TweetPaper presented at Multimodality in Education colloquium held at Mont Fleur, Stellenbosch on 10 August, 2011 by Marion Walton and Silke Hassreiter, Centre for Film and Media Studies. University of Cape Town The affordances of mobile phones as devices for creating, publishing and distributing images means that they are often seen as a threat to [...]

Online image-sharing sites such as Flickr currently reinforce the digital invisibility of the majority of the world’s population. This is a simple function of the fact that most people have not had access to consumer electronics, digital production and distribution, and even electricity. Recently cameraphones have become accessible to many more people, and digital publication is becoming more feasible, given that many platforms are now adapted or specifically developed for mobile use. For mobile industries eyeing emerging markets, multimedia communication practices can develop new markets for handsets and heavier use of mobile data networks. Academics and activists have spotted the possibilities of using mobile media to document grassroots stories, issues and new forms of journalism. But what possibilities do digital image-sharing platforms suggest for ordinary people? And to what extent will mobile publication platforms shift existing patterns of digital invisibility?