Exploring the Grassroots Understanding and Practices of Collective Memory Co-Contribution in a University Community

TL;DR

The paper investigates how university community members conceptually understand and co-create collective memory from a bottom-up perspective, challenging traditional top-down analyses. It compares two mobile design probes—Drop'n'Collect (locative, skeuomorphic) and a conventional forum—via a two-week field study (n=38) to observe how interface design shapes memory content and interpretation. Findings reveal diverse memory constituents and narration styles, with present-oriented, brief posts coexisting with longer, past-oriented narratives, and no single design universally enhancing community bonds. The work offers design implications for embracing interpretative diversity, enabling memory co-contribution through modular features, privacy-aware locative interactions, and reflective design practices that foster inclusive community memory exchange.

Abstract

Collective memory -- community members' interconnected memories and impressions of the group -- is essential to the community's culture and identity. Its development requires members' continuous participatory contribution and sensemaking. However, existing works mainly adopt a holistic sociological perspective to analyze well-developed collective memory, less focusing on member-level conceptualization of this possession or what the co-contribution practices can be. Therefore, this work alternatively adopts the latter perspective and probes such interpretative and interactional patterns with two mobile systems. With one being a locative narrative and exploration system condensed from existing literature's design frameworks, and the other being a conventional online forum representing current practices, they served as the anchors of observation for our two-week, mixed-methods field study (n=38) on a university campus. A core debate we have identified was to retrospectively contemplate or document the presence as a history for the future. This also subsequently impacted the narrative focuses, expectations of collective memory constituents, and the ways participants seek inspiration from the group. We further extracted design considerations that could better embrace the diverse conceptualizations of collective memory and bond different community members together. Lastly, revisiting and reflecting on our design, we provided extra insights on designing devoted locative narrative experiences for community-driven UGC platforms.

Figures (11)

• Figure 1: An overview of the design process for Drop'n'Collect.
• Figure 2: Browsing memories in both systems
• Figure 3: Viewing a memory post in both systems
• Figure 4: Writing memory posts in both systems
• Figure 5: In Drop'n'Collect, users are asked to tilt the mobile phone upward to open a memory post. It is to mimic the action of opening a memory box.