Chapter 8: Increasing Persuasion through Mobility and Connectivity

Intervening at the Right Time and Place

As noted in the discussion of suggestion technology in Chapter 3, when it comes to influencing attitudes and behaviors, timing and context are critical. New computing capabilities, most notably networking and mobile technologies, create additional potential for persuading people at the optimal time and place. For example, networked and mobile technology could allow commercial offers to be made at the moment people have a need and can act on the offers, or safe driving could be promoted while the driver is on the road, as part of an in-car system.

Networking and mobile technologies create new potential to persuade at the right time and place.

Intervening at the right time and place via networked, mobile technology increases the chances of getting results. As you read the following hypothetical examples of Study Buddy and HydroTech, think about how connectivity and mobility enhance the products’ ability to motivate and persuade.

The Study Buddy

Someday in the future, a first-year student named Pamela sits in a college library and removes an electronic device from her purse. It’s just smaller than a deck of cards, easily carried around, and serves as Pamela’s mobile phone, information portal, entertainment platform, and personal organizer. She takes this device almost everywhere and feels a bit lost without it. Because she’s serious about school, Pamela runs an application on her device called Study Buddy.

Here’s what the application does: As Pamela begins her evening study session, she launches the Study Buddy system and views the display. Study Buddy congratulates her for studying for the third time that day, meeting the goal she set at the beginning of the academic quarter. The device suggests that Pamela start her study session with a five-minute review of her biology vocabulary words, then read the two chapters assigned for tomorrow’s sociology lecture.

As Pamela reviews biology, the Study Buddy screen shows a cluster of shapes , which represent her classmates who are currently studying. This motivates her to continue studying.

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Later that evening, as Pamela wraps up her work, she’s curious about her mentor, Jean, so she turns to Study Buddy for information. Jean also subscribes to the Study Buddy system and has invited Pamela into her “awareness group .” ^{[1 ]} Pamela sees a symbol on the display that indicates Jean is currently in one of the campus libraries. Jean is a good role model; she’s a senior who was recently admitted to a top graduate school. Being a study mentor means that Jean has agreed to let Pamela remotely view Jean’s studying habits. Using Study Buddy, Jean can send simple sounds and tactile cues such as vibration patterns to Pamela, to encourage her to study.

HydroTech

For the last eight months of 2010, Phil has been training for the New York City Marathon. He’s made good progress, guided by his coach, Michael. The marathon is six weeks away, and Phil has increased his training level to about 50 miles per week in preparation. He’s right on track. However, Michael suspects that Phil isn’t drinking enough fluids to get the most out of his training runs, especially the two 20-mile runs he’ll be doing over the next four weeks.

Based on Michael’s recommendation, Phil gets a tiny device implanted just under the skin of his forearm. The device measures Phil’s hydration level and transmits the data for display on Phil’s running watch, which contains an embedded sensor and tracking software. Because the watch is aware of when Phil has planned his workout, it can also cue him to drink the right amount of water and sports drinks every day, and especially in the day before each long training run.

Phil knows his hydration data gets transmitted to his coach’s mobile phone in real time, throughout the day and during his workouts, via the HydroTech system. This motivates Phil even more to stay on track with his water intake. He doesn’t want to disappoint his coach.

^{[1 ]} For an idea of how simple this representation can be, see Thomas Erickson, Christine Halverson, Wendy A. Kellogg, Mark Laff, and Tracee Wolf, Social Translucence: Designing Social Infrastructures That Make Collective Activity Visible, Communications of the ACM, 45(4): 40–44 (April 2002).