A new method of classifying the UK population into 23 "e-types", linked to where people live, could influence how public money is spent in addressing a more sophisticated version of the Digital Divide.
As the BBC reports the e-types developed by a research team include mobile explorers, the e-committed and the rational utilitarians. Others are cable suffices, technology as fantasy, and e-bookers and communicators. More here on the study funded by the Economic and Social Research Council as part of their e-society programme, and the groups in detail.
Analysis of consumer lifestyle surveys and public domain databases has been used to construct the 23 groups, and these have then been mapped onto neighbourhoods.
Under the heading "Ever wondered how technologically enabled your neighbours are?" the researchers invite you to feed your postcode into their site, and see if you agree with the way that you have been classified.
A background research paper - download link here - sets out the methodology and explains that the purpose of the research is:
creation of a quantitative model whereby any adult in Great Britain could be evaluated according to their likely level and manner of engagement with electronic technologies.
The paper later explains how the classification could be used in policy development and funding:
The maps shown in Figure 4 were produced for work for the London Borough of Camden, which used them as evidence to support a bid for central government funding in support of small business start ups. As such they illustrate how detailed understanding of localities can be used to inform initiatives designed to improve local e-engagement, and the maps are consistent with other studies of the fragmented social structure of the Borough.
... though the maps were missing in the paper I downloaded.
I certainly feel that the simple idea of the Digital Divide ceased to be useful some time ago because it encouraged us to focus on who was connected to the Internet, and pay too little attention to people's skills, confidence, needs and use of different types of technologies. Is a heavy mobile talker and texter more or less a digital have or have-not than an occasional dial-up online shopper? Is a business user - but leave-it-in-the-office - more or less connected than a bedroom online gamer?
As the researchers from University College, London, indicate, it is important to understand the different usages if we are concerned about the links between digital inclusion and social inclusion, the role of e-participation in democracy - and also, of course, if we are interested in who is likely to buy what.
A better model is certainly needed ... I'm just not sure if this is it. Part of the problem is that there is a big gap between the academic language of the research report, and the press release and stories that it is generating. The e-society site offers an email newsletter, but no scope that I can see for any discussion. Not very engaging.
I think further discussion of the model is important because it could be terrifically useful, for example, for local authorities competing in the UK Government's Digital Challenge competition (disclaimer: I'm doing some work on how the engagement game may be used in the process.)
Competitors in the challenge, and for other programmes, could use the datasets and maps - as Camden already has - to support their bids for funding to promote digital inclusion. Look, they'll say, we have lots of "Elderly marginalised" ( or "Mobile explorers" or whatever) in this neighbourhood, and what they clearly need is a strong dose of (add project idea from the growing Digital Challenge network toolkit.)
That's more sophisticated than the earlier Wired Up Communities initiatives, that focussed on giving people hardware. However, I am rather concerned that it could be rather formulaic unless there's an opportunity to move beyond postcode branding of groups towards individual requirements.
Though on reflection, it could be rather a good way to get some lively discussion going with the neighbours. "Did you know that this survey has us down as 'Too old to be bothered' and 'Technology as fantasy'? I'm not standing for that ... why don't we start a digital petition..."
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