Sharing the Cloudlet: Impression Management and Designing for Colocated Mobile Sharing

Abstract

This article explores how designing for impression management affects the design of cloudlet and other mobile colocated sharing services. We demonstrate how colocated concepts and experimentation led to the conceptualization and design of a sharing interface that provides users with control over their shared content. We uncover usage behaviors and privacy concerns through the use of a technology probe and use those discoveries to develop a prototype designed with the principles of impression management to give sharers control over their content and identity. Our designs and results indicate users of cloudlets and other colocated sharing systems require visual control and privacy over shared content.