Closing the Technology Gap with Web 2.0

Technology gaps exist between companies, cities, and even individuals. But, the largest technology gaps exist between countries. A technology gap is simply the difference between one country which has computers, and other high tech devices in general, and another country which does not.

As distributed computing continues to shape the technology landscape, these gaps, or "digital divides", are slowly closing. Users don't require as much hardware and software because the computing power doesn't exist on a single computer. The power is shifting to information sharing via social media, audio, and video outlets.

Farmers Growing Podcasts

In many parts of the world, small scale farming remains a viable alternative. But, small farmers, especially in third world countries, don't have the technology to maximize growing seasons.

One solution the Peruvian government has been experimenting with is podcasting. Regional weather reports are downloaded and recorded into MP3 format, the most common podcast format.

The podcasts can then be viewed online or broadcast on local television stations so farmers can analyze the data.

The amazing part to this story is that farmers don't need the latest technology widgets. They don't need a word processor, spreadsheet, or database program. Yes, there is a need for decent bandwidth but even that is becoming more available as satellite internet connections mature.

Closing the Digital Divide

The example above is just one of many solutions that countries are using to combat the dearth of technology.

While not every story like this is a success, it's important to note how Web 2.0 is transforming the technology landscape. And how simple solutions are solving major problems. Countries can now look beyond costly hardware and software and instead focus on getting the bandwidth needed to access already existing applications.

While many of the poorer countries may never have the technology hardware and software they need to compete globally, there's hope that at least the divide will lessen. And hope that people in these countries can not only survive but thrive.

 

Written by: Frank J Klein - CIO

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