A while ago the always intelligent Seth Godin posted an article on the new digital divide. He sums up certain similarities grouping what he calls “the Digerati” and what he calls “the left behind”. Here is a revised version of his list, a couple of points added on basis of comments on the original thread:
| The Digerati | The Left Behind |
|---|---|
| Uses Firefox | Uses Internet Explorer |
| Knows who Doc Searls is |
Already has a doctor, thanks very much |
| Uses RSS Reader | RSS? |
| Has a blog | Reads blogs (sometimes) |
| Reads BoingBoing (or Slashdot) |
Watches the Tonight Show |
| Bored with Flickr | Flickr? |
| Gets news from Google | Gets news from Peter Jennings |
| Uses del.ico.us | Thinks that’s probably a p0rn site. |
| Uses Bittorrent | Uses a VCR |
The reason why people like this list is because the people reading it find themselves among the Digerati. But if we really are, we should prove it by trying to help the left behind.
So here we go:
Uses Firefox
Firefox is a free browser that is safer, more powerful and more expandable than Microsoft Internet Explorer. Here are 13 reasons to use Firefox. You can download Firefox here. I also recommend that you install these plugins.
Knows who Doc Searls is
“He can keep more balls on the floor than anyone he knows”. A writer, general guru of computers, marketing and huge amounts of interesting stuff. Read more here.
Uses RSS Reader
Really Simple Syndication. A way of subscribing to interesting feeds of news and entertainment and all sorts of stuff on the web. Here are some hints on how to get started with RSS.
Has a blog
Short for weblog. A web site like this one – eirikso.com. It is no point for me to start competing with the description of a blog over at Wikipedia: Weblog.
And how do I start one? The simplest way: Blogger.com. The powerful way: How to set up a blog
Reads BoingBoing (or Slashdot)
BoingBoing – A directory of wonderful things
Your source of news, entertainment, fun, interesting web stuff and wonderful things.
Slashdot – News for nerds. Stuff that matters
Where you most likely will know it first if something interesting happens in the world of computers.
Bored with Flickr
A fantastic site where you can store, share and organize your pictures. An open approach from day one has resulted in huge amounts of “hacks” that lets you do all sorts of cool stuff with your pictures.
Gets news from Google
Google News is currently one of the biggest news gathering sites on the net. If something interesting happens on this planet you will read about it here.
Uses del.ico.us
A fantastic site for you to store and share your links to interesting sites and pages on the net. No more “my links are gone because my computer crashed”. No more “I stored that link in the browser at my home computer”. All your links available always and everywhere. More on del.icio.us here.
Uses Bittorrent
A technology that is used to help people share and distribute large files fast. You need a BitTorrent software on your PC and links to files distributed through BitTorrent.
…maybe this helps fighting the new digital divide?
eirikso 
I kinda feel a little left behind 😉
Not anymore (I hope)! 😀
More entries for the list:
The Digerati
Listen to podcasts
The Left behind
Listen to FM radio and think that DAB (digital audio broadcast) is the next big thing
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