Social tools and social capital: reading mobile phone usage in rural indigenous communities

This paper will investigate the user behaviour of mobile phones within rural Victorian indigenous communities and will question the extent that theories on exchange and reciprocity as understood in Aboriginal culture resonate in application to the use of communication technologies as well as highlighting the potential value of mobile phones in aiding social and financial communications within the Goulburn Valley region's indigenous peoples (Victoria, Australia). The findings presented are drawn from preliminary research, involving an evaluation study of 'My Moola: Opening Financial Pathways', a non-governmentally funded financial empowerment program involving the indigenous community. While the engagement with communications technologies was minimal in the overall implementation of the program, the everyday use of mobile phones and SMS in the recruitment and retention strategy, as well as the everyday use by the participants of the program, suggest some insightful points that highlight the particular importance of communication technologies to the maintaining and reaffirming bonds of social and community relations within the indigenous context. These theoretically based readings of certain aspects of user behaviour, suggests the need for further, extensive research to gauge a better understanding of how these factors can ultimately be incorporated into technological design and service delivery.