ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on what mobile multimedia technology does in the monadic clusters by updating social information among friends and acquaintances. It analyzes some ways in which mobile multimedia functions in small groups of people by adding social knowledge. The chapter demonstrates that with mobile multimedia, people almost unwittingly construe, share, and maintain social maps of friends and acquaintances. It shows how messages update social information among friends and acquaintances. Identifications, the second person-oriented main practice in mobile multimedia, are recipient-initiated. There are two main types of identification messages: "Introductions" are initiated by a sender; "Identifications" start when a recipient asks about persons unknown to him or her. Mobile multimedia updates and deepens social knowledge between close friends for a simple reason. Senders' introductions and recipients' identification requests both lead to an increase in social knowledge, and a better mutual understanding of multimedia partners' social circles.
