Mapping the Rise of Ubiquitous Connectivity from Myth to Market

Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 4-18-2013 12:00 AM Brave New Wireless World: Mapping the Rise of Ubiquitous Connectivity from Myth to Market Vincent R. Manzerolle The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Dr. Sandra Smeltzer The University of Western Ontario Joint Supervisor Dr. Edward Comor The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Media Studies A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Doctor of Philosophy © Vincent R. Manzerolle 2013 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine Commons, and the Other Film and Media Studies Commons Recommended Citation Manzerolle, Vincent R., "Brave New Wireless World: Mapping the Rise of Ubiquitous Connectivity from Myth to Market" (2013). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 1212. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/1212 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. BRAVE NEW WIRELESS WORLD: MAPPING THE RISE OF UBIQUITOUS CONNECTIVITY FROM MYTH TO MARKET (Thesis format: Monograph) by Vincent R. Manzerolle Graduate Program in Media Studies A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada © Vincent R. Manzerolle 2013 Abstract This dissertation offers a critical and historical analysis of the myth of ubiquitous connectivity—a myth widely associated with the technological capabilities offered by “always on” Internet-enabled mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. This myth proclaims that work and social life are optimized, made more flexible, manageable, and productive, through the use of these devices and their related services. The prevalence of this myth—whether articulated as commercial strategy, organizational goal, or mode of social mediation—offers repeated claims that the experience and organization of daily life has passed a technological threshold. Its proponents champion the virtues of the invisible “last mile” tethering individuals (through their devices) primarily to commercial networks. The purpose of this dissertation is to uncover the interaction between the proliferation of media artifacts and the political economic forces and relations occluded by this myth. To do this, herein the development of the BlackBerry, as a specific brand of devices and services, is shown to be intimately interrelated with the myth of ubiquitous connectivity. It demonstrates that the BlackBerry is a technical artifact whose history sheds light on key characteristics of our media environment and the political economic dynamics shaping the development of other technologies, workforce composition and management, and more general consumption proclivities. By pointing to the analytic significance of the BlackBerry, this work does not intend to simply praise its creators for their technical and commercial achievements. Instead, it aims to show how these achievements express a synthesis that represents the motivations of economic actors and prevailing modes of thought most particularly as they are drawn together in and through the myth of ubiquitous connectivity. The narrative arc of this dissertation is anchored by moments of harmonization among ii political economic interests as these shape (and are shaped by) prevailing modes of producing and relating through ubiquitous connectivity. Using the story of the BlackBerry as its case study and building on the analysis of myth and media history developed by Vincent Mosco and Armand Mattelart, this dissertation both critiques and employs myth as a concept to analyze the technical and commercial ascent of ubiquitous connectivity in three stages: 1) the commercialization of wireless data in North America, 2) the conceptualization of a mobile workforce and virtual enterprises, and finally, 3) the consumerization of ubiquitous connectivity through the incorporation of web 2.0 ideals. In order to accomplish this, it relies on critical approaches to media theory (including the works of Harold Innis and Marshall McLuhan) and political economy (drawing from Karl Marx, David Harvey, and others). This dissertation makes use of corporate communications, marketing and advertising, newspaper articles, and trade journals to explicate its analysis. It also utilizes a series of interviews with employees at Research In Motion involved in computer engineering, marketing and advertising, product development, and user-experience design. Keywords Political Economy, Myth, BlackBerry, Smartphone, Mobile Media, Media Theory, Ubiquitous Connectivity, Research In Motion, New Economy iii Acknowledgements It seems impossible to properly thank all of the individuals that have contributed to the completion of this project without deploying one or another cliché. While I may, at times, appear to simply reiterate truisms regarding the importance of friends and family, and relationships both professional and social, I do want to reinforce at the outset my sincere and heartfelt thanks to all those mentioned below. First and foremost, I would like to acknowledge my supervisors. I have been fortunate to have had two exceptional academics guiding this dissertation. Sandra Smeltzer helped launch this project; she offered encouragement and support in its earliest stages. Sandra helped get momentum going, maintained focus, and offered important feedback and critique for much of the duration of this project. Her encouragement, patience, and gracious sacrifice of time and energy were essential. Taking the reins midway through this process, Edward Comor has provided the focus and guidance in bringing this project to completion. Edward consistently provided insights both rigorous and thoughtful, championing through these final stages the importance of rigour, nuance, and precision in academic work. I owe both these supervisors a major debt of gratitude for shepherding this work along, even at times when I myself felt lost or unsure about its viability. Both have been exemplary in their commitment to this project, my simple thanks here is not enough to fully express my gratitude. It has been my good fortune to have spent many years in the Faculty of Information and Media Studies. Over that time I have met many academic mentors that have contributed, in one way or another, to my intellectual development and thus deserve some mention. James Compton, who, in addition to acting as a committee member and examiner, has for several iv years offered important insights and advice on the political economy of media, insight which have variously informed my dissertation research. Alison Hearn introduced me to graduate level coursework, setting a challenging but rewarding introduction to academia. Since those early days she has generously continued play a role in my intellectual and professional development. Nick Dyer-Witheford has from the earliest days of my graduate life been a paragon of intellectual and political commitment. I was quite lucky to have spent one summer in a Grundrisse reading group with, an experience that I count as a highlight of my graduate career. Bernd Frohmann has acted as a magnet for graduate students and other academics driven by intellectual curiosity and a passion for the philosophy of media. I am fortunate to have been included in many excellent and exciting reading groups that have taken root around Bernd. I wish to express my thanks for the thoughtful feedback from my examination committee, Dr. Robert Babe, Dr. Rob MacDougall, and Dr. Stephen McDowell, who made the defence a challenging and worthwhile exercise. I would like to express my appreciation to Sam Trosow whose affiliation with GRAND NCE and DigiLab helped fund some of this research. Barbara Crow at York University supervised my work on the Taking Ontario Mobile project, which offered me an opportunity to think through the policy implications of my dissertation research. For many years Cindy Morrison has been a courteous, patient, and indispensable lifeline to the administrative aspects of this long process, particularly in the final few months. She has made the progression as smooth as possible and so rightly deserves great thanks. On the undergraduate side, I must thank Wendy Daubs for years of help sorting out administrative matters related to teaching and managing courses and students. v I would be remiss not to mention my undergraduate students, who have, for many years now, contributed heartily to my growth as a thinker and teacher. Friends and colleagues have offered both inspiration and companionship, helping to break through the solitary, indeed, lonely, nature of academic work. I owe very special thanks to my good friends and colleagues Trent Cruz, Michael Daubs, Lee McGuigan, and Atle Mikkola Kjøsen who have all generously provided much needed feedback and comments on several of the dissertation chapters. I am grateful to Henry Svec, Leslie Meier, Liam Young, Brian Brown, Elise Thorburn, Didem Ozkul, Jeff Preston, David Jackson, Kamilla Pietrzyk, Nandita Biswas Mellamphy, Dan Mellamphy, and Svitlana Matviyenko, Kyle Asquith, Owen Livermore, Derek Noon for, at various times, sharing in the many conversations, conferences, discussions,

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