Intimate Visual Co-Presence

Abstract

Photo sharing via handheld devices has unique limitations and affordances that differ from paper-based sharing and PC-based archive and moblog sites. Based on studies of camphone use in Japan, this paper suggests an emergent visual sharing modality that is uniquely suited to the handheld space. Intimate visual co-presence involves the sharing of an ongoing stream of viewpoint-specific photos with a handful of close friends or with an intimate other. The focus is on co-presence and viewpoint sharing rather than communication, publication, or archiving.