IMLogVis: An interactive visualization method for analyzing instant messaging log

Instant Messaging (IM) log comprises abundant time-varying information which highly reflects users' behavior patterns. Visualization of this kind of data is valuable for discovering, analyzing and understanding the patterns hidden in the dataset. In this paper, we propose IMLogVis, an interactive visualization method for analyzing IM log. An enhanced radial visualization is designed to illustrate the distribution of conversations at multiple levels and on multiple time scales. In the interior of the enhanced radial visualization, a scatterplot incorporating a new time-based node ordering method depicts the proximity relation between the user and different buddies. Besides, a trend curve is utilized to show the degree of communication frequency changes over time. Coupled with rich interactions such as keyword location and time navigation, users can explore IM log from different aspects. Case studies demonstrate that the effectiveness and usefulness of IMLogVis on discovering the useful and interesting patterns.