Time Out for the Digital Divide

For the past five days, Linda visited a place in the U.S. that doesn't have a proliferation of connectivity. In other words, she was unable to connect to the Internet even to download her email. What does this mean to someone who relies on the Internet and social media to connect with others in a seemingly well-connected society? Does it matter? Should designers and programmers take note of this situation?

Encountering the Digital Divide

This past week I was asked to speak at a writer's seminar on the topic of social media. The seminar was held in a building in the middle of a rural Virginia county that had a dial-up connection for the office computer. Not one laptop was in sight, as no one had connectivity. Everyone took notes with pen/pencil and paper. As writers, this group was not illiterate...and most attendees could afford computers. In fact, one person had written for Huffington Post, at least half of the writers had published books, and many of the writers had worked at large U.S. newspapers.

Why was this group so far "behind" in learning about social media? I even encountered resistance in learning about basic marketing and social tools such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Then, it hit me...there are several factors that contribute to a "Digital Divide," and – although some issues centred around economics, or the ability to afford a computer and a high-speed Internet connection – economics contributed only partially to this inability to connect to others.

So I'm taking a short break from your FriendFeed lessons to talk about this Digital Divide and the myriad reasons why it exists. In the process, I hope that you may learn more about why these tools are important to your career as well as to life in general. Although some folks may feel that the Web and its various social tools may be a 'fad,' it appears that connecting to others via the Internet is here to stay. In fact, many other people crave to learn what you know, yet don't have that choice.

What is a "Digital Divide"?

According to Jakob Nielsen, "The 'digital divide' refers to the fact that certain parts of the population have substantially better opportunities to benefit from the new economy than other parts of the population. Most commentators view this in purely economic terms. However, two other types of divide will have much greater impact in the years to come."

Nielsen goes on to state that the lack of interconnectivity is an economic issue, where – in some cases – some individuals cannot afford a computer, let alone a high-speed Internet connection. Why is high-speed important? Because, with dial-up or slow connections, users cannot download videos and watch them, let alone use many Flash sites. This inability to connect to videos and Flash would hurt anyone who develops these tools for their clients...and it hurts the client as well, as many computer users cannot view their messages without broadband or wireless connections.

Nielsen also states that this inability to connect addresses usability and empowerment issues as well...