Review of "The Mobile Story: Narrative Practices with Locative Technologies," by Farman, J. (Ed.). (2014). New York, NY: Routledge
Adam Strantz · Communication Design Quarterly · 2017
The Mobile Story: Narrative Practices with Locative Technologiesedited by Jason Farman brings together communication designers and theorists to offer numerous approaches for creating digital stories in an age of mobile, locative media. Contrasting the popular conception that mobile devices are a distraction, Farman argues the growing ubiquity of mobiles has led to their interface disappearing through daily use (p. 5). Users no longer need to consciously focus their attention on their devices and can instead seamlessly use such devices for everyday tasks. Due to this growing familiarity, the projects in the book "seek to "defamiliarize" people with their places and the technologies that mediate those places" (p. 5) in order to push interface to the forefront of users' attentions and see how mobiles provide a unique lens through which they interact with the world around them.