Skip to main content

Family Archiving in the Digital Age

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Book cover The Connected Home: The Future of Domestic Life

Abstract

Family homes are replete with “stuff”—physical artifacts and collections of objects that say something about the people who live in that home, who they are, and what they are about. At the same time, increasingly, the stuff that we keep is digital, whether or not this is generated deliberately (as in photos and videos), or simply the result of our activities in the online world. This burgeoning archive of digital data offers up many new and challenging issues for how we create archives of value for ourselves, our families, and as a legacy in future. Further, there may be interesting new opportunities for combining digital data with physical objects to create new heterogeneous kinds of archives for the family. This chapter examines these issues drawing on existing research, and projects into the future through an exploration of new kinds of technologies to support archiving in the home of the future.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Abowd, G. D., Gauger, M., & Lachenmann, A. (2003). The family video archive: An annotation and browsing environment for home movies. In Proceedings of the 5th ACM SIGMM International Workshop on Multimedia Information Retrieval (MIR’03). ACM, New York, 1–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Appadurai, A. (Ed.) 1986. The Social Life of Things. Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Balabanovic, M., Chu, L. L., & Wolff, G. J. (2000). Storytelling with digital photographs. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI’00). ACM, New York, 564–571.

    Google Scholar 

  • Banks, R. & Sellen, A. (2009). Shoebox: Mixing storage and display of digital images in the home. In Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Tangible and Embedded Interaction. (TEI’09). ACM, New York, 35–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barthes, R. (2009). Camera lucida: Reflections on photography. Vintage Classics.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bell, G. & Gemmell, J. (2009). Total Recall: How the E-Memory Revolution Will Change Everything. Dutton Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Belk, R. W., Wallendorf, M., & Sherry, J. F. (1989). The sacred and the profane in consumer behavior: Theodicy on the Odyssey. J. Consumer Research, 16, 1, 1–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown, B.,A. Taylor, S. Izadi, A. Sellen, J. ‘J.’ Kaye and R. Eardley (2007). Locating Family Values: A Field Trial of the Whereabouts Clock. Proc. Ubicomp 2007.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buckingham, D., Willett, R., & Pini, M. (2011). Home Truths? Video production and domestic life. The University of Michigan Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chalfen, R. (1987). Snapshot Versions of Life. Bowling Green State University Popular Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crabtree, A. & Rodden, T. (2004). Domestic routines and design for the home. Journal of CSCW, 13(2), 191-220.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crabtree, A., Rodden, T., & Mariani, J. (2004). Collaborating around collections: Informing the continued development of photoware. In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW’04). ACM, New York, 396–405.

    Google Scholar 

  • Csikzentmilhalyi, M. & Rochberg-Halton, E. (1981). The Meaning of Things: Domestic Symbols and the Self. Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Datta, R., Li, J. & Wang, J. (2005). Content-based image retrieval: Approaches and trends of the new age. In Proceedings of 7 th ACM SIGMM (Multimedia Information Retrieval).

    Google Scholar 

  • Douglas, M. & Isherwood, B. (1979). The world of goods: Towards an anthropology of consumption. Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Drazin, A. & Frohlich, D. (2007). Good intentions: Remembering through framing photographs in English homes. Ethnos. 72, 1, 51–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Durrant, A. (2010). Family Portrayal: Photo displays and intergenerational relationships at home. PhD Thesis. University of Surrey.

    Google Scholar 

  • Durrant, A., Frohlich, D., Sellen, A. & Lyons, E. (2009). Home curation versus teenage photography: Photo displays in the family home. IJCHS, Special Issue on Collocated Social Practices Surrounding Photos (Lindley, S., Taylor, A., Kirk, A. & Durrant, A., Eds.). Vol., 67, Issue 12, 995-1112.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frohlich, D.M. (2004). Audiophotography: Bringing photos to life with sounds. Kluwer Academic Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frohlich D. & Murphy, R. (2000). The memory box. Pers. Technol. 4, 238–240.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frohlich, D., Clancy, T., Robinson J., Costanza, E. (2003). The audiophoto desk. In Proceedings of 2AD, Second International Conference on Appliance Design, 11–13th May 2004, Bristol

    Google Scholar 

  • Frohlich, D. M., Kuchinsky, A., Pering, C., Don, A., & Ariss, S. (2002). Requirements for photoware. In Proceedings of the ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work. (CSCW’02). ACM, New York, 166–175.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gemmell, J., Bell, G., & Lueder, R. (2006). MyLifeBits: A personal database for everything. Comm. ACM 49, 88–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Glenn, J. r& Hayes, C. (2007). Taking Things Seriously. Princeton Architectural Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harper, R. (Ed) (2003). Inside the Smart Home: Interdisciplinary perspectives on the design and shaping of domestic computing. Springer Verlag, London and Heidleberg.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hendon, J. A. (2000). Having and holding: Storage, memory, knowledge, and social relations. Amer. Anthrop. 102, 1, 42–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hodges, S., Williams, L., Berry, E., Izadi, S., Srinivasan, J., Butler, A., Smyth, G., Kapur, N., & Wood, K. (2006). SenseCam: A retrospective memory aid. In Proceedings of Ubicomp. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Springer 177–193.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoskins, J. (1998). Biographical Objects: How Things Tell the Stories of People’s Lives. Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kientz, J. & Abowd, G. (2009). KidCAm: Toward and effective technology for hte capture of children’s moments of interest. Proceedings of Pervasive ’09.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kindberg, T., Spasojevic, M., Fleck, R. & Sellen, A. (2005). The ubiquitous camera: An in-depth study of camera phone use. IEEE Pervasive Computing, Vol. 4(2), pp. 42-50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kirk, D. S. & Banks, R. (2008). On the design of technology heirlooms. In Proceedings of the International Workshop on Social Interaction and Mundane Technologies (SIMTech’08).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirk, D. & Sellen, A. (2010). On human remains: Value and practice in the home archiving of cherished objects. ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction, Vol. 17(3), July. 2010.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirk, D. S., Sellen, A.,Harper, R., & Wood, K. (2007). Understanding videowork. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI’07). ACM, New York, 61–70.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirk, D. S., Sellen, A.,Rother, C., & Wood, K. (2006). Understanding photowork. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI’06). ACM, New York, 761–770.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirk, D., Izadi, S., Sellen, A., Taylor, S., & Banks, R. (2010). Opening up the family archive. Proceedings of CSCW 2010.  

    Google Scholar 

  • Massimi, M., William Odom, Richard Banks, and David Kirk (2011). Matters of life and death: locating the end of life in lifespan-oriented HCI research, In Proceedings of the 2011 annual conference on Human factors in computing systems Association for Computing Machinery, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mauss, M. (1954). The Gift. Routledge Classics.

    Google Scholar 

  • Middleton, D. & Brown, S. D. (2005). The Social Psychology of Experience: Studies in Remembering and Forgetting. Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, D. (Ed.) (2001). Home Possessions. Material Culture Behind Closed Doors. Berg.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, D. (Ed.) (2008). The Comfort of Things. Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moran, J. (2002). There’s no place like home video. University of Minnesota Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Brien, J. & Rodden, T. (1997). Interactive systems in domestic environments. Proc. DIS ’97, ACM, New York, NY, 247-259.

    Google Scholar 

  • Odom, W., Richard Banks, and David Kirk (2010a). Reciprocity, deep storage and letting go: Opportunities for designing interactions with inherited digital materials. In Interactions, Volume 17, Issue 5, Association for Computing Machinery, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Odom, W., Harper, R., Sellen, A., Kirk, D. S., & Banks, R. (2010b). Passing on & putting to rest: Understanding bereavement in the context of interactive technologies. In Proceedings of SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI’10). ACM, New York, 1831–1840.

    Google Scholar 

  • Odom, W., Zimmerman, J., & Forlizzi, J. (2011). Teenagers and their virtual possessions: Design opportunities and issues. Proceedings of CHI ’11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oleksik, G., Frohlich, D., Brown, L. M., & Sellen, A. (2008). Sonic interventions: understanding and extending the domestic soundscape. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI’08). ACM, New York, 1419–1428

    Google Scholar 

  • Petrelli, D., Whittaker, S., & Brockmeier, J. (2008). Autotopography: What can physical mementos tell us about digital memories. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. (CHI’08). ACM, New York, 53–62.

    Google Scholar 

  • Petrelli, D., Van den Hoven, E., & Whittaker, S. (2009). Making history: Intentional capture of future memories. In Proceedings of the 27th International Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI’09). ACM, New York. 1723–1732.

    Google Scholar 

  • Petrelli, D. & Whittaker, S. (2010). Family memories in the home: Contrasting physical and digital mementos. In Personal and Ubiquitous Computing, Vol. 14(2).

    Google Scholar 

  • Plaisant, C., Clamage, A., Hutchinson, H. B., Bederson, B. B., and Druin, A. (2006). Shared family calendars: Promoting symmetry and accessibility. ACM Trans. Comput.-Hum. Interact. 13, 3 (Sep. 2006), 313-346.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rodden, K. & Wood, K. R. (2003). How do people manage their digital photographs? In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI’03). ACM, New York. 409–416.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sarvas, R. & Frohlich, D. (2011). From snapshots to social media: The changing picture of domestic photography. London: Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Sellen, A., Harper, R., Eardley, R., Izadi, S., Regan, T., Taylor, A., & Wood, K. (2006). HomeNote: Supporting situated messaging in the home. In Proceedings of the 20th Anniversary Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW’06). ACM, New York, 383–392.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sellen, A. J. Hyams, J., & Eardley, R. (2004). The everyday problems of working parents: Implications for new technologies. Hewlett-Packard Labs Technical Report HPL-2004-37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sengers, P. and Gaver, W. (2006). Staying open to interpretation:  Engaging multiple meanings in design and evaluation.  Proc. DIS 2006.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sontag, S. (1979). On photography. Penguin Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stevens, M.M., Abowd, G. D.,Truong, K. N. & Vollmer, F. (2003). Getting into the Living Memory Box: Family archives and holistic design. Pers. Ubiq. Comput. 7, 210–216.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stevens, M. M., Roberts, J., Bandlow, A. & Newstetter, W. (2001). Capturing memories: An investigation of how parents record and archive items about their child. GVU Center Tech. rep. GIT-GVU-01-18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, A. & Swan, L. 2005. Artful systems in the home. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI’05). ACM, New York. 641–650.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, A. S., Swan, L., & Durrant, A. (2007). Designing family photo displays. In Proceedings of ECSCW’07. Springer-Verlag. 179–198.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taylor, A. S., & Harper, R. (2003). The gift of the gab: a design oriented sociology of young people’s use of mobiles. Journal of Computer Supported Cooperative Work ( JCSCW), 12(3), 267-296.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turkle, S. (Ed.) (2007). Evocative Objects: Things We Think With. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Dijck, J. (2007). Mediated Memories in the Digital Age. Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van den Hoven, E. & Eggen, B. (2008). Informing Augmented Memory System design through Autobiographical Memory theory. Personal and Ubiquitous Computing journal, Vol. 12, No. 6, pp. 433-443.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2011 Springer London

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Sellen, A. (2011). Family Archiving in the Digital Age. In: Harper, R. (eds) The Connected Home: The Future of Domestic Life. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-85729-476-0_11

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-85729-476-0_11

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-85729-475-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-85729-476-0

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics