ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book probes how people use mobile multimedia as a part of their daily lives to organize their interaction with other people. It builds on research in which either a large number of people have been studied, or in which small groups have been followed for a long time. It focuses much on human-device interaction, and less on people. The book outlines the theoretical perspective that has guided empirical work, arguing that we need an ethnomethodological perspective when doing empirical analysis. It focuses on how people use the audiocapture function built into multimedia phones. It introduces the notions of "foreground" and "ambient" sound, and then analyzes how these function in messages. It discusses the pros and cons of the culturalist and the creative arguments, and evaluates them from an action-focused standpoint. Finally it describes the data and methods, evaluating their strengths and weaknesses.
