When Does the Web Come to the Poor?Written by Mike Banks Valentine
I heard Larry Irving speak recently on "Digital Divide," a term he coined while working in Clinton Administration. Irving makes a compelling case for inaccessibility of web to poor. He emphatically demonstrates that business is ignoring a huge market when they ignore those without access to web. That means that anyone without a computer right now and those numbers can reach up to 85% of poor. That is not just those who can't afford computers, because many work where there is no online access. This would include employees of all kinds on factory floors and in warehouse operations, food service workers and blue-collar employees.Even "Digital Divide" will (eventually) be overcome by publicly accessible kiosk web terminals or web enabled automobiles, web-connected televisions and web encompassing every aspect of our lives. I believe that there will come a time in near future when business can no longer afford to ignore those who don't own computers. Although necessary public access computers will inevitably come in form of limited access to specific sites at first, I am certain that you'll be able to buy stuff online from anywhere, and that we can find ways to make that service pay handsomely for those businesses making web sales via those public web terminals. Marketing rep Barry Baker of KDS Pixeltouch, a manufacturer of on-site touch screen kiosk solutions, was rather negative about idea that publicly accessible web terminals were coming anytime soon. Although he valiantly struggled to brainstorm as we spoke on how such a scenario might play out. Even folks acting as a driving force behind touch screen kiosk use failed to offer any significant ideas for using their own product for web access in public places. I'd suggest they hire someone to develop a public web access kiosk of some type if he is one of those hoping for overnight riches, because when it takes off, riches are inevitable. He readily sites more mundane uses such as standard trade show display, store product locators and giant discount warehouse product mapping. Even Walmart auto parts lookups were mentioned. But that is handled currently by smaller, purpose built electronic part listing sort of calculators in each section. One for wipers, one for car batteries, one for oil filters. Those are all well and good, but why not have a central server with kiosk terminals throughout store, each programmed to provide just information in each section? Some terminals could provide home-improvement presentations in flash from web.
| | A Curmudgeonly View on AOLWritten by Mike Banks Valentine
Internetworld Spring 2002 in Los Angeles is Sponsored by AOL, a company that markets it's service with slogan, "It's so easy! No wonder it's number one!" One wonders what that company would get out of crowd that is clearly not interested in easy stuff. These are all high tech geeks who work with more odd acronyms than any one person needs to know. The companies represented by drones who toil away inside them see software solutions as a gateway to network infra- structure to implement cross enterprise knowledge management within structure of their data center while tying current applications through XML data feeds in backend. But AOL is for my mom and your grandmother. People who both need to be told, "You've got mail!" before they'll check it. But here is AOL anyway, with a eighteen foot high bulging balloon that looks like a computer monitor bouncing around in front of convention center doors like a giant Billy- Bounce kiddy-diversion found at a state fair. Maybe they believe that busy mommies will be driving by on busy Pico and Figueroa Streets with a carful of kiddies that will see their Billy-Bounce out front of convention center. Or it's possible that those who work with ECRM applications during day, go home to AOL connections each evening. I suppose it's possible that call center and salesforce automation software implementation might drive one to prefer AOL. Managers struggle every day to get their employees to USE that multi-million dollar eCRM software application in their work until they can no longer stand appearance of that customized GUI at which they stare endlessly. So, it's home to AOL! Naaaahhhhh! Where is mainstream at internet shows? Where's that guy from Circuit City commercial who runs from house in his slippers and bathrobe yelling excitedly, "BROADBAAAAAAND!" His family stares in disbelief at his excited plans for high speed internet? Where is that likeable guy who searches web using his default browser, set with default settings, viewing things that can't be faulted when his wife asks him, "I thought you were surfing web?" He responds, dumb- founded with, "I finished it." (a rather implausible ad for DSL). It sometimes seems that internet is made exclusively for enterprise-level IT drones who say to their co-Dilbert, "Six million dollars worth of pure strategic thinking . . . but given our current technology, is it implementable?, No?" Unless you think web is for mommies who don't know if they have email until their computer tells them, "You've got mail!," you've got to believe that there are worthwhile tools for rest of us availalble. The huge middle ground is not made up of those IT geeks OR busy mommy. It is made up of a vast sea of entrepreneurs, consultants, writers, freelancers, professionals running online businesses and other small business people who use web extensively. Nobody from venture capital funded start-ups purposely seeks out that hard to reach audience unless they can do it through office superstores or giant warehouse outlets.
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