“ Where ’ d It Go ? ” : Re-Finding Information in the Changing Web

I investigate the under-explored but significant interaction of returning to dynamic information. For example, one might encounter an interesting link on a Web page, only to find on a subsequent visit that the link has changed. While often changes benefit the user, they can hinder returning to old information. I performed a study of dynamic information re-finding by analyzing instances on the Web where the phrase “Where’d it go?” was used. I focused on how missing information was described and the answers given to the question. The study suggests that systems designed to support re-finding dynamic information should preserve the original information context (e.g., the path taken to get to it, or people associated with it) and provide awareness of changes to the user.