Microcoordination 2.0: Social Coordination in the Age of Smartphones and Messaging Apps

• In Event: Messaging Apps and Mobile Social Media (High-Density)

Abstract

This paper examines how mobile messaging applications (apps) have changed the way that people microcoordinate their activities. The paper is based on five focus groups among young adult users in Singapore and Taiwan. The original formulation of microcoordination usually assumed point-to-point interaction between two individuals. Increasingly people channel this type of activity through messaging apps that allow for multi-sided interactions. Respondents note that messaging apps make it easy to establish task-based chat groups for coordinating their activities. These groups can vary in size from a handful of individuals to many dozen users. Despite the ease of forming and participating in chat groups, the respondents also realize it is sometimes difficult to manage the increasingly complex flow of messages and to manage the dynamic interaction because of collapsed social contexts. This paper advances our understanding of how microcoordination is practiced with the use of messaging apps.

Authors

• Rich Ling, Nanyang Technological University/Telenor

• Chih-Hui Lai, National Chiao Tung University