Digital Divide Discussion
Post categories: Digital Public Space
| 10:33 UK time, Thursday, 31 January 2008
Digital Divide posts so far:
Ashley Highfield has already blogged about what he calls "the digital divide" and about broadband take-up. Obviously, this is a important topic for the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ and in particular for Future Media & Technology.
One of the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳'s public purposes as outlined in the current Charter is to help:
...to deliver to the public the benefit of emerging communications technologies and services.
And broadband take-up feels as though it's becoming as important as the switchover to digital television in achieving this. The more licence fee payers have broadband, the more we'll be able to create new, innovative public service products and services for them.
So let's start a conversation about the "digital divide" on this blog. And to kick off, technology critic has kindly allowed us to reprint the article he wrote for this week's Ariel (the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ staff newspaper).
Is there a digital divide and does it matter? Or like Pete, do you think it's being exaggerated?
Is the real problem media literacy and poor web design (as Leyton Jay suggests)?
If there is a divide, what if anything should be done about it? And should the ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ do anything?
Like Bill, do you think that there's a role for government in building a broadband network?
I'm going to find some other guest bloggers to give us their thoughts. But yours are very welcome.
Nick Reynolds is editor, ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Internet Blog.
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