"Ten things i want to know about you": unveiling friends' attribute relevance

ABSTRACT

Motivation -- The growing amount of personal information on the web raises increasing concerns about what and with whom we share information online. Nevertheless, little effort has been made in determining the relevance of the information shared with us or in filtering it accordingly. This is even more important considering our need to be constantly aware of what is happening in our friends' lives.

Research approach -- A study to identify the most relevant characteristics when seeking information about friends and to scrutinize which specific features they mention. To achieve that, we resorted to interviews and questionnaires. We asked participants to describe people and asked them to rate the perceived relevance of a carefully pre-determined set of attributes.

Findings/Design -- Results suggested that the most relevant attributes when seeking information about friends are: Personality, Relationship, Interests & Hobbies, Academic History, Profession, Phone, Email and Address. We also provide indications of the specific features people mention when referring these attributes.

Take away message -- The relevance among attributes varies when seeking information about friends. It should be considered to warn users or highlight the changes when they occur in the most important attributes.

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