1. + How We Read Emails Differently CS598KGK Design Project 2 – Chang Liu

2. + Two people 1. A professor whom I work with I am doing TA for one of his courses We often use email to communicate 2. An ecommerce website who sends me news about its products and deals It sends me information almost every day about deals that I might be interested in

3. + Purpose How do communication about work and communication for advertisement differ? Learn about the differences in the communication patterns their assumption and expectation about the way I read their emails Visualize the difference in the timing when they send me emails the way I read their emails

4. + Features to visualize and why A. Time of the day when the email was received To learn the timing when they send me emails B. Length of time for me to read the email To understand how I read their emails C. Length of time I spent on each scrolling screen To understand how I read their emails Most often I read emails on my smartphone On a smartphone you need to scroll to read long emails Knowing the time I spend on each screen may help understand the way I read their emails

5. + Data collection A. Time of the day when the email was received Time stamps recorded by email inbox B. Length of time for me to read the email Measured as I re-read the email C. Length of time I spent on each scrolling screen (the time I have spent reading the email) / (the number of the scrolls I have made to read the email)

6. + Data collection Emails I received within last two weeks Jan 27 – Feb 9 Only initial emails from them count Replies to my email are ignored in order to better understand when they want to send me emails

7. + Visualization process A. Location of the circle: time and date when the email was received B. Radiation of the circle: length of time for me to read the email C. Color of the circle: length of time I spent on each scrolling screen 0-3s: Red; 3-6s: Orange; 6-9s: Yellow; 9-12s: Green; 12-15s: Blue; 15-18s: Navy; 18s and longer: Purple

8. Emails from the professor Emails from the ecommerce website

9. + Findings Shorter time spent on each scrolling screen for the ecommerce emails I do not read every words on the ecommerce email. I only look for what I am interested in. I read the professor’s emails carefully. I try to understand what he is trying to say and make sure I do not miss any important things. Emails from the ecommerce website stretches vertically; emails from the professor stretches horizontally in the figure The ecommerce website sends me email at a constant timing. It sends email in the middle of the night so that I will wake up and read it at the beginning of the day. They must expect that I will not pay much attention, so they may be assuming that is the best timing. The professor does not send me email constantly, but when he sends email he tends to send me a series of emails, which shows we communicate more flexibly and as needed. He expects that I will pay attention to his emails anytime, so he can assume anytime during the daytime is a good timing.

10. + Thank you! Any other insights from and interpretations of the visualization are welcomed