own memories and the strategies they employ to overcome the weaknesses. Kalnikaite and Whittaker16 looked at the interplay between organic memory and metamemory in determining when people choose to access digital conversational records, showing that even when a digital record is accurate and complete, users do not rely on it if they feel they can remember the information unaided. The decision to use a digital-memory aid also depends on the efficiency with which a memory aid can be accessed. Indeed, the study found that efficiency of access sometimes overrides accuracy, with subjects being willing to settle for less-than-per-fect accuracy, as long as the method is quick and easy to use.

Lifelogging applications must be better at analyzing these trade-offs. When should people use efficient but fallible organic memory instead of less efficient but potentially more accurate digital records? Rather than seeing lifelogs as replacing memory, system designers would be better off viewing them as working in synergy with organic memory.

Lessons and Research Questions

For lifelogging research, prior work offers four key insights:

Selectivity, not total capture. Rather than unfocused efforts to “capture everything,” system designers should channel their efforts more fruitfully by identifying the situations where human memory is poor or targeting the things users most want to remember. These situations are where the systems would provide their greatest utility. Furthermore, people may sometimes want to forget, a view anathema to the lifelogging philosophy.

Cues not capture. System designers must be explicit about the fact that these systems do not “capture experiences” but instead provide cues that might trigger different kinds of memories. This is not a simple matter of infelicity in language, pointing instead to the need to better understand cueing processes to build systems that genuinely support user requirements for memory support.

Memory refers to a complex, multi-fac-
eted set of concepts. There are different
types of memory, and system design-
ers must clarify the aspects of memory
they are targeting (such as recollection,
reminiscence, retrieval, reflection, and
remembering intentions). Greater clar-
ity should produce systems that better
fit their intended purpose and support
the user’s relevant cognitive processes.
Unless system designers know precise-
ly what their systems are intended to
do, they can’t determine whether their
designs are successful.

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Abigail J. Sellen ( [e-mail]) is a principal researcher at microsoft research in cambridge, u.k., and special Professor of interaction at the university of nottingham, u.k. Steve Whittaker ( [e-mail]) is a research scientist at ibm almaden research center, san Jose, ca.