Blackberries, Technology definitions, and repeating themes

9.2.10

“We bestow a meaning on technology and we use it based on that meaning”


I wrote this in my notes in class on Tuesday as an idea to elaborate on.


I’ve been looking over the list of countries considering the ban on Blackberries reported today in the Associated Press as reported by ABC News (http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=11546021) According to AP, India and Indonesia will consider continuing allowing the services if the company, Research in Motion, Ltd, (RIM) puts its servers in the countries where the services are provided. This way the government will be able to access the data from within its borders (and not be routed through Canada, where RIM is headquartered).


It is not a new idea. Governments (nation-states) want to have access to the thoughts and ideas that its citizens are communicating to each other. They want to make sure that they maintain control of the population. (“Black Cabinet” on into the Patriot Act)


When the first Patriot Act was passed in October 2001, citizens in the US gave up privacy in communications both electronic and phone. Does this change how we define those technologies? Do we use them differently now?


So how does this relate to my original quote from class?


What meaning have we bestowed on our smart phones? When messages are encrypted, as they are on Blackberries, do we really believe that the data doesn’t exist somewhere else? Do we think they are a place where we can enter private data and send secret messages, like a journal tucked into a mattress? Are they a safe space?



Different sectors of society may bestow different versions of meaning on these technologies and chose to use, or not use them accordingly. For a government wanting to monitor its population, smart phones may mean a window into activities, a perfect monitoring device. For a businessperson, they mean mobility and increased revenue possibility through faster transactions. For a young urban professional, they may mean being tech-savvy and hip to the delights of tweats.


Or, maybe we all bestow similar meaning on the increased possibilities of contact and simply make different choices about how to utilize the technologies in our own lives according to our concepts of privacy.


The history of how communication technologies have developed and how people have viewed the developments has themes that repeat. Some of these issues are related to privacy and government control, as well as regulation agreements.


Back to the Blackberry dilemma. To keep its 1 million customers in India and tap into the millions of potential users, I am sure RIM will oblige.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/08/31/india.blackberry.ban/


The affects of this decision may have consequences for Google and other information companies’ choices about how to route communications and data. To be discussed next time....