Abstract:
In this paper we present initial findings from an empirical
study of the mobile technology use and mobile work
practices of freelancers in the domain of Film and
Television. Our findings demonstrate that mobile phones
were primarily used to manage other personal activities and
concerns unrelated to the local work. They were used only
intermittently to support local practice when that practice
itself moved away from fixed resources. The fact that
people were consistently using their mobile phones at work
to attend to other concerns is an important feature of mobile
technology use. This personal aspect of use in the work
context has been largely overlooked within the Mobile HCI
literature. In particular, our findings reveal the ways in
which freelancers manage the blurring of contexts that is
facilitated by mobile phones. We consider implications of
these findings for the ways in which we currently talk and
think about mobile technology use within Mobile HCI.
