Negotiability of technology and its limitations

Abstract

The programmability of smartphones is a crucial feature, since it transforms a cell phone into a pocket-sized computer. Since 2008, when popular operating system providers allowed independent developers to write application software (Apps), the number of Apps has spurred and led many commentators in popular discourse to quickly embrace a new App revolution. Despite the hype, there is a serious dearth of empirical studies exploring the politics and practices of how software is written for smartphones. From the perspective of the Social Shaping of Technology, which emphasizes that the development of any technological artefact is negotiated amid relevant groups, we explore how expert users, in particular, independent developers, are negotiating the development of smartphones by creating Apps. Due to the inherent qualities of software and the practices of user participation, we argue that App development has the potential of increasing user participation not only at the usage stage, but also with respect to the process of design and development. Based on semi-structured interviews with 20 developers from 12 different countries, we identify how this newly emerging group is negotiating the development of smartphones and discover the structural limitations that the group is encountering in the process.

Keywords:

• smartphone
• App
• software development
• Social Shaping of Technology
• participation
• Android
• iOS

Notes

Demographics of interview participants.

• Table

Because of ethical considerations, the interview was terminated and resumed after receiving parental consent.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lela Mosemghvdlishvili

Lela Mosemghvdlishvili (MSc) is a PhD candidate and a Lecturer in the Department of Media and Communication (Erasmus University Rotterdam). She teaches various courses in IBCoM, the International Bachelor in Communication and Media. Her current research interest is focused on the development of technology, in particular, smartphones.

Jeroen Jansz

Prof. Dr Jeroen Jansz holds the Chair of Communication and Media in the Department of Media and Communication (Erasmus University Rotterdam). He teaches in IBCoM, the International Bachelor in Communication and Media, as well as in the international MA Media, Culture & Society. His research takes the ubiquity of the Internet as a starting point and aims to understand and explain the changing relations between media consumers and media producers in contemporary participatory culture.