Drew Cogbill | Thesis Blog

works in progress.

Archive for May, 2008

Technical Anthropology, St. Lucia

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St. Lucia uses British outlets and voltage, but you will often see American outlets adapted because many of the good coming into the country have American prongs.  This picture taken in a community center in a fishing village called Anse la Raye, particularly well shows how readily people switch between them.


There is a given and understood social practice that after you take a picture on a digital camera, they are allowed to see it.  I saw this happen time and time again in St. Lucia.  Even when I took a picture of a toddler, he grasp out for the camera to see himself.


This is Sister Claire, a nun in her 70’s who runs a pre-school we did some work with.  The convent recently bought her a mobile phone, and though she claims she doesn’t understand how to use it well, she can easily make and receive calls.  Furthermore, she’s one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen.

Written by drewcogbill

May 27th, 2008 at 6:43 pm

Scott Jenson’s “Why Phones Are Not Computers”

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Why Phone Are Not Computers” - Human-Computer Interaction Seminar (CS 547) Scott Jenson, Google

Response: Jenson is mostly talking about how the normal web can’t be translated to traditional mobile phones.  Even with more advanced phones, the screen is still much smaller than a computer screen.  This talk was pre-iphone but is certainly still applicable for people living in developing nations where phones are generally older, even black and white models.  Nonetheless, data plans are starting to come into these places.  Here in St. Lucia, you can now get a data plan and even Blackberrys.  Nonetheless, Jenson advocate for using phone applications local-based and people-based.

Notes:
Death by 1000 cuts: there’s lots of annoying steps to get content, value must be greater than pain
Default thinking: falling back on the thing we were just looking at
It is hard to use mobile phones
SMS- not originally meant to be for consumers
The Inside Text - ed. Richard Harper
Ergo myths: when you talk about phones, you have to talk about millimeters not pixels
- the mouse is gone
- focus on people in development
Examples:
- Swedish bank- sms alerts for low balance, deposit cleared
- mobile google maps- center button zooming

Arguing that people don’t want to get on the web as it is for the computer on their phone.  The phone experience is different.  Make it local based and people based.

Written by drewcogbill

May 20th, 2008 at 6:30 pm