BIT 678 - IT-Mediated Service Observation

I observed U01 interacting with Hulu, which is a web service that provides free streaming video content from major networks.U01 was alone at his desk eating dinner as he initially accessed Hulu. He had three other tabs open in his browser: some programming documentation, details from a homework assignment, and a tech news story. U01 navigated to a list of Daily Show episodes and made his selection based on the guest interview, Republican White-House press secretary Dana Perino, because he thought this had the most potential for controversy. The initial view preference was Full Screen, but buffering hiccups were an annoyance. After pausing and starting the video four times — which forced U01 to put down his food each time — he opted to use the “Dim Lights” feature.Hulu displays a 5-30 second video advertisement in place of commercial breaks. U01 watched the 30 second advertisement between the first and second segment. However, during the next, he muted the sound on his computer and browsed to his tech news story tab. Upon returning to the show, he had to rewind about 10 seconds so as to not miss any of the show. U01 stopped the show during the commercial break that separates the third segment with the credits. He watched a short Daily Show clip that was featured on the same page and closed the Hulu tab.