Mobile Public Memory

This article will look at the impact that mobile technologies havehad on the ability of people to document their everyday lives. What is important to noteabout this documentation is that it has become a public display of events andexperiences via mediated content. This documentation becomes more interesting to observewhen it is put in context of how people can now record their travels. This “publicmemory” of private travel is assisted via mobile technologies with applications designedto record locations through Global Positioning System data and mediated content. Afterthe documentation, the consumption of this content is conducted through social mediaservices and other public outlets as opposed to the traditional means of showing wherepeople have traveled via postcards, slides, and souvenirs. Through a mixed-method study,this process of documentation is analyzed via the thematic dichotomies that emergedthroughout the course of surveys and interviews. This article will explore this contrastbetween the digital and physical through an analysis of the “traditional tourist” versusthe “archiver of experiences.” Finally, the impact of this documentation will be framedin the context of mobile communication