Predicting the socio-technical future (and other myths)

A snooker ball model implies that simple, linear and predictable social change follows from the introduction of new technologies. Unfortunately technology does not have and has never had simple linear predictable social impacts. In this chapter we show that in most measurable ways, the pervasiveness of modern information and communication technologies has had little discernable ?impact? on most human behaviours of sociological significance. Historians of technology remind us that human society co-evolves with the technology it invents and that the eventual social and economic uses of a technology often turn out to be far removed from those originally envisioned. Rather than using the snooker ball model to attempt to predict future ICT usage and revenue models that are inevitably wrong, we suggest that truly participatory, grounded innovation, open systems and adaptive revenue models can lead us to a more effective, flexible and responsive innovation process

Introducing user typologies to optimise Living Lab-approaches for ICT-innovation

Our contemporary ICT-environment is characterized by an innovation spiral, resulting in a lot of innovations as well as failures. Attempts to cope with the inherent uncertainty and increasing complexity in the field of ICT-innovation have influenced the rise of new, user-driven and open innovation-approaches. We contend that the Living Lab-approach can be seen as a systemic, methodological instrument incorporating a number of crucial insights linked to advances in the innovation management and user research-literature, especially in the increased importance of the user. Currently however, the literature dealing with the ‘user’ as key stakeholder in the innovation process is still fragmented. Within this positioning paper, we will contend that taking into account different user roles, associated to the ICT-innovation in development, can optimize Living Lab-approaches

Convenience or nuisance?: The ‘WhatsApp’ dilemma

WhatsApp sends real-time messages and is one of the world's most popular communication applications in the 21st century.While this study extends the current knowledge on the use of WhatsApp, it also highlights the challenges of WhatsApp use by young people. The purpose of this study is to examine the domestication of WhatsApp among young people, specifically the undergraduates at Universiti Brunei Darussalam. Results showed how young people perceive WhatsApp as a ‘convenient’ communication application in their everyday lives. Some of the critical issues arising from the use of WhatsApp included distractions and exposure to unregulated messages or information

Tecnologie comunicative e vita quotidiana: il modello euristico della domestication

L’articolo presenta il modello euristico della domestication, un innovativo quadro di riferimento teorico, orientato a studiare il modo in cui i soggetti – attraverso i vissuti simbolici e relazionali attribuiti alle tecnologie comunicative – rendono abitabili i diversi spazi della vita quotidiana. L’ipotesi di fondo è che le tecnologie non vengano semplicemente “adottate” e “utilizzate”, ma “integrate” e rivestite di nuovi significati, in relazione alle attività e agli interessi che caratterizzano il “giorno per giorno” degli utenti. Non sono dunque le funzionalità e le caratteristiche prestazionali degli artefatti (computer, tablet, cellulare/smartphone, ecc.), ma i progetti di senso e le finalità di carattere comunicativo che i soggetti cercano di perseguire, a svolgere un ruolo centrale nella relazione tra consumatori e nuove tecnologie

Social networking and digital gaming media convergence : classification and its consequences for appropriation

Within the field of Information Systems, a good proportion of research is concerned with the work organisation and this has, to some extent, restricted the kind of application areas given consideration. Yet, it is clear that information and communication technology deployments beyond the work organisation are acquiring increased importance in our lives. With this in mind, we offer a field study of the appropriation of an online play space known as Habbo Hotel. Habbo Hotel, as a site of media convergence, incorporates social networking and digital gaming functionality. Our research highlights the ethical problems such a dual classification of technology may bring. We focus upon a particular set of activities undertaken within and facilitated by the space – scamming. Scammers dupe members with respect to their ‘Furni’, virtual objects that have online and offline economic value. Through our analysis we show that sometimes, online activities are bracketed off from those defined as offline and that this can be related to how the technology is classified by members – as a social networking site and/or a digital game. In turn, this may affect members’ beliefs about rights and wrongs. We conclude that given increasing media convergence, the way forward is to continue the project of educating people regarding the difficulties of determining rights and wrongs, and how rights and wrongs may be acted out with respect to new technologies of play online and offline