Changing our Technological Frame changes what we think is possible
Tuesday, July 8th, 2008Technological frames are the set of assumptions, expectations, and meanings that people use to understand the role and purpose of technology in organizations (Bijker 1987). As technological frames change the opportunities that become possible with a given technology change, leading to innovative and previously unimagined applications of IT.
The thought of having software-as-a-service (using gmail in place of a program installed on your computer, or google documents in place of microsoft word) was not thought about back in 2003. But, our technological frames have shifted, and now they are thought about all the time.
Bijker, W. E. (1987). The social construction of bakelite: Towards a theory of invention. The social construction of technological systems. WE Bijker, TP Hughes and T. Pinch. Cambridge, Massachusetts, The MIT.