You see, we have a culture….
September 21st, 2007Some perspectives today from the Hindu Business Line on the needs of rural mobile phone users in India. The article covers a lot of ground; missed calls, sharing, livlihoods, and text-free user interfaces figure prominently. I thought this quote was particularly interesting:
If you thought missed calls is a purely Indian phenomenon, think again. Says Sarup [from Nokia], “I too thought so but was amazed to see this phenomenon in Africa. There they call it ‘flashing’, and the basic message is ‘Call me back’.
Having spoken to users in both spots (India and Africa) about beeping/flashing/missed calling, I’ve been impressed by how people want to describe the practice as something unique to their region. One of my interview participants started his explanation of beeping with: “you see, in Rwanda, we have a culture…”. I think it has to do with how people learn to beep/flash/miss call. They’re introduced to the practice by friends and family, not by websites or manuals. Beeping is therefore perceived as a social practice, as a (re) creation of the people they know, rather than a property of the handset or even the network to which it connects.
