I love the Internet.
For me it is a constant joy of discovery and learning. When I first started working with computers it quickly lead into programming (Clarion for DOS anyone?) which satisfied my urge for creativity for a long time and when the Internet came along it was a place to learn new things and much like a huge library. As time has gone by though my passion or developing began to wane but my love of being a part of the web only grew.
This fascination for the web found its voice finally in this blog and while it has been a long slog the reward of starting to be heard has been a great experience. Even though my attention is mostly in a small section of a larger tech blogosphere I believe it is an important segment as it has repercussions beyond the blogs that are its proponents.
I am of course talking about Web 2.0 and its related subjects like social media, social aggregation and the early adopters of these technologies. For me this area has become incredibly fascinating because it is occupied by some extremely intelligent and deep thinking people. To be able to be a part of that conversation and to be able to in turn offer up my own observations; good or bad, is rewarding beyond words.
The problem is though that I know to a very large degree that I am an outsider looking in and the reason for this is because I am on the wrong side of the technological divide that I have talked about in the past. While this doesn’t really bother me most times; as I believe it gives me a rather unique perspective on this whole Web 2.0 stuff, there are times where I also realize how tenuous this umbilical cord that connects us is.
One thing is more than apparent when you look in on Web 2.0 and the constant chatter about all the cool hardware, software and ideas. The majority involved in this space have no idea of what being on the other side of the technological divide is like or how it is limiting the adoption of the things they believe in. They talk about dropping a couple of grand on a new laptop in the same way they I would order breakfast or they line up to fork over a couple of hundred for a new cell phone without even blinking an eye. For them the connection is forever flowing whether through never ending broadband connectivity or wireless goodness. On the other side of the fence though real life has a habit of slapping you back to reality and your position in it.
You see once you cross that divide and find yourself in the badlands of real life where the vast; and growing, majority of people find themselves you soon discover that Web 2.0 means very little. You discover that all the blogs, Twitters and FriendFeeds in the digital world really mean very little when you can’t access them. You soon find yourself looking like a child with it’s nose pressed up against the window of the candy store looking at all the goodies but never able to savour them.
For me it doesn’t matter how much I want to be able to contribute to the conversation I am constantly limited by the reality of the technological divide. While advocates of openness and a web for all chatter on about their newest laptop or some other such toy I listen to the clicking of a failing hard drive. While others wouldn’t blink at slapping down a couple hundred for the newest and coolest replacement drive I have to figure out which bills don’t get paid this month.
Even more basic than that though is the tenuous line that connects me to the world wide conversation. While the discussions about ubiquitous broadband access for everyone float around the blogosphere I look at an empty PayPal and bank account and wonder if I can talk my uncaring service provider into giving me an extension on the disconnection notice that is in front of me. Chances are though that real life will step in come Monday morning and slap me back into my proper position on the other side of the technological divide.
I love the Internet but I have learned one thing – it and all it promises isn’t for poor people like me.
Conversation Tags: Web 2.0, technological divide, reality
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