The Rules of Beeping: Exchanging Messages Via Intentional "Missed Calls" on Mobile Phones

Description

The Rules of Beeping: Exchanging Messages Via Intentional "Missed Calls" on Mobile Phones

Jonathan Donner

Technology for Emerging Markets Group

Microsoft Research India

Abstract

Introduction

"When someone beeps you, you know the reason."—Rwandan University Student

This article explores the widespread practice of "beeping" or "missed calling" between mobile phone users. Beeping is simple: A person calls a mobile telephone number and then hangs up before the mobile's owner can pick up the call. If the beeper's name and number have been programmed into the recipient's mobile, then the recipient will see the beeper's name on the call log as a missed call. If not, the recipient will see only the number of the telephone placing the call. In either case, the missed call is often intentional; the beeper has sent a signal to the recipient without saying a word or typing a character. Better yet, sending a beep is nearly free.

This practice is known by many names. English terms include "beeping," "flashing," "missed calling," and "pranking." Spanish people speak of llamadas pérdidas ( lost calls ). In Indonesia, the term is memancing ( fishing ). The following examples from the popular media suggest that these terms refer to common practices among the rapidly growing ranks of mobile phone users throughout the developing world.

In Africa, a lighthearted book called How to Be a Kenyan was published in 1996. The revised 2002 edition includes a new chapter called, "Of beepers, flashers, and vibrators" (Mutahi, 2002), reflecting the rapid spread of mobiles in Kenya. A Ugandan columnist wrote:

I was angry with my so-called friends who 'beep' me all the time—blackmailing me into calling them back. … I can understand someone beeping me once and a while. My problem is that so many Ugandans—from MPs to senior military officers and at least one government ...

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http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol13/issue1/donner.html

http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol13/issue1/donner.html