifically relating to content, usage, and design. The remainder of the talk will be reserved for questions and discussion relating to current trends in mobile video consumption.

BIOGRAPHY:
April Slayden Mitchell is a research engineer in the Mobile & Media Systems Laboratory at Hewlett-Packard. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Millsaps College in Jackson, MS, and a Master of Science in Computer Science from the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY. Since joining HP Labs in 2002, April has performed research in several areas including telepresence and digital entertainment. Her interests lie in experience design, technology for education, and social media. Her current work involves Conversa, a streaming video service which bridges the web world with the telecom world allowing users to easily create and share videos within trusted group communities. Alex Vorbau is a researcher in the Mobile and Media Systems Lab at HP Labs, Palo Alto. He holds a B.S. in Computer Science degree from California Polytechnic. His current research focuses on the areas of social and community media, specifically video. Previous work includes MemoryNet? - a peer-to-peer network for sharing and annotation of personal media and Web Presence Manager - a smart spaces platform for the Cooltown program. Alex has been with HPL since 2000 and with HP since 1995.

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