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This chapter further develops the framework of CLUE with a consolidated discussion of five use cases presented earlier. It situates those cases on a broader horizon and reviews the trends of user localization across the sites. Thereby it illuminates how a holistic view of user experience is both situated and constructed in local contexts: To explore the “situatedness,” the first section of the chapter looks at how a local use of mobile messaging technology is situated in the surrounding contexts as the outcome of the interactions of various cultural influences; to investigate the “constructiveness,” the second section demonstrates how user localization functions as cultural consumption and how “genius loci” is achieved. Based on this holistic view of user experience, the third section examines affordances as dialogic relation through a dual mediation process of messaging use and suggests designing beyond operational affordances and cultivating social affordances for local use.

This chapter elucidates how action and meaning are interwoven in local uses, with a focus on the dialogic interactions of technology affordances, using an American case. It looks at how American business professional Sophie used mobile text messaging for emotional support in various work settings in order to juggle work, family life, and friendship. The “artful integration” process was accomplished due to her successful negotiation between instrumental and social affordances.

This concluding chapter suggests future directions for the research and practice of cross-cultural technology in a glocalization age. Centering on a dialogical approach, it analyzes what the cross-cultural design community could learn from the user localization efforts to design for, invoke, nurture, encourage, support, and sustain culturally localized user experience —the consummate experience—for emerging technologies. It studies the characteristics and value as well as the role and functions of user localization in a technology’s whole design, production, and use cycle and discusses how to route those user efforts into the design process to better address user needs and expectations in this rising participatory culture. Real-world examples are supplemented to further the discussion beyond the case study when needed.

This chapter explores the complexities of local culture beyond the models of cultural dimensions with an American user case. It studies American graduate student Brian’s texting use for coordinating with friends and examines how a precedent genre (instant messaging) shaped the local use of a new technology (text messaging) and the perception of the writing practices engendered (i.e., text messages as conversations) in the American context. It shows that the complexities of designing for culturally localized user experiences cannot be accomplished by only studying cultural dimensions.

This chapter elucidates how action and meaning are interwoven in local uses, with a focus on the dialogic interactions of technology affordances, using a Chinese case. It examines Chinese teacher Lili’s messaging use in her daily social network. The meaning of the technology conveyed from its social affordance was so important to her that she would ignore the poor usability of the technology. This chapter also introduces a complex picture of various cultural influences during technology use.

This chapter explores the complexities of local culture beyond the models of cultural dimensions with a Chinese user case. It regards Chinese graduate student Mei’s late night message exchanges as a new form of fan innovation and a literacy practice. In comparison to Brian’s orality practice in the previous chapter, this chapter discusses how different cultural preferences lead to different use and genre patterns of text messaging and contribute to different meanings. It exemplifies the dialogical nature of technology in cross-cultural technology design and illustrates many factors, other than cultural dimensions, contributed to this particular local use. Meanwhile Mei’s case also epitomizes the importance of “constructive subjectiveness” in technology design as her identity as a sports fan was a driving force in her creative way of using and localizing a technology.

This chapter traces the messaging use of American college student Emma for three years. It looks at meaning construction and identity work in cross-cultural design in a postmodern era and discusses how multiple identities were constructed in numerous layers of cultural contexts through a process of becoming, where the user was constantly looking for a technology to fit her lifestyle. It urges the design community to consider the role of subjectivity in design.