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The Social Presence Indicator
by: Dr. Suzanne LaCombe, June 17, 2007.
"Our Little Gang"
When I was younger I travelled a lot for my business and the best times were when I travelled with my good friends Steve and Peggy. The business required stays between three to six months in different US cities so we'd rent a furnished apartment together.
Every morning Peggy would pop into my bedroom to see if I would like some coffee. And every day I answered 'yes' and every day Peggy would ask, "and Suzanny, what would you like in your coffee".
"Cream only, thanks Peggy." 
No matter how many times this little ritual got played out, I never tired of it. This is what I remember most of my times on the road with Steve and Peggy and it still warms my heart each time I think of it today.
It's rituals like this that connect us to each other. Many of these sayings or statements are often said automatically with little consciousness. Bringing awareness to them however helps to draw attention to how much we are alike, how much we are connected to one another.
The Social Presence Indicator (SPI)
Our little gang of kids is here to graphically announce the presence of others who are also visiting MyShrink. This feature is known in the field of online research as "social presence". Through the use of cookies, the 'social presence indicator' (SPI) calculates the number of viewers currently browsing the site.
Presently, the SPI reports on the site as a whole. The next version will report the number of visitors in different sections of the site.
The captions are currently contained within five groupings. The exact
number in each grouping is not being disclosed; however each grouping
has a different set of captions.
The purpose of the social presence indicator is to enhance users' online experience and to promote a sense of community. The addition of the captions is unique as far as we know.
The captions are intended to evoke memories of childhood and to reflect common greetings that are characteristically human. The purpose is to draw attention to those moments in time that bond each to each other. They mirror our humanity, our fraility and those interpersonal moments that knit our lives together.
How do the captions relate to counseling?
We hope our visitors pause for reflection, for several reasons.
The captions are intended to direct our attention to moments in time. Research on counseling theory has shown that the connection to one's therapist is the most significant factor accounting for therapeutic change. And, there is good evidence to suggest that it is being present to those pivotal moments between counselor and client where lasting change is fostered.
Being an informed consumer of counseling services is what this site is about. We want our visitors to make optimal use of their counseling. The captions bring awareness to the importance of moments in counseling. And it's moments in counseling which we believe naturally enhance the consolidation of therapeutic gains. (See also the Relationship Template and The Biological Case for Psychotherapy for more information.)
The kid sayings are also being used to trigger memories of childhood. While it is not always necessary to intentionally bring childhood memories into counseling it is often useful to work through feelings associated with being a child that arise in the moment-to-moment interactions with one's therapist.
Taking childhood feelings seriously is an important aspect of good counseling. Most people have aspects of themselves that are not fully grown up. (Consider, for instance, the potential havoc if your personal finances were under the control of your eight-year-old self.) The more aware we become of those underdeveloped aspects of self, the greater our opportunity for further growth and the chance to take charge of one's life.
We also hope the SPI indicator will convey a feeling of community. Today, many communities exist despite having no physical meeting space. We no longer need to depend on our neighbors as we have in the past. But as a consequence, we have lost the sense of pulling together for a common cause. Most of us live far apart from one another, both spiritually and literally.
Most users that are drawn to MyShrink are on a journey of personal growth. We hope that the knowledge that others are also searching and working towards greater peace of mind will in part, support them. For it's my sense that a community--even one in cyberspace--can help us to heal.
Most importantly, the captions convey a sense of playfulness and fun. By reminding our visitors of what feels good we hope to balance the sometimes triggering material on the site with moments of positive resonance.
...because it's all about connection.
I'd love to hear of any captions you think could be included. And feel free to let me know what you think of our social presence indicator.
Drop me a line in the Psych Cafe Forum.
Related Topics
The social presence indicator was inspired by the work of Dr. Dianne Cyr of Simon Fraser University and doctoral student Alex Ivanov who have conducted research on online behaviour.
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