SocialStreamViewer: Guiding the Viewer Experience of Multiple Streams of an Event

Live streaming is becoming a popular way to share experiences with others. When concurrent video streams of the same event are available, it can be challenging to decide which streams to view and to manage the experience across multiple streams. We designed and developed the SocialStreamViewer prototype that aggregates multiple streams from an event and visualizes others' viewing, hearting, and text chat activity. It also enables users to replay portions of streams. A lab study of SocialStreamViewer explored how people experience an event remotely through multiple streams, and how they use social signals from other viewers' activities. We found that 1) providing multiple streams is beneficial; 2) replaying back in time is highly valued since it helps ensure that users will not miss interesting content; and 3) visualizing other viewers' activities helps users decide which stream to watch.