The Digital Divide remains because assess alone does not make people skilled users.

What People DO online Online Exposure Now EVERYONE's Connected? To BE or NOT to BE Digital Superhighway
Failure and the Internet. The Internet continues to confound us all. So much of what everyone believed 10 years ago proved to be nonsense. Much of the current hype about Twitter and social networks is also "hopeful talking up" and not based on facts. There is a revolution going on; and we all need to become part of it. In 1995 the ideal was; that everyone could be well informed, and that there would be a level playing field, so that many of the structural ills of society might be corrected. The fear was that a digital divide would develop, that some people wouldn't have access to Internet connected machines. We now have a digital divide. Even those who are well connected to the Internet, including many of those who say they are competent Internet users are unknowing and incompetent. Don Tapscott, author of the book, "Grown up Digital", believes that people who have grown up with the Internet are far more comfortable with the technology. So far so good, but that doesn't make more than about 20% of them competent users. If you are going to learn about the Internet easily and well you need a good model to follow. I suggest that only in 12 households in 100 does a suitable model live. Those who are active in social networks and blogs have access to good models beyond the home. Sadly education on computer use doesn't help. Teaching people how to use Microsoft programme's and how to use email does almost nothing to make people more competent. There's no better story looking at business online. It was assumed that on the Internet everyone would be a potential customers and that the Internet would make it easy to sell online. That's not the case. It's much harder to develop an effective business web site than anyone imagined in 1995. I did a survey of 60 businesses in Christchurch, all in the engineering, science and high-tech area. Only 5 had web sites that were anything like functional. Not a single site in this group was making any effective use of Web 2.0 tools, blogs, podcasts, or effective feedback processes of any kind. There was lots of effort to SELL, but little understanding of the need to communicate. Information is power. When information is freely available, those who used to exercise power, because they have in the past controlled the information, now find that's difficult. Governments find it impossible to control what the public knows. Newspapers no longer control local news. Whatever you sell, can also be purchased online, often at a lower price. Nobody can be sure that their job is safe.	There is a tremendous debate going on, online about how to use the Internet for the best purposes. The cost of being involved is close to ZERO. The debate is in online forums and blogs. The participants are everyone who wants to be involved. The VALUE is in self confidence and understanding. You are NOT going to make a lot of money with your MLM scheme, or by professional blogging, or by selling ebooks online. The basic reason is in the graph above. There is a revolution going on. If you appreciate that, you might also see how to use it for your advantage. Be careful though the failure rate remains high.

The Internet continues to confound us all. So much of what everyone believed 10 years ago proved to be nonsense. Much of the current hype about Twitter and social networks is also "hopeful talking up" and not based on facts. There is a revolution going on; and we all need to become part of it.

In 1995 the ideal was; that everyone could be well informed, and that there would be a level playing field, so that many of the structural ills of society might be corrected. The fear was that a digital divide would develop, that some people wouldn't have access to Internet connected machines. We now have a digital divide. Even those who are well connected to the Internet, including many of those who say they are competent Internet users are unknowing and incompetent.

Don Tapscott, author of the book, "Grown up Digital", believes that people who have grown up with the Internet are far more comfortable with the technology. So far so good, but that doesn't make more than about 20% of them competent users. If you are going to learn about the Internet easily and well you need a good model to follow. I suggest that only in 12 households in 100 does a suitable model live. Those who are active in social networks and blogs have access to good models beyond the home.

Sadly education on computer use doesn't help. Teaching people how to use Microsoft programme's and how to use email does almost nothing to make people more competent.

There's no better story looking at business online. It was assumed that on the Internet everyone would be a potential customers and that the Internet would make it easy to sell online. That's not the case. It's much harder to develop an effective business web site than anyone imagined in 1995.

I did a survey of 60 businesses in Christchurch, all in the engineering, science and high-tech area. Only 5 had web sites that were anything like functional. Not a single site in this group was making any effective use of Web 2.0 tools, blogs, podcasts, or effective feedback processes of any kind. There was lots of effort to SELL, but little understanding of the need to communicate.

Information is power. When information is freely available, those who used to exercise power, because they have in the past controlled the information, now find that's difficult. Governments find it impossible to control what the public knows. Newspapers no longer control local news. Whatever you sell, can also be purchased online, often at a lower price. Nobody can be sure that their job is safe.

Adapt to Experience

Failure and the Internet.