Footprints: History-Rich Tools for Information Foraging

Inspired by Hill and Hollan’s original work [6], we have been developing a theory of interaction history and building tools to apply this theory to navigation in a complex information space. We have built a series of tools — map, trails, annotations and signposts — based on a physical-world navigation metaphor. These tools have been in use for over a year. Our user study involved a controlled browse task and showed that users were able to get the same amount of work done with significantly less effort. Keywords information navigation, information foraging, interaction history, Web browsing

• Type: Conference
• Year: 1999
• Where: CHI
• Authors: Alan Wexelblat, Pattie Maes
• Keywords: CHI 1999, Hollan’s Original Work, Human Computer Interaction, Interaction History, Physical-world Navigation Metaphor