Logging home use of the internet in the Blacksburg Electronic Village

Abstract

Many user studies of the internet employ survey methods and focus on societal-level impacts. A richer and more valid understanding of the internet includes other types of data (e.g., individual interviews, direct-observation ethnographies, session logging) and finer-level impacts (e.g., impacts on family life, on proximate communities, or on geographical regions). We describe a logging study of 43 households in Blacksburg, Virginia and surrounding Montgomery County. This proximate community is the home of the Blacksburg Electronic Village (BEV), a mature, World Wide Web-based community network. We discuss methodological challenges of logging studies and summarise novel approaches of analysis and interpretation. We conclude with summaries of overall patterns of activity, specifically focusing on locally-oriented internet activity.