I read this very enjoyable short paper today, Uncovering traces of mobile practices: “the Bag Study” (Robertson, Kan, Sadler, Hagen, 2005). Abstract:

This study addresses everyday human practices in order to inform our thinking around the design of technology to support human mobility and mobile device use. Building on traditional ethnographic techniques, we investigated the contents of people’s bags, seeking traces of planning, decision making and other social practices that people rely on to construct and maintain relations between particular mobile objects and their particular mobile lives. The research contributes to the development of novel methods for researching mobile practices and its initial findings question assumptions about information use and storage, and about the personalisation of mobile device and services.

It interested me particularly because I think I’ve had a bag obsession since childhood. I take pleasure in unpacking my bags and purses and then repacking them again. I feel good when someone needs something and I can say “oh wait, here…here you go!” I like things like lip gloss and new pens and notebooks and handy small sample sized products not for their actual use but because I can put them in my purse or bag. Though I am not a bag in bag person. My pencil case is on my desk. It doesn’t come with me, and I only carry a makeup bag when I take items that I fear might explode and make a huge shimmery mess. Instead, I usually try to find bags with many compartments and pockets. Pen holders are the cat’s pjs. I remember the first bag that I felt really obsessed about, this blue backpack of my sisters from Jump-Rope-for-Heart. It had a large main section and then a smaller front section that opened all the way to reveal many convenient bag-pocket/accessories.
After reading the above paper and thinking about the contents of my bag, I felt compelled to share. Actually, I am considering making a bag log or a “bl…”, hmm…no that won’t work. (My word mashes never work out.) I think that a bag log would be a really good way of keeping track of the more mundane things in my life. Those things that I will forget about in two years, but are important nonetheless because they will trigger other memories. No promises on the log, but for your pleasure, the contents of My Backpack:
1 GB USB Memory Key
Ipod Nano USB Cable
MUJI notebook, 100 pages, soft covered (for writing down spontaneous things in Japanese or tearing pages out to give people notes)
Hanko (personal seal)
Brush
Tin of Cinnamon Altoids
Ninento DS Lite with Japanese English Dictionary and Tetris cartridges
Sunglasses
Gatsby oil clear paper
Blistex Silk & Shine Lip Gloss
Card holder containing some important cards and 2 of my HCT business cards
2 safety pins
Omiyage from china, received yesterday – cookie and tea
Japanese Living Language textbook
Japanese lessons notebook, spiral bound
Moleskine Agenda/Calendar
Keys
Word cards on plastic ring (You can get these sets of Japanese-English flash cards on key rings here. They are very small and handy. I found blank ones to make your own word lists at Loft last weekend)
Bus card, train card, Brastel international phone card, membership card to iCafe in akihabara (I went there once for observation work but just in case I go back…)
Ipod Nano (syrup)
Mobile (orange juice)
MUJI double tipped black felt marker
PILOT Hi-Tecpoint V5 Extra Fine black pen
Pink Sharpie Accent highlighter
Breakfast bar
Wrapper for soy bar snack (snack eaten an hour and a half ago)
Finally, before I leave I will add a binder with notes from work, a map to a place I will check out this weekend, the score for a song to practice and some extra staffed paper for music notes.
Stepping away from myself, I am thinking about the above study again. When you are trying to study what people do in very general everyday settings, personal information like this is very very valuable, but can be quite unattainable. Or can it? I am thinking about – what are those small common things that we personalize? That we take with us everywhere? What do they say about our desires and our behaviours? Hmm…some thinking for the bus ride home. If you have any interesting views on me based on the above list, please let me know : ) I hope you all have a good weekend!