Smarter phones, celliquette can keep you from turning into one of 'those people' By Sarah Morin, 331-4363 | smorin@heraldt.com, The Hearld Times
January 25, 2007
They do it on the bus, they do it in the restaurant, and they do it in the church for heaven's sake.
Yep, everyone knows a cell phone Phil or Phyllis. Screaming, swearing, schmoozing and schmooping - they do it all into the phone and don't care.
Not the run of the mill talking-while-driving violators, but the most serious offenders of cell phone etiquette.
Kay Connelly wants to help them. Think of her as Emily Post for the digital generation gone wild.
And as that generation knows: Don't hate the player, hate the game.
It's the technology that needs to improve, not just the person addicted to it, according to Connelly, an assistant professor of computer science at Indiana University.
"I think the technology should fix the problem; it needs to advance to solve this problem," she said.
So she's researching ways to make cell phones smarter and more in tune with their users by adding automated responses. One idea is linking digital calendars such as Outlook to cell phones.
In a meeting with your boss? Your phone would automatically move to quiet - saving you the embarrassment of a telephonic "American Girl" playing in your purse when discussing pay raises.
"The cell phone itself can make that decision, not the human," Connelly said.
Some phones already offer an instant message service that notifies incoming callers that you're busy or unavailable.
Consumers need to demand more from the technology, Connelly said.
To eliminate ringing cell phones and rude users, places such as churches are blocking all incoming and outgoing calls with a new technique called "jamming."
Connelly would rather see a more flexible approach. For example, doctors with credentials could bring in their phones in case of an emergency.
Cell phone technology can also be used in ways to improve people's lives - beyond being plugged in.
Connelly is working with a program designed to increase physical activity among girls through a text messaging support system.
"You can use text message in a variety of ways to support each other in behavior modification," she said. The program will be used this year with 12 middle school girls in Bloomington.
Pipe down: "Volume is No. 1," said Shanna Dietz, an instructor in the Kelley School of Business and a political science graduate student.
Look around: Is this the appropriate place to have a play-by-play of last night at Nick's? You decide, but if it's the Big Three (church, classroom, confines of work) there is one answer: No.
Hang up, say hello: We've all seen them ... people with the cell phone glued to the ear at the checkout counter and bank line, and their conversations don't miss a beat. "Virtually all conversations can be paused for that one or two minutes of the transaction," Dietz said.
So how about an old-fashioned face-to-face transaction with the teller today?
2. Thou shalt not set thy ringer to play "La Cucaracha" every time thy phone rings. Or Beethoven's Fifth, or the Bee Gees, or any other annoying melody. Is it not enough that phones go off every other second? Now we have to listen to synthesized nonsense?
3. Thou shalt turn thy cell phone off during public performances. I'm not even sure this one needs to be said, but given the repeated violations of this heretofore unwritten law, I felt compelled to include it.
4. Thou shalt not wear more than two wireless devices on thy belt. This hasn't become a big problem yet. But with plenty of techno-jockeys sporting pagers and phones, Batman-esque utility belts are sure to follow. Let's nip this one in the bud.
5. Thou shalt not dial while driving. In all seriousness, this madness has to stop. There are enough people in the world who have problems mastering vehicles and phones individually. Put them together and we have a serious health hazard on our hands.
6. Thou shalt not wear thy earpiece when thou art not on thy phone. This is not unlike being on the phone and carrying on another conversation with someone who is physically in your presence. No one knows if you are here or there. Very disturbing.
7. Thou shalt not speak louder on thy cell phone than thou would on any other phone. These things have incredibly sensitive microphones, and it's gotten to the point where I can tell if someone is calling me from a cell because of the way they are talking, not how it sounds.
8. Thou shalt not grow too attached to thy cell phone. For obvious reasons, a dependency on constant communication is not healthy. At work, go nuts. At home, give it a rest.
9. Thou shalt not attempt to impress with thy cell phone. Not only is using a cell phone no longer impressive in any way (unless it's one of those really cool new phones with the space-age design), when it is used for that reason, said user can be immediately identified as a neophyte and a poseur.
10. Thou shalt not slam thy cell phone down on a restaurant table just in case it rings. This is not the Old West, and you are not a gunslinger sitting down to a game of poker in the saloon.
Source: Dan Briody column in InfoWorld.com