Another piece passed along by Dave Farber’s list…a good article by Richard Waters: Mobility Special: Plugged into it all.
Waters looks at the evolution in the use of wireless networks, driven by an entire generation which has grown up using cell phones. Waters discusses many interesting aspects but I’ll single one out: this discussion of SMS in Japan has become an adjunct to voice, rather than merely a replacement.
Texting has emerged as a way to make mobile communications more constant and pervasive, while also reducing the disruption to the experience of “real” life that tele-cocooning implies. Sending a text message, for instance, means you no longer have to annoy the person sitting next to you on the bus by talking on your phone. In Japan, texting has become the socially acceptable way to stay in contact while on public transport.
It has also become a way of easing the transition from the real to virtual world. Before dialling someone’s telephone number or in the run-up to a face-to-face meeting, a stream of text messages lays the ground. “You don’t make voice calls without checking availability first,” says Ito. “The ringing telephone is quite a rude thing.” With proper texting etiquette, the phone only rings when you want it to, and face-to-face meetings are choreographed by an elaborate ritual of advanced messages.
The article is also posted here.
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