Angels have the phone box

I was fortunate to attend a talk by Genevieve Bell at work today. Bell works for Intel. She is a cultural anthropologist and her ethnocentric studies are fascinating. Her talk focused on the future of technology and the multiple views of technology including: imagined, market and community views.

She believes that the Internet is on a pivot and that a reinvention is on the horizon. It could include an Internet where:

• English is not the dominate language
• Internet on many different devices
• Control, censorship and surveillance will still prevail

There will be no single trajectory as the use of Internet is complicated and dependant on social context. The need to disconnect will also feature strongly. What is driving people away?

The concerns about privacy, trust, reputation, sustainability, cultural health, digital literacy are all important but are well rehearsed (been around since the invention of the telegraph) and are revealing because they tell us about what people expect when it comes to Internet use.

Thought provoking illustrations of technology use:

• Cultural constructs of privacy
• What is Internet use – getting your son to regularly send messages to your daughter who lives in Australia from and Internet cafe in Indonesia… doesn’t require a computer or even electricity at home, but it is still Internet use
• Sharing mobile devices like phones amongst several people in Tanzania
• The rise of digital deception likened to a arms race of deception (James Katz) – a reference made to Handcock’s online dating study 81% people lied on their profiles (mostly about height and weight)
• The rise of new applications of technology – the purpose built mobile for Islamic practice
• Prioritising the use of ICT use based on access to electricity
• Faster pipes up and down leading to innovation and creativity

Finally technology is part of stories that have already being told. Technology has been developing over the last 150 years and before. One of the interesting issues to consider is how technology is used to create relationships. Technology has a symbollic value and for many it is about status in the world they have constructed.

I found her talk stimulating and it made me think about how I had constructed my work/life around my use of social media. I was also challenged by the concept of disconnecting (see previous post). I know many people whose idea of a holiday is one where there are no computers or phones!