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Coworkers Judged by iTunes Playlists
Science - SPACE.com/LiveScience.com ^ | Mon Apr 4, 4:20 PM ET | LiveScience Staff

Posted on 04/04/2005 7:59:32 PM PDT by Swordmaker

LiveScience.com - Office workers who share music via Apple Computer's iTunes software track their coworkers' comings and goings and form opinions about them based on their playlists.

The opinions are not always what the sharer intended, a new study finds.

The sharing phenomenon can nonetheless create a community of sorts among coworkers who otherwise barely know each other.

The study, of an unnamed mid-sized U.S. company, was funded in part by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

"People sharing music in our study were aware of the comings and goings of others in the office because they noticed the appearance and disappearance of others' music on the network," said Amy Voida, a Ph.D. student at Georgia Tech who led the research. "They imagined what other people might think about their music collections, and they were aware of the musical holes left when someone left the company."

Employees used their music libraries to consciously portray an self-image.

"I just went through it to see if there was not like stuff that would be like, I don't know, annoying, that I would not like people to know that I had," said one worker who, believing his music library to be "not very cool," added other tunes in an effort to create a balanced portrayal of himself.

One guy worried what his colleagues might think of the Justin Timberlake and Michael McDonald music that was in his library but which he'd bought for his wife.

Big Brother got in on the game, too. The music files reside on each employees computer and, when shared with people who sign up, are streamed to other members' computers across a local area network. A manager joined one music-sharing group.

"When the manager showed up and could start looking through people's music collections, people began to speculate that the manager's presence might be influencing the way others were managing what music they shared," said Beki Grinter, a Georgia Tech associate professor of computing.

Other findings:

People sometimes claim to listen to others' libraries when in fact they aren't interested and don't listen.

Some people think their own libraries are unique, while coworkers might view them as just like many others.

Lastly, nobody likes an anonymous deejay.

"Most people didn't want to listen to anonymous collections, even though they didn't always want to talk to the playlists' creators," Grinter said. "They went to quite a bit of trouble to figure out which playlists belonged to whom. It's a peculiar social phenomenon. They don't want to live in a completely anonymous world, especially in the workplace."

The Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) participated in the study, which will be presented Tuesday at the Computer-Human Interaction conference in Portland, Ore.

Study: Instant Messaging is Surprisingly Formal :-)

Invasive Creatures Attack Like Internet Viruses

Study: Your Brain Works Like the Internet


TOPICS: Cheese, Moose, Sister; Computers/Internet; Humor; Science; Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS: apple; governmentfunding; itunes; whattheheck
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If it weren't for the date, I would be thinking April Fools... but then only the government can fund such idiotic studies...
1 posted on 04/04/2005 7:59:33 PM PDT by Swordmaker
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To: Swordmaker

This is a "They Funded THAT?!" PING for iTunes...

If you want on or off the Mac Ping list, Freepmail me.


2 posted on 04/04/2005 8:00:17 PM PDT by Swordmaker
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To: Bush2000; antiRepublicrat; Action-America; eno_; N3WBI3; zeugma; TechJunkYard; ShorelineMike; ...

Let's try this again...

This is a "They Funded THAT?!" PING for iTunes...

If you want on or off the Mac Ping list, Freepmail me.


3 posted on 04/04/2005 8:01:05 PM PDT by Swordmaker
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To: Swordmaker
Coworkers Judged by iTunes Playlists

True, if the middle aged single guy in the cubicle next to mine was listening to "YMCA", I would make some very quick judgements.

4 posted on 04/04/2005 8:02:59 PM PDT by softwarecreator (Facts are to a liberal as holy water is to a vampire.)
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To: softwarecreator

What if he was married with kids?


5 posted on 04/04/2005 8:15:10 PM PDT by Feiny (Respect My Authoritay)
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To: Swordmaker
Are you worried that everyone will laugh at your collection of David Cassidy songs?


6 posted on 04/04/2005 8:15:49 PM PDT by CheneyChick
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To: CheneyChick
Are you worried that everyone will laugh at your collection of David Cassidy songs?

No, its my collection of Michael Jackson's greatest hits...

7 posted on 04/04/2005 8:17:20 PM PDT by Swordmaker
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To: feinswinesuksass
What if he was married with kids?

He's not, henceforth the judgement.

8 posted on 04/04/2005 8:18:29 PM PDT by softwarecreator (Facts are to a liberal as holy water is to a vampire.)
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To: Swordmaker
No, its my collection of Michael Jackson's greatest hits...

As long as I don't see you showing up on Court TV......

9 posted on 04/04/2005 8:26:37 PM PDT by CheneyChick
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To: softwarecreator

My guy likes that song....and he ain't gay at all.

My song list would just confuse people....I have everything from classical to death metal.


10 posted on 04/04/2005 8:27:59 PM PDT by Feiny (Respect My Authoritay)
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To: feinswinesuksass
My guy likes that song....and he ain't gay at all.

Don't take this wrong, but, unless "your guy" sits in the cubicle next to me, I ain't talkin' about him.The guy in the cubicle next to mine is about 48 single, no kids very effeminate and likes Clay Aikens. This is stereotypical of a middle aged gay person, in a humorous way.

Actually, it's kind of a "thing" because YMCA is supposed to be about gays. At least, that's what I've heard many times.

It was a joke. No offense, okay?

11 posted on 04/04/2005 8:42:19 PM PDT by softwarecreator (Facts are to a liberal as holy water is to a vampire.)
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To: Swordmaker
"I just went through it to see if there was not like stuff that would be like, I don't know, annoying, that I would not like people to know that I had," said one worker...

The person that made this "statement" is employed???

12 posted on 04/04/2005 8:47:18 PM PDT by Oorang ( OK, so what's the speed of dark?)
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To: softwarecreator

Thats OK...it takes a MACHO MAN to go be IN THE NAVY or visit the YMCA. hahahha


13 posted on 04/04/2005 8:49:07 PM PDT by Feiny (Respect My Authoritay)
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To: Oorang
The person that made this "statement" is employed???

Like, uh, O golly, sorta something like, I don't know, yes.

14 posted on 04/04/2005 8:50:01 PM PDT by Swordmaker
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To: feinswinesuksass
Thats OK...it takes a MACHO MAN to go be IN THE NAVY or visit the YMCA. hahahha

LOL

15 posted on 04/04/2005 8:53:33 PM PDT by softwarecreator (Facts are to a liberal as holy water is to a vampire.)
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To: Swordmaker

LOL - good reply!


16 posted on 04/04/2005 8:53:53 PM PDT by Oorang ( OK, so what's the speed of dark?)
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To: softwarecreator

I have Karen Carpenter and Disco Duck!!!

Am I a freak??


17 posted on 04/04/2005 9:08:04 PM PDT by duck duck goose (Happy Monday ALL!!!)
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To: Swordmaker
privacy makes the world go round™

(tm) TheOtherOne 2005

18 posted on 04/04/2005 9:10:22 PM PDT by TheOtherOne
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To: TheOtherOne

Judge me all you want!

19 posted on 04/04/2005 9:13:20 PM PDT by TheOtherOne
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To: TheOtherOne

JUDGE ME


20 posted on 04/04/2005 9:18:28 PM PDT by TheOtherOne
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