Examining Opaque Infrastructures with the Desktop Odometer

Abstract

The information we access on the Internet appears immediately but usually lives far away. The Desktop Odometer is a device that shows users the distance they travel when browsing the web by tracking the total miles between their current location and the server from which they are requesting information. In this work, we investigated internet infrastructures by designing and producing Desktop Odometers, selling them on Amazon.com, and receiving customer reviews. We present our analysis of customer reviews which reveal how customers describe their understandings of internet infrastructures after using the device. We also recount our RtD approach to making the device; we describe frictions we encountered when navigating other opaque infrastructures in our fabrication process, such as the Google Play store. Finally, we reflect on our use of Amazon.com and customer reviews as a method to engage participants in discussion about internet infrastructure through the sale and review process.