ViralVCD: tracing information-diffusion paths with low cost media in developing communities

Authors:
Nithya Sambasivan;Ed Cutrell;Kentaro Toyama
Affiliations:
University of California, Irvine, CA, USA;Microsoft Research India, Bangalore, India;University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
Venue:
Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Year:
2010

Citing 3
Cited 3

HCI4D: hci challenges in the global south

CHI '07 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems
User centered design and international development

CHI '07 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Ubicomp4D: infrastructure and interaction for international development--the case of urban indian slums

Proceedings of the 11th international conference on Ubiquitous computing

Postcolonial language and culture theory for HCI4D

CHI '11 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems
mClerk: enabling mobile crowdsourcing in developing regions

Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Interactive DVDs as a platform for education

Proceedings of the 4th ACM/IEEE International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development

Quantified Score

Hi-index	0.01

Visualization

Abstract

We describe ViralVCD: a low cost method for tracing paths of information diffusion in developing communities using physical media. We instituted a participatory video framework for creation and dissemination of developmental videos in seven urban slums and peri-urban communities of Bangalore, India. By combining a call-in contest with Video CDs, we were able to measure developmental impact as well as elicit data on social networks and technology usage practices. In particular, our technique was able to extract data from multiple layers-social, technological, and developmental. ViralVCD allowed us to identify key actors and map information diffusion, as well as technology ownership and access. These findings have implications for HCI initiatives targeting low income locales and populations.