This detailed artefact analysis also shows how Geocaching contexts are produced when the user creates a travelbug.
Artefact analysis can be defined as "Functional descriptions of the artefacts (objects) collected from the users and that are used in the performance of tasks with implications and ideas for design of new or improved products and processes" (Hackos & Redish 1998). In the paper by Dix et al. (see below), they note that artefacts function as triggers for action and placeholders for formal and informal processes. Simply put, artefacts tell a story about the users, their contexts and social worlds.
Dix et. al: "artefacts speak and artefacts to speak", 2002
One of the finest communicative ideas in Geocaching is that every teams’ or individual’s private experiences are told to the rest of the members. This, potentially reciprocal (and visible to everyone) communication keeps members aware about what is happening in the sport. A private activity is shared, if the Geocacher wants to, with a vast multinational audience.
Now, travel bugs are boosting this interest by offering a special possibility to present oneself to and interact among other members.
In this example, we analyse a travel bug as an artefact. Why? Because this detailed analysis could support a community-centred classification of travel bugs (now being merely a huge list of tens of thousands of travel bug thumbnails), which in turn could influence the development of a new Geocaching service.
In this case of Geocaching travelbugs, we limit our analysis to the visual and textual presentation (the thumbnails and pages linked to it) of the material items that lie somewhere in hidden jars in the nature. Not all of the travel bugs have a material form though, some of the tens of thousands thumbnail-presentations of travel bugs refer to purely non-material issues.
It is crucial for the user of this community model to remember that social world processes and context attributes are to be understood as point-of-view lists to help the designer to imagine as many "angles" as possible to the use process. This means also that the attributes are not to be followed blindly but can be used to innovate more case-relevant solutions.
The table is an example of how the artefact analysis (powered by the model) could be done. The table is to be read as follows: first the middle column in which the action or thinking process is described. Then the larger frame(s) by social worlds perspective and more detailed contextual attribute(s) are picked up from the lists, or perhaps other innovated more relevant attributes, if needed, and marked on the left side column. From the perspective of the left side column the final interpretation can then be written (on the right side column).
Social world
process and
context
attributes | Description of action or
actor's thoughts | Interpretation |
|---|
Organization
Community maintaining | Jack wants to participate and contribute the community. He puts the photo and description of his TB named "Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu" (from the classic Star Trek TV serie "2nd Pilot Episode") on the travelbug web site and then just wait what happens, i.e., what kind of response he'll get from other members. | Personally members may think that they just put the TB into the cache and then just wait what happens, and what kind of response they get from other members. However, it is much more than that they are doing: precisely this kind of activity that maintains the community. |
Segmentation
Member and reference groups | Jack created the TB alone but he is highly aware that there are other Star Trek freaks among Geocachers. By his TB he wants to challenge those Mr. Spock fans who undervalue the "smaller" roles in the story. They are a bit too proud people - and also all too superficial, Jack thinks. They are too lazy to study deeper role structures among the crew. Especially he waits if there would be other Hikaru Sulu fans among Geocachers. | Geocachers are very conscious of their team (if they have such), and in many cases of the other teams that may be “better†or otherwise different compared to them. Furthermore, a single TB may be part of larger group of similar, or perhaps competing others. It is very usual that a TB (description) refers implicitly or even explicitly to those other TBs, or in some cases to global or anyway outside (real world) issues. This is an important part of all the fun (perhaps mostly among adult members) in TBs’ rhetorical and discursive meanings. This referring work creates connections among members, especially strengthening sub-groups, such as inviting Star Trek fans together etc. |
Intersecting sects
Socialization
Fashion
Presented identity | Since Jack is devoted Trekkie (proud enogh to be real "Trekkie", instead of being prudish "Trekker"), his nickname is GeoSulu. Aligned to that, his home page linked to Geocaching site (and vice versa) presents lower rank (well, lower than the highest level) officers in Starship Enterprise. Lt. Sulu presents, of course, one of the the Star Trek figures and refers thus to the Star Trek as such. Furthermore, it refers also to GeoSulu's social identity among Geocachers. | This is very central issue in geocaching generally, as it can be thought to be in all online communities. Your nickname, the homepage that you may link to your personal info page if you like, etc. are all parts of the identity you present among those who do not know you face-to-face. Especially TBs’ most essential nature is their geographical (a county, state) or thematic (all airports of Oregon, for example) target. The target is in many cases directly linked to their presented identity. |
Segmenting
Socialization
Arena for communication
Current goal and
Organization vs. individual | Physically, Sulu is a mere toy. However, for Jack it refers to a vast discussion among trekkies, that is also paraphrasing societal discussion on the problem of undervaluation of specialists in their professional communities. Why are they mere technical advisors and excluded from moral discussions held by captain Kirk and others. This is Jack's/Sulu's goal: to rise discussion about the non-moral role of professionals. | TBs, in particular, are openly constructed “vehicles†of meanings. They are usually very mundane items loaded with what ever background story and reference points. A small toy airplane is a representative of an aviation hobby in general, for example. |
A specific site
Travel process | Jack cannot understand those mainstream-Mr. Spock-fans who seems to be a majority also here among Trek-informed Geocachers. What in earth can be so interesting in character who is on-the-front all the time. All Mr. Spock's thoughts are presented in the facade, so to speak, of the story. That is precisely why lower rank officers are more interesting ones. You need to be clever to find their personal ideas. | Inevitably, members of this community are not free from the normal tensions between their individual whimsies and the bigger organisational interests to monitor the proper behaviour. However, since the self-management of members can be supposed to be on a rather high level, this is probably not a big problem. |
A specific site
Travel nodes | "Where no man", well, today it must be "human", "has gone before", Jack thinks and laughs. It is precisely the case of TB, too. You never know where its route ends, or does it end at all. Perhaps it just continues it's trek for ever.
In few weeks Jack hears about his Sulu TB. It has been found in the cache called Entrprise D. Ok, Jack thinks, that is from Next Generation, instead of 2nd Pilot, but nice try anyway. Perhaps there is not so much hard-core fans among Geocachers. But, hey, Sulu has proceeded, after all. | Travel nodes are sort of experiential nodal points during the whole travel process. It is precisely these nodes that are reported in the individual travel bug histories, i.e., the comments the finders have made about the TB they’ve just found and forwarded them.
This is very central to TBs. Although it is monitored by the geocaching system, it cannot be planned strictly in advance which is precisely the core source of the excitement dealing with TBs; where ever it will travel… |
Primary activity
Alone vs. in a group | The thing is, that Sulu was not alone in that cache. He was companied by Lt. Cmdr. Data. He is from the Next Generation, Jack thinks - at least some coherence. Probably they would continue their trek separately, but that's nice coincidence, anyway. | Is it a single TB travelling alone hopefully towards its target, or are they some sort of a group criss-crossing the state or continent and perhaps meeting happily some day in the same cache. |
