Power, Poverty and the Digital Divide

I am currently reading Inequality.com, Power, Poverty and the Digital Divide, by Kieron O’Hara & David Stevens. And although I am only partially way through the book, I wanted to share a quote of a quote that really caught my attention this morning, and ties quite nicely in to my earlier comment about the adoption of, or lack of, new web technologies by creative agencies.

The quote, originally taken from information scientist Charles Jonscher’s book, Wired Life, is featured in the second chapter that discusses technological development, subsequent adoption and where we might end up, from both a philosophical and anthropological perspective.

“I have gleaned two lessons from the history … of electronic technology … The First is to regard almost any prediction of the future power of technology itself as understated. The second is to regard almost any prediction of what it will do to our everyday lives as overstated.” – Charles Jonscher, Wired Life (1999, Bantam Press, London), p.248

Of course, I’ll write a more detailed review when I have finished the book.

DD