How Social Dynamics and the Context of Digital Content Impact Workplace Remix

As highlighted in recent work on remix in online content creation communities, people commonly take and appropriate digital content for new activities. Less is known, however, about how people repurpose digital content as part of work. We report findings from an interview study with 19 individuals in which we explored how digital content in the workplace becomes a material for remix. Our analysis emphasizes (i) how digital content is obtained from colleagues for remix, (ii) how content is made available for remix by others, and (iii) how digital content is transformed for remix. In attending to these broader processes of remix, we consider the roles of workplace technologies, such as those for file sharing, as well as social norms that mediate access, remix, and acknowledgement. We draw implications for design of technology that emphasize support for individuals in making digital content available for remix, and raising awareness of the context of that content.