ISEA2004: Japanese mobile phone culture and urban life · 2004-08-19 13:44

at ISEA 2004 in Helsinki – will try and take notes for some of today’s talks…..

Machiko Kusahara
Japanese mobile phone culture and urban life

http://www.f.waseda.jp/kusahara/media

bit of a show ‘n tell rather than a thesis, but some great photos – hopefulyl they’ll be online soon

Ketai – mobile as culture

25% of japanese live in Tokyo and vicinity
50% of Japanese population live in 3 major urban areas
80% live in cities

typical 1-2.5 hours commuting

dense population, limied space (20% inhabitable)

anything is available, any time
afraid of being alone
afraid of being left behind

young women led the trend and use of mobile phones

(photos of Felica enabled keitai, use of 2d barcodes in libraries, sonic bone conduction speaker, phone-as-daily-tool)

keitai start being used in advertising other things

“we are already virtually next to each other” – new reality tool

keitai denwa – portable phone (chinese chars)
keitai (japanese alpha)
ketai – gone from 8 syllables to 2

60-80% of usage non-oral

also extension of one’s body
use of phone as periscope

platform for cultural activities
very easy to create cHTML website
moblog – easier than weblog
push and pull media – information retreival and offering
boudary between art and entertainment not rigid (ketai haiku party)

3 day bonsai (virtual bonsai – Konami game)

88 million (70% of population) [seems low to me; other countries have gone >100%]

change of model every year

postpet and virtual characters now migrated to PC software, toys etc.

strappu!
hello kitty strappu!
chanel strappu
tube of wasabi strappu
plastic food strappu

comes from history – kimono don’t have pockets, purse would be under sash belt, attached via semi-visible strap – netsuke (personalisation, miniturization, communication tool)

mobile phone covers available earlier in Finland than Japan

sticker and t-shirt printers for cameraphones

11.8m broadband connection, 35m Internet users (compared to 80m ketai)

phone is infrastructure – e.g. robot control using mobile phone [the. robot. has. trainers!]

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