Improving Viewer Engagement and Communication Efficiency within Non-Entertainment Live Streaming

Live streaming has recently gained worldwide popularity, due to the affordable digital video devices, high-speed Internet access, and social media. While video games and other entertainment content attract a broad audience to live streaming, it has become an important channel for sharing a variety of non-entertainment content, such as civil content, knowledge sharing, and even promoting traditional cultural practices. However, little research has explored the practices and challenges of the vibrant communities of these streamers who share knowledge or showcase cultural practices through live streams, and few tools have been designed and developed to support their needs for engaging viewers and communicate with viewers more efficiently. The goal of my research is to better understand the practices of these streamers and their communities, and to design tools to better support knowledge sharing and cultural heritage preservation through live streaming.