I have been wanting to write for some time about what I think is an incredibly important problem facing us; but it never seems to get talked about or just gets glossed over as statistics. We are facing a true and ever widening technological divide between the tech have’s and the tech have-not’s. It is a divide that not only exists in some developing country but also in our own cities; maybe even next door to you.

This past week saw a fairly heated discussion over something as silly as a ranking system for bloggers when a large portion of our society doesn’t even have the faintest clue what an RSS feed is and the only reason they have even heard of the word blog is because of media outlets like CNN.

In reality something like the A-List on Technorati is nothing more than ego inflating bullshit especially when you consider the fact that 22% of respondents to Park Associates poll in the US said they couldn’t even afford a computer let alone Internet access. This was along with 29% that don’t have Internet access and nor do they see getting it.

22% - that’s a lot of people on the other side of a widening technological divide.

In her post on the A-List dustup Elaine Vigneault pointed this out as well

In many countries, even in wealthy parts of Europe and Canada, many people still do not have home computers. They are a luxury item, not a necessary work related need.

And if anyone know how close some of us are to being on the wrong side of the chasm it is me. After all if it wasn’t for the kindness of some of the WinExtra Forum members I would probably still be computerless after my last machine died. I wouldn’t have the luxury of writing a blog or starting a new learning curve. I was lucky that the machine came with XP as part of the package and once the evaluation period for Vista runs out I’ll probably be back in XP land because I don’t think I could force my wife and I to eat Kraft Dinner for a few months just so I can have the latest and greatest.

For some of us; no matter how much we want to be an influencer or early adopter, that 22% is only a hard drive failure away or any number of things. In the process though we are creating a segment of society that will fall further and further behind as technology expands even further. I know this divide well because for me and many people like myself are standing at the edge only one step away from being a member of that growing segment.

There is a great fuss made about these $100.00 computers being handed out in developing countries and that is all well and good but what about our own technological underclass; and yes that is what it is especially considering the importance we are placing on the newest and the greatest. Not to mention also that number of even mediocre paying jobs that are requiring more and more knowledge about computers and software. 

This is why there are days I sit in wonderment reading about all these new toys that folks run out to get. I read daily how ubiquitous computers are suppose to becoming in our society and how necessary they are. Then I visit with friends who either can’t afford such luxuries or have lost them because of financial hardships.

So sure there’s a sill A-List - it is human nature to quantify success and even in the blogging world this holds true but as Tony said in a post at Deep Jive Interests

And its ludicrous to say that ‘a-listers’ don’t exist. Its not an existential definition, and its not about how “good” some bloggers are. When I refer to an “a-list” I am referring to a specific set of bloggers who can make, change, and report news and opinion on a different scale by virtue of who they are, who they know, and what they are actually doing.

In the Technosphere, they *are* the news.

By that very virtue I would love to be in the A-List if for no other reason than that my thoughts and opinions would carry weight and possibly get others to think about these type of important tech matters. After all when people like Dave Winer, Robert Scoble and Michael Arrington can move everyday technological boundaries image what could be done if the blogosphere had a real social conscience.

[tags]technology, have-nots, influencers, Internet, blogging, bloggers[/tags]

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