Mobile Strategy and Psychology (Assignment B) #EXSM5513

I use my mobile a lot during the day for personal usage. According to my records I used my mobile device in one way or another at least once or twice an hour from 6:00am to 10:00pm on the day of the mobile monitoring experiment. It has become second nature for me to use my mobile devices instead of a wristwatch, a calendar, a camera, a diary, a map, a mailed letter, a newspaper and so on, in both my personal and work life. The below is an account of how, when and why I used my mobile device on the day I was monitoring and tracking my usage.

•  Time: On the day of the mobile usage experiment I used my mobile device (iphone) for telling time throughout the day and as an alarm clock to wake me up in the morning. Can't be late for my Online and Mobile Marketing and Commerce course at the U of A Faculty of Extension! For three years I did not have a wristwatch as I relied on my iphone to tell time and to look at what date/day it is. Even now that I have a wind-up watch, and only because one was gifted to me, I still reach for my iphone first to check the time. In winter time I like not having to try and roll-up the multiple layers of selves (coats, jackets, long sleeved tops) to look at my wristwatch! It is so much easier to click my iphone and VOILA I know the time!

• Reading and catching up: I am quite a social creature, particularly with my friends and family. On the day I was monitoring and tracking my mobile I checked my Facebook, Twitter and texts throughout the day to read newly posted/tweeted/texted messages from friends and family, and posted/tweeted/texted my own posts and/or images. I checked my mobile device for these actions at least once every two hours throughout the day! I replied to emails and text messages, and created new texts and emails, the latter via my Gmail app. I no longer have to go to my computer room in my basement at home in the morning to check my emails or social networking sites, or have to sit on the bus not being able to access my emails or social networking sites until I get to work or home, as I can access them on my phone. I like having the choice to check my emails and social networking sites when, where and how I want to. I find it useful to receive e-alerts and notifications as I tend to be absent minded, and use the iphone Calendar app plus the Gmail app calendar to input meetings, classes and social appointments so that I don't forget. I tend to check my mobile calendars each morning, as sometimes I miss the alerts that I receive on my phone. Again this has taken the place of a physical calendar that I used to carry around with me with all my meetings and events listed. (PS: Don't be ashamed of toilet texting, more people do it than you realise.! This Slate blog article opens up the murky world of toilet texting.)

• Navigation: I used my Google Maps app to plan my travel via public transportation to and from the Faculty of Extension. I find this very useful as it takes the fear out of missing a bus or train, and that I can reach my destination. I used to always carry a paper map but no longer have need for this. I love being able to use the Google Maps app to guide me as I walk to a destination that I have never been to before, with the dot following along in real time on a map so I know where I am and where I am heading to. It is reassuring as a woman alone in a new area of the city or a new city or country to know that I can navigate the terrain with confidence and all with the click on an app on my iphone.

• Connecting with friends and family (both near and far)
  At the end of the mobile monitoring day I managed to Skype  (using the Skype app on my iPhone) with a friend in Australia even though I was not in my house (thus not near my desktop computer). My mobile device has increased the sense of connection that I feel with friends and family who live far away.
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Researching (jobs): I checked for jobs on various job sites at least three times on the day of the mobile usage experiment. I am not working at the moment and so I tend I to use my mobile device on a daily basis to check for job openings in my sector of communications/media relations/social media . I can see immediately what jobs are available as they are updated hourly, daily and weekly, and I can check them no matter where I am. This replaces searching the newspaper for jobs. 

Taking images and posting them to social networking sites 
I had put up our Christmas tree and decorated it the night before my monitoring and tracking of my mobile usage - Martha Stewart eat your heart out - and the next morning I wanted to share it with friends and family far-away and so posted it to my Facebook. I am an avid photographer and mobile devices are growing in leaps and bounds in the realm of photographic quality and potential. I tend to find that I do not carry my camera with me as much as I used to and just use my phone. As I am planning a wedding next year I can find myself easily getting immersed in Pinterest on an almost daily basis, checking out what wedding colour schemes might look good together, what bridesmaid dresses my maid of honour (who lives in Greece, might like, flower arrangements and so much more (that until know I had been very happily unaware of in relation to the wedding industry)! On the day of my mobile monitoring and tracking I checked Pinterest at least four times on my mobile device, looking at wedding related images and sending images and links to my maid of honour.

Checking my bank account - On the day I was tracking my mobile usage, I accessed my bank account once, via my BMO app on my mobile device, as I had a bill to pay. Being able to access my bank account via mobile device and e-banking is co convenient. I no longer have to take time out of my busy life to visit a bank, which is only open on certain days and at certain times. I no longer have to take a bus or lrt to the bank as my bank account are now accessible 24/7 via my mobile device.

Music: As I got ready in the morning, and when I was getting ready for bed, I brought my mobile device into my bathroom and I listened to music via the Spotify app. This has replaced my radio that I used to own and keep beside my bed. I enjoy being able to be my own dj, choosing the tracks that I want to listen to and in what order. The Tech Blog (Future Shop) describes Spotify as being "among the best" of the music streaming entities that are available out there.

I think tracking my use for one day gave a pretty accurate reflection of my current use of my mobile. Though believe it or not I do use it less now than I would if I was working in my sector of communications and media relations. When I was working as the communications coordinator at the U of A Faculty of Law I would check my mobile often for work emails on my way to and from work, post tweets related to the Faculty of Law, and check how stories and images that I posted via my computer looked when they were viewed on a mobile device as studies have shown that most students accessed information first via their mobile devices.

This assignment has shown me that I am a daily and regular mobile user and that my usage is quite varied. Maybe I could do with putting down the mobile now and then and do something else, but I enjoy the convenience that the mobile device gives me, plus most of what I use my mobile device for I was already using other items/devices/options for this - print maps, wristwatch, email via desktop computer, etc. For me, in relation to my life and work, my mobile allows me to organize my life using one device rather than having to wear or carry all the physical items that I used to, a watch, a diary, a calendar, a map and so on. Checking my mobile is quite addictive, always wanting to be up-to-date with what is going on, to be reading the latest news, taking and sending information and images to friends, and using it for work. It can indeed be hard to not automatically click on my mobile when I hear/see the notifications, email alerts, etc. But as my career is related to communications and media relations, and I like to personally keep in touch with friends and family who live faraway, the pros of using a mobile device far outweigh the cons.I find my mobile and what I can use it for to be a blessing rather than a curse, as I can use my mobile device whenever, wherever and however I want.