Internet designer Joshua Porter put forth the usage life-cycle
(ULC) as a model to track the usage evolution of a web application. According
to Porter, as time passes, “social web” users go through a cycle consisting of
five stages: unaware, interested, first-time use, regular use, and passionate
use.
In the SNS context, the most relevant and
difficult transition is from first-time use (sign-up) to regular (repeated)
use, whereby, if users are not motivated by new content or new features, they
will not reach the repeated usage stage and, as a result, will use the service
less as time passes. The SNS usage distribution through the various ULC stages
over time approximates that of a normal distribution. Hence, the ULC
establishes a relationship between usage and time.
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Usage Perpetuity? |
However,
in contrast to the PLC and diffusion models, no academic study has verified
Porter’s model. Besides, at least one if its assumptions can be easily
challenged: could passionate use be the terminal stage of usage? We don’t think
so since using an SNS is actually like using any other product or service: decline
will eventually settle in as is does with other high-tech products in due time.
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