Team MALM Week 3

Original goals:

• Make people feel like kids again
• Bring people together

Goals for testing:

• Encourage people to be creative.
• Make people feel like they’re part of something bigger.

Questions:

• Will collaborative storytelling facilitate interactions?
• Will people be imaginative and unafraid to introduce wacky stories?
• Do strangers strike up conversations based on this intervention?

Analysis:

First we decided to experiment with another way to get at our goal: collaborative storytelling through a public interface. This was delightful, but didn’t gain traction as quickly as we would have liked. We ultimately decided to focus on another iteration of the tin cans for our field experiment this week.

Analysis:

The time, weather and location of the park installation matters. We had set ours up early on a cold Saturday morning, so while there was some foot traffic, there wasn’t a big crowd.

The setup of our tin cans succeeded in capturing the attention of people passing by, who stopped to read the sign or take pictures. While several people were entertained and took photos of the setup, a handful of about 6-7 people actually tried to engage with it in the cold morning weather.

At the time we were there, most of the park goers were either alone or with their dog.  This made it difficult for them to try out the cans, which requires interaction between two people.

However, those who saw others interacting with the installation and were curious enough, would walk over and ask to join in.  Again, there was some disbelief and surprise when they realized a tin can telephone could work.