Authoring personal histories: exploring the timeline as a framework for meaning making

  • Authors:
  • Elizabeth Thiry;Siân Lindley;Richard Banks;Tim Regan

  • Affiliations:
  • The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA;Microsoft Research Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom;Microsoft Research Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom;Microsoft Research Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom

  • Venue:
  • Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
  • Year:
  • 2013

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Abstract

It has been argued that technologies for 'memory' should be designed to support creativity and meaning building, rather than the passive capture of cues for remembering [25]. We report findings from a study inspired by this insight, in which older people made personal digital timelines using a new tool called Project Greenwich. We explore how the constraints of the timeline metaphor offer a framework for authoring, and examine how timelines can be used to underpin meaning building in relation to personal content. We highlight the importance of making, this being a vehicle for connecting with others in the present, and a potential means of emphasizing those elements of the past felt to be most salient when looking back.