Week One-Post #2: Information Searches that Solve Problems

This article examined in depth how people utilize information sources to address problems within their life. I appreciated that the article addressed a wide spectrum of problems that individuals seek answers too (school, work, health, business, etc.) and felt that covering each of these topics made it clearer just how important accessing information on the internet truly is. One of my most favorite websites is Access Washington. The site can be found at www.access.wa.gov. It does a fantastic job at interlacing the information individuals are seeking such as the items listed above and it’s done in a way that is extremely easy to navigate and ‘user friendly’. It seems to be one-stop-shopping for individuals seeking a plethora of information. I also thought that it was great that the report covered some common problems that have connections to government agencies and programs. The article did a great job at addressing disparities in relation to internet access. Particular attention was paid to the 36% of Americans who have ‘limited access’ to the internet. I was surprised to discover that 23% of American’s do not have internet access and 13% of American’s don’t have broadband. This statement really surprised me because it addressed this population as ‘low-access.” The article also indicated that these individuals are “less successful than those with high-access to the internet in getting the material they need to address their problems.” Being a non-broadband user myself, I am intrigued to find out how exactly am I less successful in retrieving information than those with high-access to the internet? Page three reports that “those with limited access or no access to the internet are older, less affluent and less well educated.”.

The article did an excellent job at address who utilized public library services. I was actually surprised to read that ‘household income is a less powerful predictor of library use than access to the internet is.” (page 10). I would have assumed income barriers would be the ultimate reasons individuals utilize public library services. After all, the library does offer free internet access, free movies, DVDs, books, books on tape, magazines, newspapers and more (‘free’ being the key word in the sentence). I utilize services from the public library on a weekly basis. And I have often wondered about the statistics of the types of individuals who utilizes the services offered there. It is interesting to note that I fit into almost all of the criteria listed for frequent users of the library (generation Y, low-access/non-broadband internet user, and parent of a school-aged child).

The statistical data supplied within the report was a little much to digest, but I feel that I comprehended clearly the ideas put forth within the report. But I believe that further exploration of the social and economic differences among those who utilize high access internet versus those who have limited access needs further investigation. It is clear that measuring citizen participation in e-government and also evaluating its successes and shortcomings will aid in the improvement of online services. By the responses from individuals polled for this report, there is an increasing awareness of various means to deal with the government and information technology could be key to customer satisfaction when connecting with government entities.