Personalization is computerized individualization, while customization is personal individualization.
When first hearing the words personalization and customization, many people are confused to as what the difference between the two are. According to Neilsen personalization is ‘‘driven by a computer which tries to serve up individualized pages to the user based on some form of model of that user’s needs.’’ Neilsen also says that customization is when ‘‘the user explicitly selects between certain options.’’In other words personalization is based on a model or formula a computer uses to help provide the user with individualized and "preferred information" and customization is when the user personally determines what he or she wants by selecting options manually.
Power Users prefer web page customization, while Non-Power Users prefer web page personalization.
The most interesting stat from this article was the difference between responses from the non power users and the power users on how they favor customization and personalization on the web.
82 participants were exposed to the standard view of the Google News Website during the experiment. The participants were then asked to browse the Website on their own for 15 minutes in two separate sessions. The participants were exposed to the website as the control variable, personalized version, or customized version within the two sessions.
Web Page security is main difference between personalization and customization for Power Users and Non-Power users.
When first reading this study I was surprised that power users preferred customization and non power users preferred personalization. Then I read a few articles and it made sense. For example a power user would include people who are video-editing professionals, high-end graphic designers, audio producers, and those who use their computers for scientific research. Also these people have the newest and fastest computers and mobile devices. Where as a non power user just uses their computers and mobile devices for the most basic functions which include internet surfing, email, and typing papers.
As you can see there is a difference between usage between the two catogories of power users and non power users. This usage gap helps us understand why the power users prefer customization over personalization. Why? Because power users know everything about their computer and since they are so in tune with their computer and how it works as well as how web pages work too, they can easily customize their computer or web page more personally than a computer ever could for them because of the technological knowledge that they have.
But for non power users the thought of having to personally customize their computer or web page with out anything even suggestions can scare most of these types of people. For myself I do not fall into the power user category and the thought of having to customize a web page honestly overwhelms me. This is why personalizing something is the preferred way for many non power users when given the choice for making a web page or their computer more personal.
Low Privacy settings make Power Users and Non-Power users more protective of the information they give out.
This study also conducted another experiment where the focus was on security. In this study when the power user or non power user was done personalizing or customizing the web site said that it may or may not use their browser information. With this wrinkle it evened the field in terms of whether power users or non power users prefer personalization or customization. For power users with high privacy they were more comfortable with giving away the right to use the information they provided. However when the privacy setting was lowered both power users and non power users became more cautious. With this being said its conclusive enough to say that no matter if you are a power user or non power user, the type and detail of information you provide in order to customize or personalize a web page or your computer will depend on what type of securtity is provided and has more of an impact on whether people prefer to customize or personal something.
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