Try to uncover non-obvious metaphors embedded in a user interface. Apart from desktop, folders etc., look for other naturalistic models in the way people talk about the interface. Or, do this for the web. You will need to get some samples of dialogue from the way people talk about the web. Apply the ideas from the media richness paper to a non-office domain, e.g. to a collaborative design task.
Relevant factors are language, use of color, image vs. text content and other aspects of design.
Alternatively, write a program to do this. Write a program for sensible transitions between those displays, ideally in response to stimuli from a human interlocutor. You can also try to mine public newsgroups. Social networks provide an interesting way to approach Vygotskian and peripheral participation models of learning. Study diffusion of some product over time.