Despite the push by organizations such as Google and Yahoo!, a recent study found not everyone is a fan of web-based customization for news.
Through an extensive study, Penn State researchers found certain browsers and readers of online news do not prefer customization. The researchers defined customization as when the user gets to choose specific topics to read on a daily basis. Instead, some prefer personalization. This is when the system chooses content based on a reader's past choices.
Heading up the study was S. Shyam Sundar, distinguished professor of communications at Penn State. Along with Sampada S. Marathe of the University's Media Effects Laboratory, Sundar's research appears in the current issue of Human Communication Research.
"The obvious assumption is people would like more control over what they read," Sundar said. "We found when it came to evaluating new stories and quality of content, customization was the preferred method for power users. If you were not a power user, you wanted the system to tailor the news for you."
Before figuring out the test subjects' online reading habits, Sundar, Marathe and the other researchers determined if he or she was a "power user" or not. Sundar said power users are typically knowledgeable with technology, they seldom seek help, often don't require a manual and intuitively troubleshoot with trial and error. Non-power users are more passive and less experienced. While power users liked the sense of control that came from customization, the study found non power users enjoyed the convenience of personalization. Sundar said the research was part of a larger study determining why some people prefer to customize on the web and some prefer to personalize. He said online news sites, specifically Google News, was a convenient venue to test this.
One variable that factored into the testing was privacy. Sundar said many people preferred customization out of concern for their privacy. In one test, the researchers did not tell the subjects data about their browsing habits would be used later. In another test, they did notify the subjects, and the difference was palpable.
"When they didn't think the system was secure, they wanted to take control rather than give it up," Sundar said. "Once they were assured of privacy, they were all for the personalization."
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