We have all been there before, staring blankly at the backs of motionless forms, arms hanging limply at our sides. A slight shuffling of feet or clearing of the throat dully echoes off the walls of our mutual stainless steel prison. A metronomic ding tempts everyone with the mounting notion of escape. Suddenly, the air fills with a note of distinct finality. The metallic cube shudders beneath our feet and a rapidly expanding slash of light is accompanied by the fresh air of freedom. As if with a collective sigh of relief, the inmates flee across the threshold instantly transforming into lawyers, bankers, executives, mothers, doctors, cheerleaders, boyfriends, mechanics, and software engineers. Conversations are picked up again in mid stride, cell phones are promptly displayed, taxis hailed, children scolded, shopping bags readjusted, hands held, and ingenious ideas shared. Although the picture we paint here does not capture the details of every elevator trip, it is indicative of many.

The settings and people involved with this transportation mechanism are extremely diverse. We asked ourselves why do such information exchanges that occur before or after entering an elevator seem to pause when physically riding one. Is information interaction being collaboratively discouraged or avoided? When interaction does occur, under what circumstances is it initiated and what topics are discussed? What can be done to encourage or improve information exchange on elevators? These are just a few interesting questions posed when discussing the elevator as an information ground.

People primarily use elevators for transportation, but under unique settings they can also function as an information ground. Elevators frequently operate floor to floor for very short durations of time. The enclosed space forces riders to accept their current situation and thus creates a hostage environment. Each instance of operation can generate very different rider experiences that are dependent upon people, location, duration of trip, and time of day. Elevators satisfy the seven propositions addressed by Fisher et al. 2004. An exhaustive discussion of each point is unnecessary as it is assumed the reader is aware of these requirements and realizes nearly any location with people present can become an information ground. Rather we address the one proposition that poses a potential to discredit our claim. This is “Social interaction is a primary activity at 'information grounds' such that information flow is a by-product.” As previously mentioned transportation is the primary cause for the usage of elevators and would thus seem to refute the information grounds criteria. However, we might infer that elevators are situated in a broader context whose primary purpose is that of social interaction. This is to say that elevators are merely an integrated component of their location which in nearly all cases serves to facilitate the interaction of people.

At least two major categories of location exist which we defined in our study as public or private. Public locations are those in which any individual has access, they have an interest that can be shared with others, and yet no collective goal exists among all individuals present. Such places as malls, hotels, and libraries qualify. Private locations are those in which most individuals present have the same collective goals and interests. Work places such as office buildings, factories, and various private or governmental organizations fall into this category.

After identifying this location information we organized different types of possible social environments found in elevators based on a human relationship factor. There can be four major types:

We observed people are likely to talk on common areas of interest such as the weather, breaking news, local events, etc. It was more likely to have conversations between companions (A+C, N+C) because they have previously identified similarities. We figured it is difficult for mere strangers (N+S) to quickly identify shared interests and begin a conversation during short elevator rides.
Lastly, we found that the time of day shaped these common areas of interest regardless of location. For example, around mid-day people were likely to talk about places to have their lunch and their opinions on food. Information on weather was a popular topic during the morning; hobbies and other topics of entertainment were most often discussed during the evening.

 Based on our research, we hypothesized that more non-affiliates frequent public locations, such as shopping malls and city centers; while more affiliates enter private places like office buildings. We expect to see more diverse groups of people in the public area because it draws people from the larger community compared to private places where people with similar purposes gather. As a result, an elevator ride creates an awkward situation among strangers more so than with people who know each other. We can see more general and environmental information shared in the public because it lays a good incentive for finding common interests. While in private locations, personal and situational information is more regularly shared.

Interestingly we still noticed that information behavior is stymied by the uncomfortable hostage situation. We can utilize technology to improve the elevator as an information ground. For instance, installing an LCD monitor that displays relevant information for the location naturally provides common topics of interest among riders. Such topics might include the weather, sports scores, and shopping information in malls; bus route and traffic information in office buildings. Through this medium we can break the metaphorical ice and foster information exchange not only between the rider and the display, but rider to rider.

Elevators are a unique interpretation of the information grounds framework. Too often a lack of information sharing is the typical occurrence, but this simple observation poses interesting questions that we could only lightly address. The abundance of the elevator and its frequent usage fixes it as a common experience in our society. For this reason we are drawn to further explore such a common thread in our daily lives. Information grounds are not just a place where people share information. Rather, they provide an opportunity for a better tomorrow. As technology advances we see the world becoming smaller and an increase in human-information interaction. We can utilize technologies within such locations as elevators to help transform tacit knowledge into explicit knowledge, thus shaping information grounds into information systems that benefit people.