Affordances and communication technologies

Affordance is connected to readability. As I am someone with low reading and writing speed, it is extremely tiring for me to read running text especially on the screen. That’s why I like to use colors, structure and pictures a lot. It helps me structure my ideas and I intend to make reading easy for others.

My favorite definition is :

Affordance: … in the context of HCI as indicating the easy discoverability of possible actions”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affordance, accessed 9.3.2011

My work might often appears to be a bit short and superficial (It does to me, as there is so much more in my head). It also might not always be suitable to show what I have learned or thought through. But I just realized that I like to read and give just prompts for ideas. It is freedom for reflection. Call me a bullet point addict.

  Here is my colourful, structured, bullet point-ish reflection for "Affordances”

	e-mail	blog
How does the technology itself shape that communication?	Communication stile: Asynchronous, one-to-one, one –to–many, Necessary skills: Written, tipping, use of some text processing software Access to computer and internet is necessary Some minimum technical requirements certain rules are necessary, like: acceptable and unacceptable phrasing when and whom to put in copy	Communication stile: Asynchronous, one-to-many, Necessary skills: Written, tipping, use of some text processing and blog software. Access to computer and internet is necessary Some minimum technical requirements certain rules are necessary, like: netiquette
What are the technologies good at?	Fast but asynchronous exchange of information,  questions, easy decisions One to one discussion (not critical)	Reporting on ongoing subjects Showing pictures, links Express opinion Describe experiences Keeping people updated (RSS) Getting public feedback Group discussions to some extent
When are they a poor medium for communication?	Discussion, group communication Matters that need complex description. Dealing with critical issues For people who have problems with reading and writing	Keeping secrets Store content on local PCs Share off-line Leading a discussion of equal participants For people who have problems with reading and writing

Is “affordance” a useful concept?	I read about it in English and German, but I found it difficult to grasp the notion. The German translations are “Aufforderungscharakter“ (prompt character) or „Angebotscharakter“ (offering character) . After reading some entries and blogs I start to get an idea. Affordance: "… in the context of HCI as indicating the easy discoverability of possible actions” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affordance, accessed 9.3.2011 It is useful to think about affordances when talking about usability, user-friendliness and intuitive use.
Is behaviour shaped by the affordances of the technology?	The affordances different person perceives will vary, depending on their professional background, ICT proficiency , learning stile , attitude towards innovation, time resources Yes, my behaviour is shaped by the affordances of a product. I need to see what I can do with it to judge what I can use it for. I am pretty creative so I often find use for things, even though I might not use it for myself, I see what others can do with it. Unfortunately, I often see more than there is. I often stretch programs too far or I am disappointed because I couldn't actually do what I thought I could.
Other explanations for any behavioural	If affordance is “… discoverability of possible actions.” That is not the only part influencing my behavior. It’s not only possible actions but possible outcome, which is way more important to me. However, I often suspect my husband to be more interested in what one could do with the technology than what to use it for.  I am tempted to say that this might be a matter of gender.
Would I recommend the use of affordances to assess the use of a new technology?	Yes, I would suggest thinking about the term in the context of  usability. The term affordance is a bit academic though and not very clear for HCI in my opinion.