Blackberry Messenger Research Articles

Addiction to mobile text messaging applications is nothing to “lol” about

The recent use of mobile text messaging applications, such as Blackberry Messenger (BBM) and WhatsApp, has increased greatly throughout the world. Unfortunately, this advanced technology is not without problems. In this study, the researcher argues that BBM and WhatsApp may generate noticeable improvements in consumer's lives but may simultaneously cause serious social and personal problems, including addiction to these applications. Amazingly, this topic has received little if any attention from consumer behaviorists, who need to understand the psychological factors that affect BBM and WhatsApp consumers. Hence, the current research examines two personality traits—extraversion and social anxiety—that influence consumer attitudes toward these applications. The results of a survey from 552 BBM and WhatsApp consumers in Kuwait indicate that the interaction effect of extraversion and social anxiety is significantly related to consumer attitudes toward BBM and WhatsApp. Furthermore, addiction to these applications plays a mediating role in the examined effect.

The Effectiveness of using Social Networking Technology for Marketing in South Africa

The purpose of this article is to investigate and understand the effectiveness of using social media technology for marketing activities in South Africa. The study seeks to investigate the feasibility and reach of using social media tools such as Twitter/ Face book and Black Berry Messenger (BBM) to market products and services in South Africa. While many South Africans have access to mobile technology in the form of smart phones not many households have actual internet access in the form of a broad brand subscription. This therefore, poses the question is it feasible to use emarketing tools in the South African landscape and what should the internet platform be? Having delineated the thrust of the paper, it should be noted that the paper does not pretend to capture all the variables of using social networking technology for purposes of marketing. However, it does speak to certain facets of the effectiveness of using social networking technology. 1.

Social Networking Sites As Tools For Sexual Perversion Among Students Of University Of Nigeria, Nsukka

The use of online social networking tools like blackberry messenger, face book, 2go, Nimbuzz, yahoo messenger, etc, continues to increase rapidly among all age groups and segments of the society, presenting new opportunities for the exchange of sexual information as well as for potentially unsafe encounters. This study using the survey research design and hinged on questionnaires and personal interview as instruments, explored the influence of social networking sites as tools for sexual perversion among students of University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN). Anchored on the technological determinism and uses and gratifications theories, the study found out that social networking tools actually contribute to UNN students sexual perversion and that there is an increasing adoption of the use of these tools, especially black berry messenger, 2go and facebook in that order. The study also discovered that majority of the students do not consider contents on these sites as being offensive. The study recommended that the use of SNSs should be regulated and regulators should device ways of detecting, exposing and punishing anybody found exchanging sexually explicit or implicit content or engaging in online sex. Keywords: Sexting, sexual perversion, social networking sites, Online- Offline contact, Nigeria.

DIGITALIZATION IN NEW MEDIA: DATING IN DOHA

This project reviews how digitalization has changed the social lives of young adults in the Arab Gulf, specifically in Doha, Qatar. Technologies including Bluetooth, television channels allowing for flirting via text message, and Blackberry messenger services have allowed unprecedented contact between the sexes in a mostly traditional society. By placing this phenomenon in the larger category of “Western,” some traditionalists have signalled that Qatari culture is fundamentally challenged by the encroachment of these “Western” behaviors. Simultaneously, Turkish soap operas such as “Noor” are also held up as examples of “Western” infiltration of Qatari society. However, this project seeks to identify the unique ways in which young adults in the Gulf adapt seemingly “Western” technologies, digitalizations, and media formats and use them in ways that are distinctly Gulfi.

Understanding unavailability in a world of constant connection

telephone or IM, which provided mediated co-presence when one was in the vicinity of a landline phone or PC, today’s mobile devices provide constant co-presence. Instant messaging is often combined with text messaging or proprietary messaging clients (e.g., BlackBerry Messenger, Apple’s iMessage, etc.), such that today’s teens send hundreds of messages per day to stay in touch with family and friends [3]. People are assumed to be constantly co-present, and thus, constantly available for conversation. This is taking a toll. There is evidence that all of these opportunities for interaction cause overload and stress. A recent Pew report suggests that nearly a third of respondents periodically turn off their phones just to take a break from all of the interaction opportunities they provide [4]. Sherri Turkle’s recent book suggests we are paying more attention to our devices than to each other [5]. Others report feeling disco-presence (i.e., being on the phone at the same time) could offer a similar experience. And one could inquire about another’s availability for mediated co-presence by calling in a more modern sense; namely, by dialing the phone and waiting for a response on the other end [1]. Instant messaging (IM) and chat systems, which became very popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s, changed this process again [2]. With these systems, one had a list of contacts who were co-present at any given time. Co-presence, for many users of these systems, suggested availability for conversation and was often reason enough to start one. The contact list made co-presence even easier to coordinate. More recently, there has been a larger socio-technical shift that we believe has significant consequences for how people coordinate around communication. In contrast to Historically, the problem of coordinating opportunities for real-time communication has been dominated by the problem of co-presence. Before there was any interactive media, people had to be in the same place to talk. Visiting somebody’s house (“calling,” in the early sense) to see if they were available or scheduling a time to meet were both good ways of coordinating. Early media such as the telephone changed this process a bit, in that people no longer needed to be physically co-present to talk. Mediated Understanding Unavailability in a World of Constant Connection

Competing edge networks

We introduce a model for a pair of nonlinear evolving networks, defined over a common set of vertices, subject to edgewise competition. Each network may grow new edges spontaneously or through triad closure. Both networks inhibit the otherʼs growth and encourage the otherʼs demise. These nonlinear stochastic competition equations yield to a mean field analysis resulting in a nonlinear deterministic system. There may be multiple equilibria; and bifurcations of different types are shown to occur within a reduced parameter space. This situation models competitive communication networks such as BlackBerry Messenger displacing SMS; or instant messaging displacing emails.

Rich Communications Suite: opportunities and threats

There is growing concern within the telecoms industry that network operators might be missing the boat. The announcement last year of Apple's iMessage has added to this concern, as have other Over The Top (OTT) services such as those launched by major players including Skype and Research In Motion (with the popular BlackBerry Messenger). Mobile operators are starting to feel left out. Rich Communications Suite (RCS) might be their salvation, but is it also an opportunity for phishers, fraudsters and spammers? If operators look to provide a gateway between SMS and RCS services, spammers could hide within RCS services and use this as a haven for sending messages over SMS. And as RCS works on a one-to-many basis, spam could be sent to many thousands of handsets at once. Neil Cook of Cloudmark examines the dangers and how they might be averted.

Bad habits die hard

Last week, my BlackBerry broke. The mild panic that initially ran through me as I witnessed the sad little black screen fail to stir time and time again, soon turned to despair. In the 72 hours it took Vodafone to send me a new handset, I felt ashamedly lost and helpless. Lost in London, I missed my Google maps app. Running late to meet a friend, I missed BlackBerry messenger. Being on the road the day the budget was announced, I missed constant internet access.