Dec
10
Interesting: in Japan, half of the top sellers in books are written for mobile phones. The writer goes on to say: “I can’t see anyone in Western nations waking up tomorrow and seeing mobile phone composed novels on the top seller lists, but usually Japan is years ahead on many tech fronts”.
That right there is an expression of a common misunderstanding I think: that there is a technical road that all cultures follow. That technological evolution is somehow independent of the culture in which it grows. That there is a “road”, on which Japan might be “ahead”. Which is the wrong way to think about this. Japan makes different choices as a society, including different technology choices. They’re not necessarily ahead or behind; they’re on their own path.
Related: even when different cultures use the same technology, they’ll often assign different values to it. This post on Japanese bloggers illustrates that nicely: “Japan’s conformist culture has embraced a technology that Americans often use for abrasive self-promotion and refashioned it as a soothingly nonconfrontational medium for getting along.”
Now we’re talking.
December 12th, 2007 at 1:31 pm
Very good point you make about the intersection of a society and technology being unique. But does that mean that we can’t draw inferences for how technology use in one country might be replicated in another? Do we need to view each society in total isolation?
Having moved back to South Africa I’m tasked with researching communication and analytical skills development amongst school learners. I believe there is huge potential in using We 2.0 technologies and services to achieve this, e.g. using Google Docs to teach collaborative writing revision, or blogging to teach how to write for an audience. Those beliefs are based on how Web 2.0 is being used in classrooms in the developed world. Will the same effect be seen in South African classrooms? Certain African cultures are similar to Japanese in that they are conservative, hierarchical and paternalistic. Will Zulu learners be more like American or Japanese teens? Or do we simply not know until we observe the Zulus in action, walking their own unique path?
December 13th, 2007 at 6:05 am
I think what’s most likely is that Zulu learner’s will use Google docs and such in ways that support their culture, ways that may differ from how we expect them to use it.
December 13th, 2007 at 10:59 am
in the same vein, an interesting post today about a unique application of SMS in China…. nothing new, just different
http://www.virtual-china.org/2007/12/short-messages.html