Synchronous broadcast messaging: The use of ICT

IBM Community Tools (ICT) is a synchronous broadcast messaging system in use by a very large, globally distributed organization. ICT is interesting for a number of reasons, including its scale of use (thousands of users per day), its usage model of employing large scale broadcast to strangers to initiate small group interactions, and the fact that it is a synchronous system used across multiple time zones. In this paper we characterize the use of ICT in its context, examine the activities for which it is used, the motivations of its users, and the values they derive from it. We also explore problems with the system, and look at the social and technical ways in which users deal with them. Copyright 2006 ACM.