Lucky capture while drinking coffee in a downstairs coffee bar in Mall Ambassador. People at all tables seemed very engaged in their mobile media, yet people at two of the three tables where also very much communicating with others physically there. The dichotomous view of “absent presence” (being somewhere else than one’s physical place through the use of media) appears not so rigid in this situation. Here & elsewhere may be combined without any problems.
Archive for July, 2007
Short video about mobile media use
Wednesday, July 25th, 2007Some first Jakarta pics
Wednesday, July 25th, 2007It’s great to be back in Jakarta! Yesterday I looked for a room for the coming weeks.
Today I went to Mall Ambassador, Jl. Satrio/Casablanca. Apparently one of the handphone hotspots in town! The neighborhood has changed a lot since my last visit 7 years ago: many new high rise buildings. In my memory, Ambassador used to be a chic mall with worldwide brand stores (Nike, Adidas, etc.). Now it has transformed into a bustling bazaar with many small businesses, many of them electronics and fashion.
Some pics below to give an impression of the visibility of mobile phone culture.
Mobile Media 2007 conference in Sydney
Thursday, July 5th, 2007The last three days I have been at the Mobile Media 2007 conference, organized by Gerard Goggin and Larissa Hjorth. The conference was held at the University of Sydney from 2 - 4 July 2007. Some 120 people attended the conference, many of them belonging to the well-known researchers in the field of mobile media.
A wide range of papers were presented. Most of them empirical, focussing mostly on the modern Asian countries (China, Japan, Korea) and Australia. Also quite some theoretical work, e.g. about changes in time and place, locative media, mobile phone anxieties. Almost all empirical work was about teenagers. Most papers were also at the level of devices, not infrastructure.
I presented a paper about the mobile phone and changes in identity. You can download it here. That session was one of the few with enough time for some substantial debate after the presentation (someone had cancelled) Got some useful feedback on it.
I’ll try and write some more substantial things about the conference soon.
Some pics:
Lucky passenger 163 million at KLIA…
Thursday, July 5th, 2007I’ve been in Australia for a few days now, and finally some time & energy to blog. My travel to Australia and Indonesia started out well. After a grueling 12 hour flight to Kuala Lumpur, a cheerful looking fellow approached me at the gate and told me “This is your lucky day, you are the lucky passenger number 163 million!! you will receive gifts…blabla” and asked me whether I had some time to spare at the airport. I had to wait 10 hours for my continuing flight to Sydney, so I thought this could be fun… The KLIA airport celebrated its 9th year anniversary, 2nd time best airport, and the arrival of its 163 millionth international passenger, which was…me!
I was taken to the VIP lounge, could take a nice shower, which was very welcome. Later that morning a crazy ceremony with band and directing manager airport present. Called on stage, photographers, film crews, interviews, got all kinds of presents, amongst which a return flight KL-Perth, free night stay in a KL hotel, some other stuff like coupons for food & drinks, perfume, etc.
A totally ‘ludic’ experience :). For those who read bahassa Malayu: an article in Berita Harian. Name spelled wrong, I did not come from Stockholm (never even been there), and some complete nonsense quotes about my name being called in the airplane and being afraid of having trafficked something forbidden… Cerita Harian…
Pics:
