HUMAN–COMPUTER INTERACTION, 2012, Volume 27, pp. 124–150 Copyright © 2012 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 0737-0024 print / 1532-7051 online DOI: 10.1080/07370024.2012.656069 Food for Talk: Phototalk in the Context of Sharing a Meal Kenton O’Hara, 1 John Helmes, 1 Abigail Sellen, 1 Richard Harper, 1 Martijn ten Bhömer, 2 and Elise van den Hoven 2 1 Microsoft Research Cambridge, United Kingdom 2 Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands Photographic mementos are important signifiers of our personal mem- ories. Rather than simply passive representations of memories to ‘‘pre- serve’’ the past, these photos are actively displayed and consumed in the context of everyday behavior and social practices. Within the con- text of these settings, these mementos are invoked in particular ways to mobilize particular social relations in the present. Taking this perspec- tive, we explore how photo mementos come to be used in the every- day social setting of sharing meal. Rather than a simple concern with nutritional consumption, the shared meal is a social event and impor- tant cultural site in the organization of family and social life with cul- turally specific rhythms, norms, rights, and responsibilities. We present a system—4 Photos—that situates photo mementos within the social concerns of these settings. The system collates photo mementos from those attending the meal and displays them at the dining table to be interacted with by all. Through a real-world deployment of the system, we explore the social work performed by invoking these personal mem- ory resources in the context of real-world settings of shared eating. We highlight particular features of the system that enable this social work to be achieved. Kenton O’Hara is a social scientistand Senior Researcher in Socio Digital Systems at Microsoft Research Cambridge and Visiting Professor at the University of Bristol. John Helmes is a Design Researcher in Sensors and Devices at Microsoft Research Cambridge. Martijn ten Bhömer is a PhD Student in Industrial Design at Eindhoven University of Technology. Abigail Sellen is a social scientist and Principal Researcher and manager of Socio Digital Systems at Microsoft Research Cambridge. Richard Harper is a social scientist and Principal Researcher and manager of Socio Digital Systems at Microsoft Research Cambridge. Elise van den Hoven is assistant professor in Interaction Design/HCI at the Industrial Design Department of Eindhoven University of Technology. 124 Downloaded by [95.98.23.7] at 23:31 10 May 2012