Television is moving towards Internet-based services with an increasing popularity of online streaming and connected TV sets. However, the lean-back viewing experience is often forgotten in the design of such services – traditional broadcasted television is still the source for relaxed entertainment in the living room. In this study, a concept of a new TV service is proposed. The aim is to create a solution where the qualities in traditional television are preserved in an online environment. The decisions that were taken when shaping this concept are based on a literature study, a market analysis, a design workshop and expert interviews. The main results are that the interfaces of today’s Internet-based TV services require too much interaction and decision-making, and that TV channels should be redefined and take more advantage from the independence of a fixed broadcasted source.

A screencast is a digital recording of computer screen output. The format is frequently used to demonstrate and teach the usage of software functions, and is then often accompanied by narrative audio. In order for a screencast to be considered effective in these cases, it is required that it clearly conveys the interaction between user and computer program. This is problematic in the case of gesture based user interfaces since input by touch gestures lack visual representation other than feedback from the user interface. Thus, from visual information only, it is hard for the audience to interpret which specific gesture, such as touch, long touch and double touch, is used for a specific program function. Instead they have to rely on the producer communicating the information in some other way. In this master’s thesis, a pictorial language with the purpose of visualizing touch gestures in screencasts is designed, since it could be a potential solution to the above dilemma. This is done by combining an autobiographical design method with external user evaluations. The research suggest that users interpret this type of visualizations as interface functions rather than physical touch gestures, and that some of the language’s design attributes are highly dependent on external factors. Thus, for the pictorial language to function as an effective tool in screencasts, it is needed for the producers using the tool to understand both its limitations as well as possibilities.

In this thesis, I propose a framework for designing 3D-based audio-only games in which all navigation is based on perceiving the 3D-audio, as opposed to relying on other navigational aids or imagining the audio as being spatial, where additional sounds may be added later on in the development process. To test the framework, a game named Sound Hunter was developed in an iterative process together with both sighted and visually impaired participants in three focus groups, 8 usability tests, and a final evaluation. Sound Hunter currently features 20 levels progressively becoming more difficult, and relies on no stationary equipment. Instead, all navigation is based on the smartphone’s accelerometer data, where the only requirement is headphones to properly perceive the HRTF filtering, being delivered through the Pure Data external [earplug~], using a generalized HRTF and linear interpolation. The results indicate that the suggested framework is a successful guidance tool when wanting to develop faster perception-based and action-filled 3D-audio games, and the learning curve for the navigation was approximately 15 minutes, after which the participants navigated with very high precision. Furthermore, the results showed that there is a high need for audio-only games intended for visually impaired smartphone users, and that with only minor alterations to game menus and adjustments to the iPhone’s accelerometer function, both older and younger visually impaired smartphone users can navigate through 3D-audio environments using simple hand movements. The results also strongly support that Sound Hunter may be used to train people’s spatial hearing in an entertaining way with full experimental control, as the participants felt that they focused more on their hearing and even trained their hearing while playing the game, and sounds were perceived as more externalized than lateralized. Also, the results strongly suggest that there are two main factors affecting the learning curve for adapting to a foreign HRTF during virtual interactive gaming experiences; the adaptation to the navigational controls, and the experience of front/back confusion, where control adaptation is promoted by having a strong default setting with customizable sensitivity, and the experience of front/back confusion can be greatly reduced by introducing complex distance-dependent meta-level communication in synthesized sounds. Using distance-dependent meta-level communication in the wrong way, however, can lead to illusions of false distance, making navigation impossible. All of the participants would have recommended Sound Hunter to others, and they were very impressed by both the quality of the 3D rendering, and the way in which it could be used to navigate, where one of the participants, a blind expert audio-only game developer, also being highly experienced with audio-only games, claimed that Sound Hunter offered the best representation of 3D audio he had ever experienced in an audio-only game

The Millennial Generation, born between 1982 and 2000, are used to the ubiquity of modern devices and are always ‘on’. Therefore, they use and consume media differently than preceding generations. Now that they are ageing and becoming part of the advertising relevant target group, TV executives need to think about how and especially where to reach this target demographic. Therefore, the aim of this thesis is to develop a better understanding of how the Millennial Generation is consuming the traditional medium of television and how a business model geared towards their needs and demands should look like. Through conducting an empirical study among over 750 Millennials, the author identified the TV consumption behaviour of this generation and subsequently defined three subgroups within the field of participants. According to the research most of the Millennials still own and use traditional TV sets; however, they watch an increasing amount of TV content online and especially on demand. Their preferred payment model is subscription based, even though just a small percentage of them actually have a subscription. Moreover, they use mostly illegal streaming websites to watch TV content they want; especially if it is foreign content that is not available on other platforms yet. The final result of this thesis is a business model that was built upon the needs and consumption behaviour of one of the subgroups of Millennials who prefer subscription services. This subgroup is used to consuming TV content online and they watch the highest amount of TV series among the Millennials. The business model addresses these factors and describes a subscription video on demand service addressing the needs of the Millennials such as an early release of new episodes. Furthermore, new sources of revenue are introduced that can provide sufficient funding for content acquisition and production. This business model could serve as a starting point for TV executives to further think about the specific needs of this attractive target demographic and how to address them.

This thesis has been conducted as a case study for the brand Milda. It aims to investigate what Milda can do in order to increase the engagement and co-creation among their consumers at their website. Milda has a user-generated recipe section inside their website they want the consumers to interact with and contribute with content to. The study was conducted using a mixed methodology containing interviews with consumers, usability tests, a survey distributed on Milda’s Facebook page, a review of Milda’s current website, and a short benchmark. Furthermore, the study was based on a thoroughly made literature review over previous studies made regarding the subject. The findings from the study showed that consumers tend to be more willing to co-create with companies they can identify with and are passionate about. Engaged consumers also advocates the brand and connects new consumers to its products. Presence from the company in co-creation processes is highly important to engage and satisfy the consumers. Social aspects in form of communication and interaction with other users are main driving factors for engagement in digital media. For Milda to increase the amount of content at their website shared by their consumers, they have to make some improvements with the site in order to provide a better user experience. Since the social aspect is important to gain engaged consumers, Milda also has to increase the traffic to the site.

Detta examensarbete presenterar en rapport som utforskar användares inställning till mikro-platsmedeveten mobil marknadsföring och hur den upplevs. Detta har gjorts genom en användarcentrerad process där inledningsvis en förstudie i form av fokusgrupp ägt rum som lagt grunden för den prototyp som tagits fram. Prototypen är en vidareutveckling av Rabbles existerande erbjudande-applikation som utrustats med stöd för beacons. Detta har utgjort den tekniska grund som använts vid utvärdering av användares upplevelser. Detta har gjorts i ett fälttest i en matbutik i centrala Stockholm. Testdeltagarnas inställning till marknadsföringen var positiv och de upplevde det som nytt och modernt. Resultatet berättar om användarnas åsikter och ett stort fokus har legat på deras förhållande till notifikationer i smarttelefoner. Åsikter om integritet gällande denna typ av marknadsföring diskuteras också.

Smarta klockor, små kroppsnära datorer som bärs kring handleden, ökar i popularitet. Smarta klockor kan visa tiden men även köra andra applikationer. Utmärkande för alla smarta klockor är deras lilla skärmyta, vilket ställer särskilda krav på utformningen av användargränssnitt. Syftet med detta arbete är att utforska hur smarta klockor kan fungera för att visa webbinnehåll och det görs genom att studera hur responsiv webbutveckling kan användas för att möjliggöra webbanvändning med smarta klockor. Experiment med responsiv webbutveckling för smarta klockor ledde fram till fyra prototyper som testades av användare. Under testerna diskuterades fördelar och nackdelar med prototyperna. Resultatet visar att responsiv webbdesign kan användas för att anpassa webbsidor till smarta klockor, men att webbsidor med mycket innehåll bör brytas ner i mindre delar och visas en i taget, något som inte ingår i responsiv webbdesign.

Today we live in an extremely dynamic world. Some of us were born in countries with developed economy, well functioning civil society and established country brand. Some of us live in developing countries, which are trying to do their best on international arena. Unfortunately, very often the latter do not have a clear coordinated vision of moving forward. This makes it hard for international society to grasp the concept they assemble. One thing is clear – developing, and often developed, countries need to build their country brands in order to get the attention and interest from the outside world. At the same time, there is a very clear trend of the world’s population migration towards social media, which is capable of bringing additional benefits. There are two important Research questions in this master thesis. The first one is: "What are the Essential Conditions for Creation of Unified Country Branding Strategy?". The second research question is: "What are the Necessary Components for Country Branding Strategy Implementation Applying Omnifarious Social Media Technology Resources and Potential?". As the incentive of this master thesis is to understand, describe, structure and build certain practical guideline for country brand strategy in a social media environment, different research methods and data are used for this purpose. The main ones are the synthesis and analysis, aimed at the procession and extraction of valuable information, as well as its’ conversion into part of the universal country brand strategy approach. Observation technique was also used to proceed with the research, since the country branding is an on-going process, which needs constant follow-up to gather the facts. Intended target audience for this master thesis are national governments interested in country branding and struggling to find a starting point for it, country branding agencies, as well as all individuals, working or interested in the field of country branding.

Many new mobile payments services have launched especially within Europe since 2012. Mass adaption of those new ways of payment is still far away though. Former research papers focused already on business models in forms of value networks to increase success and popularity of such services. However, the highly fragmented markets concerning consumer behaviour and the technological conditions were very often neglected. Therefore the thesis is directed to mobile payment services to improve their current service offering as well as potential partners in a possible value network. To highlight the importance of human behaviour in regards to consumer needs, a six months research period has been undertaken during and before the launch of a mobile payment service. The key outcomes of that research have been aligned with available literature on this field, to draw conclusions on how to shape and further extend a mobile payment service. As a final result, mobile payment services have to follow two strategies. First they have to maintain their flexibility by adjusting their service to different consumer needs and offering value added services. Second, by forming alliances in forms of value networks, as partnerships with long-established companies like banks, they will contribute to further popularity and further growth of mobile payment services. Due to the complexity of the subject, a list of further research can be found at the end for more investigations related to the latest topics influencing mobile payments.

Development of information and communication technologies of the last decade has had a significant impact on how people communicate, consume information and deal with daily situations. The role of the Internet in today’s world seems to be irreplaceable; however, to be a part of the new information society, digital skills and access to technology are required. Among other groups, majority of the seniors are having difficulties to adapt to the new technologies and lack access to it. This social group would greatly benefit from opportunities digital media offers, as it could provide potential of longer independent living and more convenience and entertainment in daily life. Unfortunately, the digital divide prevents seniors from utilizing the benefits that are available for the rest of the society. Despite the advantages, an age associated digital divide is still very topical in many countries, including Latvia. This study explores the reasons behind the digital divide in Latvia and examines the needs of seniors that could be supported by development of digital skills and access to digital technologies. The work is based on the theoretical background and uses both qualitative and quantitative material collected from seniors and experts in the field. The results showed that the most influential reasons behind age associated digital divide in Latvia are financial instability, lack of digital skills and motivation. Latvia is one of the most developed countries in the information and communication technologies field, and has advanced online services, which could be successfully used by seniors; however group’s interests are largely ignored as there are few opportunities to acquire digital skills. Based on these findings three solutions are developed to help improve with the situation.