1. value construction
with mobiles
John Zimmerman
HCI Institute and the School of Design
Carnegie Mellon University
Mobile Future | Stockholm | 11.11.2010

2. John ZIMMERMAN value construction with mobiles 2
electronics are worth less
image source: http://www.carsboss.com/wp-
content/uploads/2009/11/bmw-m6-convertible-
nm-edition.jpg
image source:
http://images.pricerunner.com/product/image/1
63917735/HTC-HD7.jpg
image source:
http://www.47degrees.com/portals/0/ProductI
mages/Zoom/020101110005_026_Z.jpg

3. John ZIMMERMAN value construction with mobiles 3
Bernays and book shelves
image source: http://www.sra-
researchgroup.com/nl/index.htm
image source: http://www.ezarchitecture.com/blog/episode-15-of-ezarch-
podcast-dream-closet-project-closet-library/

4. John ZIMMERMAN value construction with mobiles 4
parents and bedtime
Image source: http://www.puzzleheaven.co.uk/636piece_cart_page1/G381%20Bedtime%20Story.jpg

5. John ZIMMERMAN value construction with mobiles 5
can we love digital things?
image source:
http://my.hsj.org/Schools/Newspaper/tabid
/100/view/frontpage/schoolid/3397/articlei
d/357651/newspaperid/3528/For_the_iPad
_and_KindleTextbook_and_Paper.aspx

6. John ZIMMERMAN value construction with mobiles 6
material possession attachment
people are what they possess
James (1890): The Principles of Psychology
people select their “props” to support self presentation
Goffman (1951): The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life
people invest psychic energy into their things through
meaning making; where products are used to create and to
meet life goals…
Csikszentmihalyi & Rochberg-Halton (1981): The Meaning of Things
evocative objects depend “… not on the object’s
instrumental power … but on the object as a companion in
life experience.”
Turkle (2007): Evocative Objects
image source:
http://www.meridianmagazine.c
om/arts/images/0613motherand
child.jpg

7. John ZIMMERMAN value construction with mobiles 7
social identity perspective
on consumption

8. John ZIMMERMAN value construction with mobiles 8
designing for the self
philosophical design stance:
apply material possession attachment
theory when designing
role enhancement: help people become the
person they desire to be in a certain role
role transition: support discovery and
invention of self in a new role

9. example 1
mobile as sensor

10. John ZIMMERMAN value construction with mobiles 10
dual-income families
large and growing population
sensitized to feel like bad parents
aggressive adopters and experimental users
of tech [Frissen, Darrah]
complex logistics … rely on routines and
then stressed when they must deviate
[Beech, Darrah, Frissen …]
image source:
http://assets.nydailynews.com/i
mg/2009/12/09/alg_stroller_te
xthook.jpg

11. John ZIMMERMAN value construction with mobiles 11
product/service opportunity

12. John ZIMMERMAN value construction with mobiles 12
the routine is to deviate

13. John ZIMMERMAN value construction with mobiles 13
data collection findings
family calendar’s hold deviations, not
routines
breakdowns in
 planning new deviations
 improvisation
 executing deviations
parents forget to pickup their childrenimage source:
http://blogs.sitepoint.com/wp-
content/uploads/2009/08/to-
do-list.jpg

14. John ZIMMERMAN value construction with mobiles 14
using GPS enabled phones we
learning routines (time/place)
where/when activities take place
when traveling between
places/events
responsibility pick-ups and
drop-offs
when a child is forgotten

15. John ZIMMERMAN value construction with mobiles 15
family time-flow

16. example 2
mobile and public
service

17. John ZIMMERMAN value construction with mobiles 17
TIRAMISU:
citizens improving transit service
can citizens feel ownership of their public services
…like they feel ownership of their sports teams?
bus riders want to know when bus will arrive
 Pittsburgh has no AVL—real-time information
 commercial system costs 50 million Euros
 many riders carry GPS enabled phones
frame city-service as a material possession
of citizens
image source:
http://img152.imageshack.us/i/
nyheter12s12tjej483438rb8.jpg/

18. John ZIMMERMAN value construction with mobiles 18
citizen service through
crowd-sourcing
share GPS traces to crowd-
source arrival times
engage in dialog on service
offerings while using service
leverage infrastructure and
competence of citizens
allowing citizens to
co-produce the services they
deserve

19. virtual possessions
mobile as treasure chest

20. John ZIMMERMAN value construction with mobiles 20
virtual possessions
people value material things
more and more virtual possessions
 things losing material form: photos, books,
music
 never material: email/sms logs, social network
profiles, GPS traces
investigating how teens construct value with
material and virtual things
image source:
http://www.ohdeedoh.com/uimages/o
hdeedoh/102809-teenbedroom.jpg

21. John ZIMMERMAN value construction with mobiles 21
preliminary findings
virtualize material things
materialize virtual things
value in metadata
value in placelessness
desire to breakdown distinction between
physical and digital worlds
image source:
http://media.lehighvalleylive.com/toda
y_impact/photo/teens-cell-phone-
ca7d3773820439fb_large.jpg

22. John ZIMMERMAN value construction with mobiles 22
early explorations
design opportunities

23. reflection

24. John ZIMMERMAN value construction with mobiles 24
finding new value in mobiles
build rich archives of personal data by
sensing the world … new luxury
create opportunities to make services that
improve the local community
provide placeless access to people’s things
support personal and collaborative
meaning makingimage source:
http://www.greekshares.com/up
loads/image/future_value_annu
ity_17.jpg

25. value construction
with mobiles
John Zimmerman
HCI Institute and the School of Design
Carnegie Mellon University
Mobile Future | Stockholm | 11.11.2010