I’m honored and excited to be the incoming Vice-Chair of the Mobile Communication Interest Group of the International Communication Association.  This group has been so supportive of my work and I look forward to joining the leadership in this innovative community of scholars.

If you want to learn more about our history, explore the website.  We are an international group of over 200 scholars whose research and teaching include many different contexts.  But our shared interests center around the study of technology, culture, and mobility in the area of human communication.  Our work is published in journals including Mobile Media & Communication, Journal Computer-Mediated Communication, New Media & Society,  Computers and Human Behavior, Management Communication Quarterly, Communication Theory, and many more!

This group welcomed me about 7 years ago even though my interests were more organizational.  They encouraged me to develop my ideas and the learn the history of this research area, something I continue exploring still today.  I am so glad I listened to their advice or I never would have written my latest book.  This is one of most collegial and collaborative groups I’ve ever seen. I am so honored to have new excuses to hang out and learn from them.

I have some breathing room now because I don’t jump into my new position until May, 2018, but I want to plant some seeds for the future.  First, we will be having a preconference in mid-May, 2020 in Gold Coast, Australia and the planning will begin in the summer of 2019.  This is a tradition in the mobile communication community for over 15 years, and it is what brought people together to become an interest group and eventually a division.  I welcome ideas and volunteers to help us make this event a success.  Second, if you have ideas that encourage and develop graduate students and early career scholars, find me and let’s talk.  That is something I value and I’d love to see us continue welcoming new ideas and people into our group.  Finally, I’m most excited to meet some of the people around the world who are doing amazing mobile communication work.  I look forward to the journey!