Is technology about more than buying the new MacBook Air or downloading an application that links your fridge with your Facebook account?

Lauren Movius, a PhD student at the Annenberg School of Communication at the University of Southern California, sees in new technologies not just the potential to make comfortable people more comfortable, but also the power to bring marginalized people to the center of debates that affect their lives. At Annenberg, Lauren researches global media policy and the political economy of communications; she also holds a dual MSc/MA degree in Global Media and Communications from the London School of Economics and USC.

Today Lauren shares her interests and motivations in coming to We Media Miami:

I’m interested in how people shape communications technologies to make them their own, and how, in turn, these practices may transform the future of such technologies. Participatory media enables disadvantaged groups to fight against social exclusion: It gives them a chance to make their voices heard.

Recently, I’ve been intrigued by appropriation of cell phones, and how marginalized groups are using the technology in order to tell their stories — and thereby challenging power relationships. François Bar at USC introduced me to Motoboys, a network of motorcycle couriers in San Paulo, Brazil, who used camera phones to chronicle their daily lives. They shared each other’s work and decided what stories to cover, resulting in CanalMOTOBOY, a real-time account of their lives and work.

Such mobile-based projects use communications technology to make the world a better place. While improving health, expanding economic opportunities and educating people are essential uses of technology in developing countries, the opportunity to tell one’s story is also important and its power should not be forgotten. Participatory media not only gives these groups a voice but also brings important social and political issues to the fore in public debates.

As part of the zexe.net project, for example, forty disabled people in Madrid documented the city’s wheelchair access with cell phone cameras and then combined this with Google maps, providing a view of how accessible their city is — or isn’t. The resulting mash-up makes visible an important political issue concerning disablity rights. Similarly, the Motoboys in San Paulo, who were previously portrayed negatively in the mainstream press, have started to compete with more established courier services, thus prompting the local government to pass more favorable industry-regulation laws.

At We Media Miami I hope to improve my knowledge of the power of media and also learn from the projects and creativity of others. As part of my PhD studies, I have researched how media can strengthen communities; in Miami, I look forward to networking with others concerned with issues of how to harness communications media for the public good.