The uses of personal networked digital imaging

Developments in networked digital imaging promise to substantially affect the near-universal experience of personal photography. Designing technology for image capture and sharing requires an understanding of how people use photos as well as how they adapt emerging technology to their photographic practices, and vice versa. In this paper, we report on an empirical study of the uses made of a prototype context-aware cameraphone application for mobile media sharing, and relate them to prior work on photographic practices. By reducing many of the barriers to cameraphone use and image sharing (including increasing image quality, easing the sharing process, and removing cost barriers), we find that users quickly develop new uses for imaging. Their innovative communicative uses of imaging are understandable in terms of the social uses identified from prior photographic activity; new functional uses are developing as well.