Beep=meme

I interact with a lot of electronic devices in a day. It starts with my alarm clock first thing in the morning and includes my cell phone, iPod, car, computer, coffee maker, ATM, vending machine and more. I don’t just interact with devices – we communicate. We send messages back and forth. Sometimes the machines message is visual, but often it is with sound. My alarm clock blares and tells me to get out of bed. My car beeps in alarm until I fasten my seat belt. My cell phone sings until I answer it. But I had to learn the meaning of those sounds.

Electronic devices don’t always tell me what to do, they also tell me what I have done. One really satisfying feedback sound is the self-checkout machine at Safeway. The touch screen buttons don’t respond physically when you “push” them, but using them is satisfying because of a water droplet sound that plays. The machine gives a context, and therefore meaning to the water droplet sound. If I were just sitting on my couch and hear a drip, I would think my sink were leaking. But when I’m buying groceries, that sound means the machine has acknowledged I made a choice. I had to learn that meaning though.

Beeps are the ultimate audio homonym – they are device specific. I know when I’m in my car the rapid succession of beeps means I need to buckle up. When I am in my house that same exact sound means dinner is done cooking.