Reading a Balanced Diet: Foraging in Information Communities

This project explores the role of balanced information diets in information filtering. Information filtering is an increasingly important response to the problem of information overload. Community-based information filters are particularly beneficial because they can they can strengthen communities and recognize community tastes. The goal of this project is to investigate the benefits that can be realized by having the information filter balance the information presented to the user across the available topics. The project will explore how people forage in information abundance, what interfaces best support balanced information diets, and how much users like balanced information filters. The results will be interfaces to information through which users will receive the right amount of information on each topic, according to their interest in that topic. The information filter will learn which of the disparate sources of information are best for which topics, and present articles from the best sources. The research will also explore the effect of balanced information filtering on communities. The result will be balanced information filters that strengthen communities by ensuring sufficient overlap in information diets among community members.