Channel Islands

Influx has a great post on communication channels at the LIFT06 conference yesterday, Stefana Broadband, an ethnologist working for Swisscom Innovations, presented the results of her study into the role different communication channels.

# Fix phone – the collective channel ("a shared organisational tool for the whole household", with most calls done in "public", because they have relevance to other members of the household, only 25% "privately" from one's bedroom or study)
# Mobile voice – the micro coordination channel ("mobile voice is the preferred channel for last-minute adjustment of plans or updates on where people are, what they are doing" - as in the classic "I am parking the car in front of the house, darling"...) (And Broadbent puts on the table this other surprising figure about mobile communication: "On average people communicate regularly only with 4 partners on the mobile phone: 80% of exchanges are with 4 people")
# SMS – the intimate channel ("SMS is for intimacy, emotion and efficiency; only the most intimate sphere of friends and family are contacted by SMS, and the content of the messages is often related to “grooming” and emotional exchanges").
# Email – the administrative channel (used to support online activities such as travel and shopping preparation ("services"); for coordination with extended social groups - clubs, friends, acquaintances; to exchange pictures and music and other content with close social networks". While "e-mail is the exclusive channel for collective communication - sending a message to multiple partners")
# IM and VoIP – the continuous channels ("users open an IM communication channel for the day and then just keep it open in the background while they do other activities - multitask - and step in and out of a conversation"; she adds that this starts to apply to VoIP as well).
# Blogging – the networking channel ("a personal page in Myspace is primarily a center of communication with friends and people online in general; everyone can read not only what you post but also what people comment; that makes communication not only one-to-one but networked between people who cross reference each other - and the number of communication partners can be hugely extended").

Very cool simplistic views on communications.
Lifted Notes