Minding Our Mobile Tech Manners

Are you a Gabby or a Gertrude?

I took the mobile etiquette quiz three times, so I guess it’s true. I’m a Gertrude.  Here’s what it told me:

You are a Mobile Misfit!  Do you feel other patron’s eyes on you as you take up one too many tables in a crowded coffee shop? With the amount of real estate you’re occupying, you may as well set up a desktop computer! Do you have bruises from walking into things (and people) because you’re too busy texting to pay attention to what’s in front of you? As a Mobile Misfit, mobile etiquette is not in your vocabulary. Mobile devices were created to make life easier for you and others, not to wreak havoc on those around you. It’s time for an intervention!

My Intel teammates and I had fun working with Intel Insider iJustine, who did a great job finding a creative crew in LA to shoot these.  We gave her a sneak peek at early survey results, and her crew came back with the Gabby and Gurtrude skit.  She did three Mobile Etiquette videos — Dating, Working, Privacy.  I liked that much better than the “Miss Manners” or “Do’s and Don’t” storylines.

My mobile tech pet peeves?  I’m pretty lenient.  Maybe because I hope others will treat me with the same freedom to tech.  But I believe I’m pretty considerate of people around me, and I never take a conversation into the bathroom.  But I can slip in a quick SMS or email lickety-split in almost any situation.  I like acknoledgements from others, so I’m quick to respond to people’s request when possible.  I find that a lot of communication is timing, nurturing and keeping things moving ahead.

When I got my first laptop from work in 2000, well it was awesome.  I could bring it home and almost anywhere, and have my everything I needed — as long as I could wait for the super slow boot up and slow Internet connection.  When I got my blackberry three years ago, it levitated me and allowed me to roam, and “be there” in more places while still on teh front lines of communications.

The June 17, 2009 Intel survey showed that nine out of 10 U.S. adults feel annoyed by some behaviors they see in public. Driving while texting (guilty!) and loud mobile phone talkers (not me) were top complaints, yet, most of didnt think they were culprits (ummm, well).

“It is hardly surprising that we are still working out what is socially appropriate and what isn’t we are still developing our techno-etiquettes,” said my pal and inspiration Genevieve Bell, an Intel Fellow and cultural anthropologist who studies technology and culture.

I hope we can include our Intel Insiders in more video projects because I always learn something new — features available in YouTube.

I’ll work on shedding my Mobile Misfit label…I am a parent after all, and I’d like to influence my kids by showing good examples!

If you take the quiz, let me know if you’re a Gabby or Gertrude, and how you feel about it.  Tech responsibly, but tech on!