Preconference workshop at the 2009 conference of the International Communication Association (ICA) | 20-21 May 2009, Chicago, Illinois, USA
The draft program for this one-and-a-half day preconference is now available. Twenty five papers were selected through a peer-reviewed process; papers based on research in 15 countries in five continents in on various aspects of mobile usage will be presented. Registration can be completed through the ICA conference website.
Mobile2.0: Beyond Voice?
Mobile phones are becoming increasingly important in bringing people into the Information Society. It is widely accepted that the inhabitants of the future household will carry mobile devices that will be capable of voice and data communication, information retrieval and forms of entertainment consumption. Mobiles are now (and will increasingly become) payment devices that can also send, process and receive voice, text as well as images; in the next few years they will also be capable of information-retrieval and publishing functions normally associated with the Internet. Through such services and applications, industry experts predict that many in emerging markets will experience the Internet, or ‘elements’ of the Internet for the first time through a mobile phone, rather than a PC; mobile payments, mobile social networking, SMS voting are just a few examples of some of these services and applications.
Emerging markets appear to be following a different trajectory from developed markets; while the latter are moving forward via triple- and quadruple-play scenarios, the former are moving on paths that involve mobile phones as the key platform for bringing people affordably into the Information Society; something we describe as “2.0.”
This preconference will draw together research constituting evidence for and against this emerging Mobile2.0 narrative in the context of the larger social-science understanding of mobile-use behavior. The preconference will also contribute to understanding emerging mobile use patterns.
The keynote address will be delivered by Dr. Tim Kelly, Lead ICT Policy Specialist at the World Bank. Papers will be presented by academics from the US, as well as Asia, Latin America, Europe and Africa.
The pre-conference is being organized by LIRNEasia (www.lirneasia.net). For more information please contact sivapragasam[at]lirne.net
