Documenting You, Documenting Me
A Cairo waiter shows off his photo of this researcher above, and a more traditional studio photographer in Delhi below.
With the tools to capture experiences in the hands of more and more people its not surprising that one of the experiences that ends up being documented is, um, the process of being documented. How does being watched affect how we (researchers) work? when will we have the first Rodney King style documentation of a mis-behaving field researcher?
Writing from Tokyo | November 9, 2006 | Permalink
Ships That Pass
The team ships out tomorrow, Tehran Khomeini via Doha. So much to learn about [insert research topic here] in a new culture, especially one so much in the western press.
Given the relationship between my own (UK) government and Iran, and that fact that one of the research team will be calling from a US based SIM card I wonder to what extent my activities will be remotely monitored over the next couple of weeks. And by whom? Ah, if only the same level of effort could be directed at weightier issues.
Last impressions of working in Cairo? A relatively easy place to research - all credit to the local team but given the pace, heat and energy of life here, its easy to become worn out. Ad-hoc street research worked well enough, and a number of data-nuggets to take to the folks back home. Bags packed, taxi booked.
Writing from Cairo | October 17, 2006 | Permalink
Conversion
Car stereo converted for shop use.
Writing from Cairo | | Permalink
Ritual Blessing
Blessing a new residence.
The more traditional blood substituted by, well, something else.
Writing from Cairo | | Comments (0) | Permalink
Ambient Audio
Cairo is one of the worlds noisier cities - from the constant stream of honking cars, the mosques calling worshippers to prayer, TV’s blaring out from pretty much any stall that has access an available power source, or sales pitches from street vendors. And yes the occasional ring tone.
To what extent do ambient noise levels affect device usage and in particular media consumption? Do high noise levels force a 'retreat' into using headphones or reducing consumption to visual only? Or does the high noise level make it more acceptable to introduce your own noise into the public space?
For such an aural city it makes sense to utilize audio to explain the city and its inhabitants, hence the recording of ambient audio from taxi's (photo above), streets, markets and beyond.
Writing from Cairo | | Comments (0) | Permalink
Parent, Founder, Guide
The extent to which local lineage is acknowleged by the current owners - photo of the former proprietor hanging on the wall of a Cairo cafe above. The extent to which it affects the experience of current or would be customers.
With a wider range of experience-capturing and experience-enjoying tools in the hands of, well, everyone, what is tomorrow's equivilent of the photo-of-founder-on-wall? And what does this have to do with the gentleman below? One of the indearing aspects of conducting research in Cairo these last couple of weeks has been the extent to which people have recording us recording them. It's not just that the recording devices are carrried, but the fact that they are valued and used. And it's a small part of an emerging trend, more of which later.
Writing from Cairo | | Permalink
Signed Consent, Social Stigmas
If someone can't read or write how can they be asked to sign an data consent form?
In Uganda 26% of male adults and 46% of female adults meet the UN's definition of illiterate. During a recent street survey in Kampala we offered respondents a pen (for signature) or an ink pad (for thumb print). 114 of the 115 respondents signed opted for a pen.
What is a digital equivalent of a thumb print signature? What social stigmas would be associated with signing with a digital thumb print signature?
Writing from Cairo | October 16, 2006 | Comments (0) | Permalink
Didn't Drown, Waved, Swam a Little
The slides for the workshop on managing large volume of photo field data can now be downloaded from here [1MB], related presentations here. It draws on the methods we've evolved in Nokia Research to handle large volumes of photo field data. Its not rocket science but neither is it straight forward if you're just getting started.
The 3 things that make the biggest difference? Work out what you are likely to use the photos for before you get started - yes it's obvious, no most people don't really understand the implications of the answer; create a naming strategy for folders and files and assume someone else will want to retrieve data years from now simply based on these names; work out how to batch process images.
Probably the liveliest discussions centered around issues of data consent. If, for example you have data consent to use a photo for research purposes can it be used in a workshop that discusses the research? What about a paid-for workshop? Or on a web site that accepts advertising? Figure out where the line is and make sure the research team (and everyone who might use the photos) knows which side of the line they are standing on. If I'm brutally honest the second liveliest discussion centered around chocolates.
The powerpoint compression tool mentioned can be found here.
Thanks to everyone who contributed their time and knowledge - Anjali, Laura, Divya, Dionne, Todd, Roland, Roberto, James and Kathi, plus Elizabeth, Ken and Tracey for hosting with such grace.
Writing from Cairo | | Comments (0) | Permalink
Embedding Metadata
How to synchronise questionnaire data and photos when you're conducting street surveys? Number and then take a photo of the questionnaire prior to taking the photo of the respondent/subject. Similar practices are used by the trends spotters in Omotesando - see Pingmag article (photo of the gentleman holding the number about half way down the page).
Writing from Cairo | | Comments (0) | Permalink
Local Heroes I
Face masks for sale. Where are the local heroes? Are these the local heroes?
Writing from Cairo | October 15, 2006 | Comments (0) | Permalink
It Looks Like This
This is what a phone looks like in Egypt. If you think it's otherwise you're mistaken.
Writing from Cairo | | Comments (0) | Permalink
Local Norms
Mail box: colour, logo, size of slot size, structure, information support, positioning.
Writing from Cairo | | Comments (0) | Permalink
Street Norms
Writing from Cairo | | Permalink
Hassan Does
Writing from Cairo | | Comments (0) | Permalink
Bits, that
Writing from Cairo | October 14, 2006 | Comments (0) | Permalink
Sounds of the City
Last night's taxi driver takes an interest in my 'pod and we end up nudging up to one another on his front seat, each taking one ear bud. He’s in his 50's, a long graying beard and full length galabeyah so it's not as romantic as you might think. His enjoyment of teenage riot is probably tempered by the fact that Cairo's roads are a constant cacophony of noise, but starts to wiggle his butt and wave his cigarette in appreciation of Punjabi MC/Ghalla Gurian. Strangers linked by sound, a cable and the cost of a fare.
Does the share-music-with-strangers scene like this be more or less likely with ubitquitous wireless music players and earphones? The more techno-utopian amongst you might assume that the wireless equivalent would involve me simply beaming my music to his phones, or car radio. But the reality is that there's money to be made from incompatitible standards, and ultimately I doubt my stuff would play on his 'phones. And what of would-be-lovers (but not us, here in this cab, now) using the minimal length of the cable as an excuse to enter and then remain in each others personal space? Is sharing music in this context about the sharing, or about the music?
Writing from Cairo | | Comments (0) | Permalink
Value Added Services
Ringtone, wallpaper, application and anti-virus services of Cairo's thriving mobile phone market in Abdul Aziz Street. Most of the people in this photo are either buying or selling a mobile phone, or phone related services.
Popularity of file transfers mechanisms: copying to memory card, Bluetooth and in last place infra red.
Writing from Cairo | | Permalink
Pixel Script
Celebrating this.
Writing from Cairo | | Comments (0) | Permalink
My Friday is Your Saturday
A weekend that starts Thursday night, ends Saturday night. Taking advantage of the lull in traffic from iftar. Taxi driver's taking advantage of the lull in competition to nudge up the going rate.
Writing from Cairo | October 13, 2006 | Comments (0) | Permalink
Contextual Markers
Projection of space beyond the curb.
Writing from Cairo | | Comments (0) | Permalink
The Perfect Bad Hotel
Given the splendor of our apartment it might surprise you that last night I checked into a suite of the delightfully named New Riche Hotel - situated in one of Cairo's more down-market districts. Oh the glamour - the hotel does have a faded splendor but those times are well gone. For 20 dollars it seems churlish to expect to find linen on any of the four beds, or working lights in one of the rooms. The reason why I'm spending the night here is simply that it is in a prime location for researching what is out there, the teeming throng that is Cairo's largest used mobile phone market. A moment of calm on the balcony observing interactions on the street before six+ hours in the throng documenting and trying out the unique flavour of Egyptian mobile phone services. By midnight I lie exhausted in bed and sleep soon follows.
At 3am or so the door to my room opens and totally oblivious to my presence a group of 5 men walk in and spend a couple of minutes in what I assume in my beta-state is a lively discussion on how to fix the room's electrics. Yes, I know it makes perfect sense. And I know I'm here to appreciate local norms but this is going too far and I get up. The sight of me standing naked, save for a strategically placed shirt and a grim look on my face is enough to clear the room. As I doze off it occurs to me that the room may have been unofficially double booked - possibly the night staff selling access to a room they thought was empty. That will explain the women in the hallway trying to peer in the room then.
The next morning as I check out the manager asks me innocently why I'm leaving. It's the perfect bad hotel, and I actually want to stay, but our efforts are focussed elsewhere.
Writing from Cairo | October 12, 2006 | Permalink
Complimentary Directions
Speed signs in Arabic and Roman. Both norms - left to right and right to left comfortably accommodated in the same information layout.
Writing from Cairo | | Comments (0) | Permalink
The Perfect Hotel Office
Our Cairo home office for the next two weeks is located in Zamalek - an island nestled on either side by the Nile. It's very much the home of old Egyptian money but in a culture this old its new-old rather than old-old. We've managed to secure a ground floor apartment for the duration of our stay - it's spacious, worn and the furniture is a cross between evolved-rental and 70's Arabic kitsch. Given that we need somewhere sufficiently clean, secure and not too comfortable it serves us well. Not too comfortable? Getting out there is psychologically harder when it is too much fun in here, so yeah, in the big scheme of things not too comfortable works just fine.
By the time of my arrival here the space is already looking like an office - a map of Cairo stretches across one wall, folders full of forms that will be filled in by the time we leave, day schedules to capture what the team has been up to and a stream of cables charging our laptops and cameras. A glass table serves well as a vertical white board and lists appear on the walls indicating what kind of ad-hoc data gathering has the most potential. A printer is soon up and running to print our newly translated Arabic versions of forms, and will later be pressed into service to print out a selection of photos that will form part of the thank-for-taking-part-in-the-study feedback to the study participants.
With all the travel and non-stop meetings of the last few weeks it has taken a while to catch up on sleep and sync with the local time zone. Except that during Ramadan the part of the day that is condusive to conducting in-depth research really starts after iftar - the breaking of the fast - so adjusting to the local time zone is not enough, we need to adjust to the rhythm of the city, meaning starting late and working to the early hours.
Writing from Cairo | | Permalink
Literacy, Communication & Design, Cairo
Sunday's presentation on Literacy, Communication & Design at the American University of Cairo can be downloaded from here [6MB] - it's essentially the same presentation as last month in Helsinki. Thanks to Martina Rieker of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences for hosting.
Egypt has 14 million illiterates, 10 million of whom are women. Hmm, how might higher and equal levels of literacy affect gender roles in society?
What if anything does this have to do with an empty Iraqi Air office in downtown?
Writing from Cairo | October 10, 2006 | Permalink
Adaptive
Writing from Cairo | October 6, 2006 | Permalink
Norms
Writing from Cairo | | Permalink
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