Casual Multi-user Web Collaboration by Lowering Communication Barriers

Our goal is to support casual communication between users on the Web by lowering the various barriers - community, psychological, and awareness - that impede smooth communication on the Web. Our prototype system enables communication over the entire Web space (beyond Web community services), real-time semi-active communication, and mutual visualization of users. In an informal evaluation, the seven participants reacted mostly positively to the concept and expressed interest in using such a system.