Participation frameworks in multiparty video chats cross-modal exchanges in public Google Hangouts

Drawing on literature on interaction and participation in computer-mediated communication (CMC) and video-mediated communication (VMC), this study explores cross-modal exchanges with regards to participation in public video chats. By cross-modal, we wish to characterize interactions in which the production modality is different from the interlocutor's feedback modality, in the same communicative event and in synchronous fashion. Early research on recreational text-based CMC, especially Internet Relay Chat (IRC), has shown that initiating and maintaining interactions with strangers can be challenging. Our observations indicate that public video chats not only present these same challenges, but also that the availability of video and audio adds yet another level of complexity to issues of participation. Based on synchronous and naturally occurring interactions from public Google Hangouts, our analysis indicates that cross-modal exchanges are a means for participation mobility. Furthermore, this analysis brings attention to issues of visibility and noticeability in video chats.