Partially Disconnected Wireless Experience

Well, we're in sunny (no, really) Helsinki now. And unfortunately there's a problem with the wireless connection - so I guess I'll blog this off-line for now and will then try to upload it later. Ironically, today's theme is 'wireless experience'...

 Sofas on Stage?The Lume Media Centre (part of the University of Art & Design Helsinki) where we are at the moment is a nice refurbished building, all built in typically efficient and user-friendly Nordic design. There's even a couple of sofas on stage for the panel sessions! (I'm taking photos and will try to add them to these blog entries when I get them developed. For next time, I really have to get a digital camera...

We're now being welcomed by conference organiser Tapio Mäkelä and Lume director Elukka Eskelinen. Next, Mare Tralla, the Estonian co-chair reflects on the Tallinn experience, and Minna Tarkka from m-cult, the Finnish organisers of ISEA2004, provides both a look back on ISEA1994 (which also took place in Helsinki) and an outlook on the next few days. And finally ISEA2004 executive producer Amanda McDonald Crowley speaks of the organising process for the conference.

Now we're on to the first keynote speech, by Machiko Kusahara from Waseda University in Japan. Her topic is mobile phone culture in Japan, particularly amongst youth. She points out some of the influences on mobile phone use in Japan, which are rooted in Japanese culture. Particularly young girls started the mobile phone trend in Japan. Some interesting functions of mobiles in Japan include bar code reading (e.g. while shopping or in the public library) and shopping (where the mobile also functions as a kind of credit card). Even biometric recognition, apparently (fingerprint, face recognition)!

Some mobiles now also have speakers which transmit audio not as sound but directly as vibration through the user's bones. Also evident from the presentation is the absolute ubiquity of mobile phone advertising all across Japanese cities. (As well as the ubiquity of mobiles in other advertising.) Camera and TV phones are apparently also extremely common now. (There is in fact a huge screen in Shibuya where people can upload and publicly display their video messages...)

Also of interest is the popularity of using mobiles for Weblogging (moblogging) and of creating Websites for mobiles (using a compact version of HTML called c-HTML). What's interesting in this is that Japanese language requires mobiles to be highly computerised for effective text input - a kind of predictive text input on steroids. (Now of course touch screens are also becoming more widespread.) Also, camera phones are increasingly equipped with some image editing tools.

Further, mobile phone straps are now also a key accessory (i.e. straps used to hang the phone around the user's neck or attach it to a bag). These serve now as conversation pieces or are accessorised with clothing or for specific occasions. There is a historical influence on this as well: kimonos don't have pockets and therefore purses with straps have been around (as fashion accessories) for a long time... Now there are also 'his and hers' strap mascots which sing 'I love you' when connected to one another. Also, something like 83% of high school schudents in Japan have mobiles (more than have PCs or conventional Internet access), making the mobile the leading Internet access device.

Why this incredible boom: some suggestions are that face-to-face communication is culturally complicated in Japan, while mediating it through mobiles makes things far easier. Further, of course, spare time in Japan is extremely limited which makes the flexibility of mobiles very desirable...