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Becoming an Online Wine Taster: An Ethnographic Study on the Digital Mediation of Taste

Published: 16 April 2023 Publication History

Abstract

There has been a growing interest in taste research in the HCI and CSCW communities. However, the focus is more on stimulating the senses, while the socio-cultural aspects have received less attention. However, individual taste perception is mediated through social interaction and collective negotiation and is not only dependent on physical stimulation. Therefore, we study the digital mediation of taste by drawing on ethnographic research of four online wine tastings and one self-organized event. Hence, we investigated the materials, associated meanings, competences, procedures, and engagements that shaped the performative character of tasting practices. We illustrate how the tastings are built around the taste-making process and how online contexts differ in providing a more diverse and distributed environment. We then explore the implications of our findings for the further mediation of taste as a social and democratized phenomenon through online interaction.

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    cover image Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction
    Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction  Volume 7, Issue CSCW1
    CSCW
    April 2023
    3836 pages
    EISSN:2573-0142
    DOI:10.1145/3593053
    Issue’s Table of Contents
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    Published: 16 April 2023
    Published in PACMHCI Volume 7, Issue CSCW1

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    Author Tags

    1. democratization
    2. ethnography
    3. multi-sensory
    4. practice theory
    5. taste
    6. wine

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