I Link You

Walking around Paris

This past weekend, I was lucky enough to be blessed with the first sunshine I have seen in two weeks. I decided it was time for me to go on another walk around outside Paris and experience more of the city. As my work is starting to pile up as it is halfway through the quarter, I realized that I need to get back into exploring the many colorful neighborhoods of Paris.

All Sunday I was wandering through parks and neighborhoods with another student in my program with my digital camera in hand. I took many photos of the green parks, the views on top of hills, and random streets and sights. While I was on my photo-taking journey, I noticed that a lot of Europeans who were in their late twenties and thirties were using the digital camera features on their phones to record their memories with their loved ones. Phones from Sony Ericcson and Nokia were popular choices. Phones from these companies usually emulate the shape and feel of digital cameras and have features that are usually found on high-end digital cameras. For example, many of the multimedia phones from Nokia have Carl Zeiss lens and at least a resolution of 2.0 megapixels or higher. It also help that these phones look really cool and trendy as these people are increasingly viewing their cell phones as accessories.

From seeing this, I wonder what these people do with their photos upon taking them. After seeing multiple people taking photos on top of the hill, my curiosity won out, and I attempted to talk to these people in my non-existent French. To my surprise, some people were happy to talk to me (in English…lol) about the photos they take with their cell phones.

One cited convenience. One European male who was in his late twenties mentions that he never knows when he will take a photo with or without his girlfriend. Carrying out a digital camera is just a hassle as he never wants to take a bag with him, and using a digital camera as opposed to a phone takes away the “spirit of the candid moment.” As another person puts it, “it’s more fun to take random pictures at the spur of the moment.”

I’ve also talked to a group of girls who were taking silly pictures with their camera phones in the Metro. One girl mentioned fashion and convenience. She just didn’t like carrying too much stuff in her purse. Another girl mentioned that with all the pickpockets, having a digital camera makes you more of a target. They agreed that it’s convenient that their phones have MP3 playback and camera features.

What about social networking? What do these people do with their phones to connect with other people? The European males mentioned that they always Bluetooth or MMS their photos if it’s something their friends or families need to see. More often, they would upload them to their computers (via Bluetooth or USB cable) and email them that way because it’s cheaper. It also allows them to edit the photos on their computers in case it's a bad photo.

posted by Koh @ 1:30 PM