Lab+3

Lab 3- Jan Chipchase 1. Jan Chipchase travelled around the world, discovering how people lived. He spoke with citizens and took pictures of arbitrary items that potentially exposed the culture. In one instance, he took pictures of an advertisement for a prostitute. The reason being because the name was made up but the phone number was the prostitutes’. This suggested that a phone number has more of an identity than a name. Chipchase sent back his pictures and discoveries to Nokia.

Originally, Jan Chipchase was given the name of human behaviour researcher. This implies Chipchase studied the behaviours of users. Specifically, he studied how they used the products and how they were incorporated in their life. Chipchase adopted another name, user anthropologist. This differs from the previous name because it incorporates the ethnographic research that he does, like an anthropologist. This name suggests that Chipchase studied the way of life for users as opposed to studying strictly the behaviour when using the technology. Chipchase’s attention may be focused on using the daily life and how technology can be incorporated into it. An example of this is designing a phone with hooks for areas that flood a lot.

2. All the individuals of a town don’t need to own a cell phone to benefit. A farmer can call the market in the city to see if they need more products or goods before making a laborious trip, just by using the cell phone of another local. If the market needs more product, the farmer just increased his profit. If the market does not need more product, this saves the famer time. In the same sense, the local that lent his cell phone to farmer, charges the farmer for the airtime. Now this local is providing a service for the town and is producing an income that they may have not before. A housekeeper in China with a cell phone can be called by other customers for work. She has now increased her profit by expanding her cliental. Clients can also call to cancel or reschedule cleaning services, allowing the housekeeper to schedule other clients and saving time. Cell phones can connect people physically. When meeting someone, you can call them when you are lost, ensure you are going in the right direction or even tell them you will be late. Jan Chipchase helped lead Sara Corbett (the author of “Can the Cellphone Help End Global Poverty?”) through the crowded streets of Nima.