Last week I traveled to Berlin to attend an event on user experience and the design of mobile applications and services, the MobX 2013 Conference.
It was an excellent chance to return to that vibrant city and to learn from and share experiences with many people working to improve user experience of mobile apps and services and the design and development of mobile devices. The event dealt with concepts like mobility, the importance of good access to contents, and, something I enjoyed greatly, the context in which users employ new technology and the importance of knowing who your users are and designing mobile applications and services with them, in an inclusive manner.

James Robertson conference at MobX 2013

I was surprised that in talking about users, people, user experience and context, there were so few participants at the conference from the field of social research. Who better than us to study the relationship between users and the environment (online and, above all, offline) in which new technology is used or to detect future needs regarding its use? The social paradigm shift that is occurring as a result of the emergence of new technology is too important for the professionals that can best support designers, developers and engineers in analyzing users and detecting their real needs not to make ourselves known and participate in great events like MobX. It’s a golden opportunity.