While we were at SxSW, Laura and I threw a Mobile Manners brunch with Intel. We gathered a group of very smart women to eat quiche and text one other about the irritating things people do with their gadgets.
Genevieve Bell, an Intel Fellow who studies how different cultures use technology, presented some of their mobile etiquette research.
During Genevieve’s presentation, I tweeted while she was talking (event hashtag, FTW), checked in to Foursquare, and texted with a person sitting two tables away from me. Afterward, I drove around town looking for a funeral parlor, because I’ve heard those are nice quiet places to make phone calls.
Everyone else was the picture of civility, even when the gift bags came out.
Now that’s some good home training.
The bags were a team effort amongst attendees, and as always we saved one for you. Maile brought her gorgeous Epiphanie Bags, and I set aside the Clover Laptop and Camera Bag in grey, which is the one I carry. Everywhere. And sometimes I spoon with it. It looks like this:
Elizabeth works for Twitter, but also has a letterpress business called Paperwheel Press. She brought everyone a couple of geeky letterpress thank you notes:
And finally, Intel threw in a copy of Emily Post’s Great Get Togethers:
To win, please leave your pinky out when you sip your tea, and leave your most profound mobile etiquette peeve in comments.
Please only enter once; I’ll leave comments open until Monday when I’ll announce the winner. I hope it’s you.
Mighty Girl 
My biggest mobile pet peeve is hearing the beep beep beep whoosh of mobile video games from the stall next to you when you’re in the bathroom.
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I am a professor at a medium sized, private, Midwestern university. I have really, really lovely students, but they do have a bad habit. They come to my office with their paper drafts and ask me to read through them. I agree to do so, and once I begin reading, WITHOUT FAIL, they pull out their cell phones and start texting, tweeting, facebooking, emailing, etc. Right in my office. While I’m reading their rough drafts out of the goodness of my heart. Really makes me want to scream.
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As a high school English teacher, I’m privy to many instances of bad etiquette but my biggest pet peeve is lateness. I think it’s incredibly rude to make someone wait.
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People who answer their phones in the most innappropriate, disrespectful places, like court. And then act like I’m the jerk for shooting laser beams out my eyes. Um, sir? You just got asked to shut it off by a state patrolman. Who, exactly, is the asshole?
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Pet peeve is texting someone else in the middle of an actual conversation.
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When someone tunes out of a meeting they called with me to “attend” to their mobile device. You asked for my time, and now you want me to watch you answer your email? No thank you.
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I hate texting/email checking/FB statusing/whatever in front of a person who is actually trying to interact with you. You know, IN PERSON. As if the vast internet will DIE if you are not at it’s EVERY BECK AND CALL, whereas the real person right in front of you can wait.
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whEN Ppl iNsIst On SeNdiN TxtS lIkE DiS N uSe leTTeRs InStEaD of WoRds N GiTs all CR8zy WhEn I DoNt No WHAt btfwhandm MeAnS.
Or in other words: When people send me text messages and get ADHD with the caps lock and shorten sentences to be nothing more than the first letter of the word. Than get mad when I don’t know that dyktmdghtpt meant
“did you know that my dog got his toenails painted today?”
I can feel my blood pressure rising already.
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I can’t decide between the old school Nextel on speaker conversations, complete with drawn out error ‘beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!’ or people who ignore their screaming children to talk/play/text. Seriously, folks, disconnect.
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I do so hate when people text in the checkout line. I swear I’ve witnessed people paying more than then they should because the cashier is seeing how much they can get away with while the texter is oblivious =) lol
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Oh, please, can I have the bag? I can’t be mad about buffoons when I think about the possibility of winning that bag.
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I don’t know if I’m disqualified from winning because I’m in Canada (Vancouver) but I still want to contribute!
I used to be a barista. One day, I was standing beside the till while my coworker rang up orders, and this girl came up, on her phone, and she took one of the contest entry slips we had at the counter and started writing on it, still chatting away. I thought she was entering the contest before ordering, and thought nothing of it.
Then she handed my coworker the slip.
IT WAS HER DRINK ORDER.
I nearly lost my shit. You couldn’t say, “hang on” to your friend?
So, being on the phone while dealing with customer service people? RUDE AND I HATE YOU.
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I hope I win, too.
My pet peeve is the egregious spelling and grammatical errors that seem to be acceptable in mobile communication. Just because you’re typing on a tiny keypad doesn’t mean you shouldn’t read it over to make sure everything’s correct.
Also: Get off my lawn, whippersnappers.
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I agree with previous comments–loudly talking in very public places, like a check-out line, is pretty annoying. The worst offence I’ve EVER been privy to was in the waiting room of a physician’s office. An older woman was practically screaming into her phone while her elderly mother sat patiently next to her. Essentially, she was having a Bible study (club?) meeting via cell. Pretty obnoxious.
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People not sexting me enough. So. Annoying. Come on people what does a girl haveto do to get a good sext around here?
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My 14-year-old tries to hide her phone under the table so she can text, but I can always tell. Then she loses her phone for the rest of the night. Then we’re blessed with no more annoying phone behavior for an entire evening!
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gotta second elizabeth there with the sexting. wish it had a better name though.
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ooh, parents who are texting, talking, whatevering while ignoring their child causing chaos on the playground….
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When someone is not in their office, yet they left the door open and didn’t put their phone on silent or vibrate, and their really annoying ring is blaring down the hallway.
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Maybe it’s because I’m a teacher that I find texting/facebooking/whatever in class, especially when your classmates are talking, to be the height of rudeness.
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I hope you had fun at sxsw! And welcome home again.
I love it not at all when people come barreling down the sidewalk, forcing me to dodge around them, because they are trusting their seeing-eye-phone far too heavily.
smooches,
(also) maggie
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My biggest pet peeve is when you’re talking to someone and they get a text. Rather than say, “Sorry, do you mind if I respond to this now?” they keep nodding at you, pretending they’re listening, while they start tapping out a response on their phone. If you stop talking, they nod at you to further emphasize the fact they want you to pretend you don’t notice they’re not listening.
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Oh, man. When people keep checking their phone or leave it on the table when I’m sitting with them in person. Like they are just waiting for an out, or for someone “better” to call/txt. Ugg.
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I don’t have many pet peeves, but there’s this one jerk at work who bumped into me, with a mug of piping hot tea, because he was buried in his phone. I don’t like that guy.
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I can’t stand hearing personal conversations in work environments. There is nothing more akward than sitting a my desk listening to someone in the next cube over arguing with their spouse or children or having what should be very private conversations.
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I can’t stand it when I’m at dinner with someone and they answer their phone and tell the caller that they will call them back later. Hello? Really? Is that not what voicemail is for? I know how horribly straining it is to listen to a message, but if they get your voicemail, they’ll probably text you later anyway. Just let it go.
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Hands down when someone is checking out at a store and they are on the phone. SO SO SO Rude.
Also it is you not U.
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LOUD one sided phone conversation in restaurants.
I also get really annoyed when I see families in restaurants and the kids are plugged into phones instead of interacting with their parents.
REALLY. ANNOYED.
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When people don’t listen to the voicemail I leave but instead call me first. I left the voicemail for a reason and end up repeating myself most of the time.
That bag could be just the picture taking motivation I need!
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when other people text while eating dinner with me, rude!
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I work at a library, and not only does it irk me when people talk on their cell phones in the library, it REALLY irks me when they answer their phones at the reference desk when I’m trying to help them.
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I really dislike when I find out from facebook that a close friend is engaged or pregnant or had a baby. This means I’m not even important enough for a text or email.
I always say that if you find out any news of mine on facebook then it means I don’t love you.
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i was on the train home from work today and the guy in the seat in front of me was texting but had the key sound on. so very annoying. i really wanted to say something alas, i did not know how.
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Texting during a work meeting, can’t stand it when I’m talking to someone and they are texting on their phone DURING A WORK MEETING!! At least say excuse me.
What is the best way to be involved with the kind of event you had at SXSW? I was there and I have a hard time finding good networking events for like minded women.
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Loud personal calls laced with profanity and way too many private details in a public space at work. Repeatedly.
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As a cashier, I am particularly annoyed when customers talk on their cell phones while I am trying to process their order. And then, when I interrupt their call to ask the questions necessary to complete their order, they glare at me as if I were the rude one!
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My pet peeve is having to listen/overhear very personal calls. They may not care that it is personal, but I do!
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When the Q train goes out over the Manhattan bridge, and everyone suddenly has service so they pull out their phones and have the same conversation:
“Hey, it’s me. I’m on the bridge now. Home soon. Okay, bye.”
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I know it might be because I’m young and texting is such a big part of my life but when I’m in the middle of writing a text and you can see me typing on my phone, maybe you could just wait a damn minute to start talking to me! I want to hear what you’re saying to me but I really cannot give you my full attention when I’m trying to text and I damn well can’t type properly when you’re confusing me with your talky talky. Perhaps this is because I don’t multitask well?
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Mine for sure is cell phones ringing in church or the worst, FUNERALS. I mean, come on people, is nothing sacred? My pediatrician goes to our church and I’ve seen him (a doctor, ON CALL) leave the meeting to take a call but I’ve never heard his phone ring!
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For me, the worst is when I am walking through a doorway, and there is a person right behind me, so I hold the door for them to push open as they go through, but instead they are too busy talking or texting and just walk right past me, stupidly holding the door open for them. It’s hard to articulate the situation, but oh how I hate it when it happens!
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I have lots of technology pet peeves, but the texting while driving is still a big one, especially since it’s now illegal in CA. I also still find it REALLY funny when people physically move their phone right in front of their mouths when they speak and then move it back to their ears to listen.
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Hanging out with people and having two of the people text each other and giggle. It just feels rude and snotty and high school.
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Ladies who continue their phone conversations in a public restroom AND have the audacity to give you a dirty look when you flush. Totally rude!
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I can’t stand when people leave their bluetooth headset in their ear during a meeting. It’s almost worse than the phone ringing and them actually having to take it. It says “I guarantee that I will interrupt this meeting.”
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When my grandma says – I hear that beep again can you walk me through how I find out who is on the other end of it?
Thanks Gram – loving talking to you too.
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People who leave voicemail! Ugh! There is nothing worse than a message that says, “Hi there, just checking in, hope you’re well, call me back.” Why do I need to log in to read this? I obviously know you called and I missed the call. If you don’t have a specific piece of information to tell me, stop wasting my time! And if you have a specific piece of information to give me, isn’t sending it via text easier? Man, this drives me crazy.
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Oh my gosh, talking loudly on the cell phone while commuting on the train or in the salon and I am ready to smack the phone out of their hands. Oooh, and when someone is talking into a bluetooth and you mistake them for talking to you and they look at you like you are a loser for thinking they are talking to you. Ugh. As if.
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Sitting with another person to a nice meal, and they are not able to put the phone down. Human interaction is wonderful, put it down for 30 minutes. It will be there when we’re done with our conversation.
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Worst phone etiquette: checking your phone while on a FIRST DATE! Okay, it might not actually be the worst, but it is the worst I have experienced! And there was definitely no second date.
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