12 April 2008

Jan Chipchase's quest

Photo: Shaul Schwarz/Reportage, for The New York Times. Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company

The New York Times Magazine recently tagged along with Nokia researcher Jan Chipchase and got an arresting look at the impact of mobile phones in the Third World.

Chipchase, a "user anthropologist," spoke at TED in 2007 to talk about how Third World users have transformed their mobile devices: they've become fixed identity points inside fluctuating populations, channels for entrepreneurship amid poverty, pocket-sized Western Unions. Many Ugandans, he points out, use prepaid airtime as a way of transferring money. (And during the recent Kenyan crisis, donations to the Kenyan Red Cross could be made in the form of minutes, as noted by TEDGlobal fellow Afromusing.)

Part ethnographer, part marketing agent, Chipchase's work reveals the fundamentals of human character across cultures -- and is helping shape next-gen product design to match local needs. Read the story in print this weekend or online now >>

There's another TED connection in this story: Watch Iqbal Quadir's talk about GrameenPhone, an outgrowth of the GrameenBank devoted to building mobile networks in the developing world. -- Matthew Trost

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18 October 2007

Our cell phones, ourselves: Jan Chipchase on TED.com

Nokia researcher Jan Chipchase investigates the ways we interact with technology -- a quest that has led him from the villages of Uganda to the insides of our pockets. Along the way, he's made some unexpected discoveries: about the ways illiterate people use their mobile phones, the new roles the mobile can play in global commerce, and the deep emotional bonds we share with our phones. And he's got a surefire trick to keep you from misplacing your keys. (Recorded March 2007 in Monterey, California. Duration: 16:15.)

Watch Jan Chipchase's talk on TED.com, where you can download it, rate it, comment on it and find other talks and performances.

Read more about Jan Chipchase on TED.com.

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