Pre-Mobile Blogging
I am about to attempt something new, at least for myself - blogging via my mobile phone. I am aware of the LifeBlog software developed by Nokia, but I don’t have this program, and want to experiment with an authentic, real-life situation: accessing an established blog via a mobile technology.
I expect problems. My phone - a Samsung E730 - accesses web content via GPRS. I know that this is somewhat like a verson of WAP language, which will only serve to exacerbate translation changes from HTTP format used for PC. Therefore, some of the problems I expect will relate to the specific device that I am using: problems with translation, display of images, sounds. Also ruled out would be accessing web pages with a large format, size or complex content, due to download times.
I am however, also expecting changes in the literacy practices I deploy in typing a blog on a mobile phone. Not only is the input method (phone key-pad) not something I am especially adept at, but the small size of the screen may also effect the manner in which I express/explain my opinions. The difficulty in scrolling and reviewing all that has been written is no mere flick of they eye further up the page, but instead requires a good deal of sorting through information more delicately perhaps than on a computer or in hard copy.
The web page may not display properly, or I may be unable to access the correct menus to enter the blog writing section. This is all experimental, for although I was able to access some of the website on my mobile phone last night, I came up against a problem when I couldn’t remember the password (which I had not changed to one I could remember), thus necessitating me having to go to the computer to check my email - this feature being unavailable on my phone.
As regards situational considerations: I am purposefully NOT selecting a specific time or place to try this little experiment out. The very essence of mobile technologies is that they can be used anywhere, anytime (Levinson, Cellphone, 2003). As such, it is important for the authenticity of this work, that the blog be completed in an indeterminate, as yet unplanned context. How this will effect the easy of use of the technology and the nature and quality of the blog, is yet to be seen.
I do not know if this pre-writing before mobile blogging will help, or if I have even covered all the areas that will impact on my literacy practices. I guess the only way to find out is to try: I will then reflect on the both the event of mobile blogging (including texts-in-the-making) as well as the artifact created (the mobile blog).
Let’s just hope that I can even access the site, or all this babbling will have come to naught!
I expect problems. My phone - a Samsung E730 - accesses web content via GPRS. I know that this is somewhat like a verson of WAP language, which will only serve to exacerbate translation changes from HTTP format used for PC. Therefore, some of the problems I expect will relate to the specific device that I am using: problems with translation, display of images, sounds. Also ruled out would be accessing web pages with a large format, size or complex content, due to download times.
I am however, also expecting changes in the literacy practices I deploy in typing a blog on a mobile phone. Not only is the input method (phone key-pad) not something I am especially adept at, but the small size of the screen may also effect the manner in which I express/explain my opinions. The difficulty in scrolling and reviewing all that has been written is no mere flick of they eye further up the page, but instead requires a good deal of sorting through information more delicately perhaps than on a computer or in hard copy.
The web page may not display properly, or I may be unable to access the correct menus to enter the blog writing section. This is all experimental, for although I was able to access some of the website on my mobile phone last night, I came up against a problem when I couldn’t remember the password (which I had not changed to one I could remember), thus necessitating me having to go to the computer to check my email - this feature being unavailable on my phone.
As regards situational considerations: I am purposefully NOT selecting a specific time or place to try this little experiment out. The very essence of mobile technologies is that they can be used anywhere, anytime (Levinson, Cellphone, 2003). As such, it is important for the authenticity of this work, that the blog be completed in an indeterminate, as yet unplanned context. How this will effect the easy of use of the technology and the nature and quality of the blog, is yet to be seen.
I do not know if this pre-writing before mobile blogging will help, or if I have even covered all the areas that will impact on my literacy practices. I guess the only way to find out is to try: I will then reflect on the both the event of mobile blogging (including texts-in-the-making) as well as the artifact created (the mobile blog).
Let’s just hope that I can even access the site, or all this babbling will have come to naught!
Labels: Autoethnography, Innovation, Mobile Technologies
posted by Calvin Taylor at 11:17 pm
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