Will the Real Cameraphone Please Stand Up? Multiple Interpretations of the Cameraphone

We present results of an eight-week case study of the cameraphone use of one extended family. Our goal was to understand not only how they used these technologies as part of existing socialand workrelated communication and photographic practices but also to understand what influences how people use or do not use their cameraphone and multimedia messaging technologies. Drawing from the new media theory of remediation, we present three general interpretations of the cameraphone. For each interpretation, we characterize how personal experiences with related technologies influenced the interpretation of the cameraphone, its adoption and appropriation. Finally, we describe how these interpretations influenced the cameraphone’s communicative use within social networks.