Understanding factors affecting perceived sociability of social software

Sociability is considered to be important to the success of social software. The goal of the current study is to identify factors that affect the users’ perception of the sociability of social software and to examine the impact of sociability on the users’ attitude and behavior intentions. In a pilot study, 35 web users were interviewed to gain understanding of how they use social software to supplement their social life and to explore the possible factors that influence the users’ utilization of social software. In the first study, a questionnaire was developed, and 163 valid responses were collected. From the factor analysis results, seven important factors for social software design emerged, which accounts for 63.3% of the total variance. In the second study, 246 participants were asked to evaluate one of ten popular social applications with respect to the seven factors, their perceived sociability, and their attitudes and intention regarding the use of the applications. Results show that sociability is influenced by social climate, benefits and purposes, people, interaction richness, self-presentation, and support for formal interaction. System competency is not a sociability factor, but it significantly influences the user’s experience. Sociability and system competency, when combined, can predict 43% of users’ attitude towards social software and 51% of their intentions to use social software. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.