Results matching “street hacks”
CES Notes
Jan 09, 2010
Enjoyed a walk-on part in a Sin City morality play today - delivering a short segment in the guvnor's CES keynote. There's only so much you can or want to cover in such as short time but given follow up new readers might like the following links:
- an example of the research, exploring mobile transactions here
- life on the road looks something like this
- the street hacks thread covers grassroots innovation
- see only photos from Afghanistan, Mongolia, India or China
- a short essay on 'fakes' in China here
And/or follow @janchip.
The dual-sim, and chinese gent spooning rice photos in the presentation were taken by Younghee Jung. Photo above: the CES Hilton Theatre in a quieter moment.
Location:United States » Las Vegas
Specialised Vocabulary
Dec 21, 2009
China » Xi'an
The Rise of the Super Fakes
Sep 02, 2009
What happens when a large % of your target market wants your brand cachet but is happy with a decent-enough quality fake? An essay on the current state of the fake mobile phone market in China, and what the shift to services means for the manufacturers of fake products here.
Location:China » Xi'an
Real + Fake Market Mindshare
Sep 02, 2009
There are many ways for companies to measure their performance from market share to profit share, brand preference to whether consumers recommend the brand to their peers. Recognising that market share is only one metric (and certainly not the most important one in most instances) it would be interesting to measure market mindshare based on real + fake products shipped. Based on snapshot understanding of official and grey market mobile phone market, watching what people are carrying, and interactions with a few hundred people over the past few weeks a *very rough* estimate I'd give Nokia an +10% of the Chinese market, Apple +0.25%, Motorola +0.1%. Expect the volume and quality of Apple fakes to increase as their official brethren advertising spend kicks in - to the point where they have to contend with a decent enough superfake of their own.
Photo: our Lhasa guide owned not one, but two fakes - a 'Nokia 5800' and an 'iPhone'.
Location:China
Business Models Undermined
Aug 30, 2009
Photo studio in Dali (just outside Xi'an, China) using external refillable ink cartridges. Create enough friction and people will find a way.
China » Dali
Printer Hacks
Jul 21, 2009
An afternoon spent on the back of a motorbike ducking between ad-hoc interviews in the largely immigrant areas of Pudong - took shelter from the intense ~38 degree heat and ducked into a neighbourhood photo studio. The printer hack: external reservoirs attached by tubes to original-but-drilled ink cartridges - on this trip - we've have seen more hacked printer-cartridges than the real deal.
Whilst this kind of hack is generally restricted to cultures where consumers care enough about costs to want to keep seek out an alternative solution and are smart enough to do something about it, in what ways can the Canons and Epsons of the world keep evolving their restricted-use business model?
When will we see printers that analyse ink signatures? What if they gave the ink away for free - and automatically debited accounts per page printed? Or a business model the lifetime's use of what is printed is measured and charged accordingly? That cover sheet that went straight in the bin? That cost you 1 Euro. The memo that went from hand to hand to hand? That one's for free.
China » Shanghai » Pudong
Practices Around Privacy
Jun 25, 2009
In the past few years our research into how people communicate, how they capture and share experiences has repeatedly touched on issues around privacy, security and trust. Anyone and everyone researching and designing for a networked world knows how important an issue this is and most system designers struggle to find the right balance between ensuring the user (or if user is passive - constituent) is sufficiently aware of what is going on without overloading them with to much information.
We've come across this issue in field studies to probe technology adoption in countries such as Brazil, India, USA and, yes Iran. When the research has been difficult to justify internally I've initiated and funded exploration into Tibet, Mongolia, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan to name a few destinations. The research has covered participants right across the social and income spectrum including communities that don't, or until recently didn't appear on any map - places at the edge of the grid, be they unpaved, un-sewered, un-electrified or un-networked. The level of ingenuity we've encountered in these places have often surprised us and the stories that we heard from 'everyday' people often left us humbled.
Finding the right balance between working for and being rewarded by a large corporation and respectfully engaging / disengaging with people and communities is a challenging one - whether it's because of the inherent power imbalance, practical time constraints of working at a corporate pace, privacy issues, informed data consent, acknowledging people's intellectual property or because we need to understand behaviours that are on the edges of legality - be they 'online piracy', street hacks, or fakes. Doing the right thing by our study participants is something we take seriously and requires an even more nuanced understanding as things become increasingly connected. (If you work in this space and this isn't a challenge then you're either short changing your clients or you're short changing the study participants).
Over the years I've documented and shared a lot of what we've learned on Future Perfect, through a steady stream of presentations and an ongoing dialog with various communities. This site is written on my own time and paid for by my own dime - but credit also goes to my employer for providing a relatively free reign in putting the research out there.
Earlier this week this article on network monitoring in Iran appeared in the Wall Street Journal, and given the current election related interest in that country it is no surprise the article has been widely disseminated. Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) was mentioned in the article and their official response is posted here. It's worth noting that NSN providse a forum for comments from a range of perspectives (with the practical constraint of them needing to be written in English).
The passion with which English speaking world is engaging with the #iranelection is encouraging - and puts many of the critical comments on the NSN blog into perspective. It's obvious that tools like Twitter have enabled people to feel directly and personally connected to events on the ground in Iran, although it's worth noting they are largely connecting with people posting in English.
Having followed some of the recent debate around technology use you might be interested in these 10 relatively modest insights drawn from studies of mainstream users around the world:
- People who don't trust their government (whether they live in the UK, the US or Iran) tend to not to have much trust in the networks that carry their communication. But just because they don't trust it doesn't mean they don't use it - in particular the ease of connecting to the people that matter often trumps the risk of perceived breaches to their privacy, security.
- Even if people are able to rationalise why they shouldn't use the network e.g. the risk of being arrested, events can take over. They may feel that as part of a large crowd they won't stand out; they may be caught up in the heat of the moment and turn to the tools they know; or simply at that moment in time the network is the least worst option.
- People have very fuzzy mental models of how the network functions - for example not understanding where data is stored, or the implications of different types of storage. It doesn't take much imagination to understand the implications of using online backup services like MobileMe or Ovi Share in situations where, rightly or wrongly, people percieve the network to be compromised.
- Mobile phone's don't need the network to be useful: they often include cameras and video cameras, in many urban centers adult penetration is ~100%, they are carried everywhere putting them in a prime position to capture and later share experiences - the Neda video is a good example.
- In some countries side loading media is common - be it via cable, memory card, or Bluetooth. The practice of BluetoothMe - flirting and sharing files via Bluetooth is reasonably common amongst the youth in the Middle East and to some extent Iran with sensitive material being transferred from phone to phone in this way. It's not particularly practical except in contexts where people know each other and where people and devices are likely to remain in range with one another - the lecture theatre, the bus, the subway. Keep an eye on what's happening with micro-USB for data transfer going forward.
- For all the discussion around sophisticated network tracking - interception often boils down to the man with the uniform and the truncheon checking your camera, your phone's inbox, your call log. Those photos of your mate throwing a gas canister? It puts you in a time and place.
- The more there is at stake the more people will strive to understand the trade-offs in connecting to the system or network. And vice versa - if you've grown up around a good network access and, say location positioning then that's just how life is - there is less reason to question. Ditto censorship.
- Increasingly the choice of whether to adopt, or opt-in to a technology is one of whether to opt-out of society.
- People tend to adopt strategies to separate very private communication from the merely private, but in a world of cookies and call logs it's increasingly difficult to keep the two apart. If you have the time take a peek at the features that support very private communication (typically extra-marital affairs) on some Japanese mobile phones.
- In any country where tracking is considered widespread - be careful about gifts from strangers. You never know where that mobile phone or SIM card has been and whether it makes you a target.
Read this, go here. Then spend time with Ethan Zuckerman and Hamid Tehrani at Global Voices.
Photos? More peaceful times in Tehran.
Location:Afghanistan » Kabul
United States » Los Angeles
Iran » Tehran
CHI Links
Apr 08, 2009
Pointers to some of the research referenced in today's Computer Human Interaction conference talk: setting up temporary design studios in shanty towns paper (10MB) slides (6MB); and video of my colleague Younghee Jung; research into illiteracy essay, slides (6MB), video; mobile phone street hacks; and related material.
The today's office thread cover's life on the road.
Thanks to all concerned for making it happen.
Location:United States » Boston
Mobile Innovation & Street Hacks @ MIT
Apr 01, 2009
A heads up for Boston based readers - I'll be giving a talk on Grassroots Innovation and Mobile Street Hacks, kindly hosted by Eric von Hippel of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Group at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Please contact Eric if you wish to attend. UPDATE: Fully booked, sorry.
Where: MIT campus
When: 6th April, 09:30 to 11:00.
Related Nokia research here, the street hacks thread here, and Eric's most recent publication on Democratising Innovation can be found here.
Photo? That be a prayer drum machine in Ahmedabad, with the gent stretching the drum skin below. The collision of faith and technology, eh.
Location:United States » Boston
iTune Hacks+
Mar 13, 2009
Take time out for 3 things today:
The one-phone-number-for-life aspect of Grand Central / Google Voice is decent enough - but the real, everyday impact of this announcement is the integration between what is spoken and other data streams. This (and other companies that offer similar service e.g. Yac) will subtly, yet significantly change the balance of what carry, use, and how we interact.
What happens when a village is provided with a digital platform such as Google Noticeboard? Variations of this have been out there for a while, but nice to see the big G push it out the door. Worth seeing how this evolves, and how long they have for it to gain traction.
And finally, this missive on iTunes hacks is worth a read. Are content owner's punting goods through the iTunes store paid for for content that was paid for fraudulently? In what scenarios is it beneficial for Apple to allow fraudulent 'purchases' of it's content?
The tip jar runneth over this morning
Location:United States » Santa Monica
Linx
Oct 16, 2008
A couple of links from today's TAIK presentation: the Remade material along with a list of designers who worked on the concept can be found here; photos of the concept appear in this street hacks presentation. We plan to share a bunch of material on Nokia Open Studios in the coming month.
Thanks Teemu Leinonen and Andrea Botero Cabrera for hosting and, heck, it ain't worth it if there's no debate.
Location:Finland » Espoo
The Power of Remote / Field Hacks
Sep 25, 2008
How many remote controls are in your home? In my sparse Tokyo rabbit hutch I count 6: one for the air-conditioner; the fan; home music network; a couple for the computer, and this being Japan the bath. You probably have many more. The very fact that they take effort to maintain (misplaced, damaged, dead batteries) is a testament to their value - and if you'll forgive the hyperbolic cut-to-the-chase - they allow you transcend space - reach across the room in a way that allows you to stay comfortably in the sofa, in your zone. They are convenience defined.
So imagine having a life where the distance between you and the thing you need to interact with is that much further - how much time and effort might some form of remote control save? Say, if you were a farmer, in India.
A video on a field hack that allows farmers to remotely control water pumps is here and there's a write-up on the commercial version, the so-called Nano Ganesh here. The impact of this, particularly when combined with cheap and reliable services like Village Connection should not be underestimated.
Related: using cell phone jammers to foil remote controlled IEDs in Afghanistan and related street hacks research.
Location:India » Ahmedabad
Japan » Tokyo
The Ideal State of An Object
Sep 11, 2008
The stuff you do to retain the ideal state of an object - that sweet spot of use.
And the motivations for keeping an object in that state? For example the photos show mobile phone polishing services in Kabul's thriving Titanic mobile phone market: newness and implications of wealth (being able to afford the latest); retaining resale value or preparing object for resale; removing scratches that (potentially) make the screen easier to read; implications around modernity; a psychological sense of wholeness, completion(?), cleanliness.
Lay every factor on a scale and figure out the opposite - for example allowing a device to become scratched up and unusable showing that you can afford a new one are wealthy enough not to have to care.
How the motivations differ for every person, culture and context. The ability of an object or service to actively maintain or suggest (to the user, to others) that ideal state. And as in Kabul - the services that support this.
Kissing cousins: TV display buffing services in Ho Chi Minh City.
Afghanistan » Kabul
Japan » Tokyo
Bending Light / Lens Hacks
Aug 18, 2008
Telephoto mobile phone lens hack by UK artist Kerrin Mansfield with more the photographic results here.
United Kingdom » Newcastle upon Tyne
Tree Hacks II
Jul 17, 2008
Like a self-indulgent DJ playing the same record over and over, and over - more photos of a Handan cable router/tree hacks street.
China
China » Handan
Natural Router / Tree Hacks
Jul 15, 2008
Trees hacked to optimise the shade for pedestrians and vehicles - creates a natural space for routing phones lines and electricity cables.
China
China » Handan
Collective Tsk
Jul 09, 2008
Regular readers with an interest in mobile phone street hacks and recycling are pointed to this survey (commissioned by my employer, take that as you will) that highlights the extremely low levels of phone recycling.
A couple of notes before I head out into the Beijing pre-Olympic smog mist: whilst a fair number of people say they aren't aware that mobile phones can be recycled - many of them end up in 'the back of the drawer' because they have sufficient perceived monetary and personal value to be retained - think of all that personal communication and associated memories enshrined in that little lump of plastic and mental, and there's probably also a financial incentive that forms part of that make-a-decision-of-what-to-do-with-it-moment. If it could be useful in the future, why get rid of it right? But very few actually end up in landfill, a common misconception. How does the perception of value of the object change as more applications and services shift to the cloud?
Any industry that mass produces (electronics) devices in such high volumes (a rough estimate 1,200,000,000 devices to be sold in 2008) needs to be able to offer consumers alternatives that are an active part of a sustainable solution - whether its how devices are manufacturered and powered, Remade, business models, broad shifts towards cradle to cradle thinking, a greater awareness of what happens to stuff generally, or regulation. For all the temptation there is to wag a knowing finger at manufacturers - recycling doesn't happen without you and is ultimately reflected by the purchasing decisions you make.
Photo? Usual first night out in Beijing yoof lariness.
Location:China » Beijing
China
The Warm Feeling of (Someone Else's) Design in Context
Jun 10, 2008
Last day in Ahmedabad - and an opportunity to push a little and see what gives, heading out into the Old City with design team colleagues Duncan Burns (co-author on the recent Street Hacks presentation) and Josephine Gianni. (A fourth team member from our LA design studio Tom Arbisi is here in spirit in the form of appearance models, we left them safely secured at the hotel). India is the kind of place where the 'not from around here' is a passport into most situations, including any number of work or boy-its-hot-here sweat, shops. Along the way we walk into a plastic bag print works.
A pleasant surprise was in store - the owner owned two mobile phones including one industrial designed by Duncan .
When you work for a big-corp it's challenging to point to a "I did that' on what is shipped out the door - so many people being part of the process. I can imagine it's especially grating for employees of companies that play on the cult of personality or project the notion of the star designer in that even if you can point to something you created, someone else steps in and takes the credit. But back here in the midday heat of Ahmedabad - I'm standing next to a glow of quiet satisfaction.
To be honest it was surprising to find such a business looking phone in this very manual workspace. I don't know whether his profile matched the market segmentation model for an expected consumer, but I doubt it. Whilst the six degree of separation and its shorter variants have been well documented for human relationships there will be a day when the nth degrees of separation are measurable for a wider range of objects. The implications are significant: for some it will place an increased value on the notion of the 'new'; others will want to play up the reused or upcycled ; there will be a shift from our current idea of what constitutes 'ownership'. Bear in mind the backdrop to this is the gradual shift from selling a product to selling a product + service + service upgrades. Newness redefined.
Ten+ days on the road. It's time to head home.
Location:India » Ahmedabad
India
Info! Pick! Up!
Apr 26, 2008
QR bar codes positioned at the exit of Omotesando station - point your mobile phone camera at the code and be redirected to a mobile website listing the surrounding area. You'd probably think twice about calling a phone number placed in the same spot and advertising the same service - so ultimately how does the expectation of what happens next differ depending on the medium through which additional information is requested?
As to whether this is truly destined for mainstream adoption? Keep eyes peeled for street hacks.
Related: out of date annotation in Helsinki, the freshness of sex service advertising in London.
Location:Japan
Japan » Tokyo » Mishuku
Japan » Tokyo
Tools for Mobile Activists
Apr 15, 2008The presentation-lite slides from last week's Global Philanthropy Forum panel on Early Warning: Listening, Technology, Activism can be downloaded from here (PowerPoint, 2MB).
To recap the framing discussion: that for many the mobile phone is their primary video/photo/audio capturing and sharing device and as such their skills surpass what you might expect. The photo below from the streets of Cairo shows a screen shot from a mobile phone movie that re-created scenes from the Godfather shot and edited entirely on the mobile phone (the gent in the photo isn't an activist just someone whose mobile phone editing skills are highly evolved, and yeah the pixelation is just to maintain a degree privacy); that a person's understanding of what happens when they use mobile technology can be significantly out of sync with what actually happens - something that system designers sometimes refer to as the user's mental model. It doesn't necessarily matter that the mental model differs from how it actually works - but it can quickly become an issue if that person is trying to try out new features, recover from an error or say, wants to stay one step ahead of the authorities. Examples from both ends of the spectrum of understanding: Ken Banks talking about activists in Pakistan using Frontline SMS whilst riding around the city in a truck to reduce the risk of detection by base-station triangulation, to an interviewee in Tehran (but could equally be an example from my/your country) assuming that a voice mail message stored on the phone's memory was out of reach of prying government ears - never mind that the message originally passed over the network which may be monitored. The spread of tools that can capture experiences means that more people are in a position to document and publish (human rights) abuses - including many ad-hoc activists who wont be aware that of the relative ease of tracing communication - and this in a world before the widespread adoption of geo-tagged photos.
But why use a photo of a street signs in Tehran as an example of mental models? Explanation here.
The three things on the device that will impact the spread of activist material in emerging markets and beyond: lower device cost's are broadening the base of who can afford a feature rich mobile phone - putting more people in a position to capture and communicate what they see and hear; memory prices are rapidly dropping and sufficiently-large-for-storing-media memory capacity will filter down into the lowest cost handsets increasing the range of what is stored and the ability to communicate via the sneaker net - photos and video passed from hand to hand, rather than say sent over the network; and mobile phones equipped with TV Out e.g. N82 will leverage existing big-screen infrastructure and practices. I'm less sure of this last one - but included because most people aren't aware of the feature.
After the session Gigi Brisson asked a smart question about the likely strategies for staying one step ahead of whomever is trying to snoop - the simplest is single or limited use communication tools e.g. using one SIM/phone used for a single conversation before disposing of it. Whether this is affective assumes other factors such as buying from different sources, varying the location from which the communication is carried out, encrypting what is communicated and so on and on. Even though countries like Japan or India are supposed to register pre-paid SIM card consumers at point of purchase there are enough lost, stolen or hacked SIM cards/phones to create a steady supply. NGO's looking for a comprehensive solution should start with Benetech and in particular Martus - with thanks James Fruchterman for the pointer.
Back to the panel - ta to Mitul Shah for hosting, and Mark Smolinski, Erik Hersman and of course the attendees for making it the first panel I've actually enjoyed. Photos in the slides from Accra, Ayni, Cairo, Delhi, Seoul and Tehran.
Location:Japan
Japan » Tokyo