The Stifling and Growth of Multiculturalism Online

Stifling — “Have-nots”
s Capital
o Money is used for everything in technology. Not only must one buy or lease the computer, but also pay for the Internet access.
o Example: A family living in Iceland cannot afford to buy a computer or to pay the monthly ISP fee to maintain Internet connectivity.
s Technology/Infrastructure
o Internet access is required, but on top of that, the place one lives in must have an infrastructure that allows for connectivity.
o Sometimes capital limits the type of computer one can buy, affecting either the newness or abilities of systems obtained.
o Example: A village in India that uses Pentium 1 machines with 28.8 kb/s dial-up modems has one phone line for the entire village, which is periodically disrupted leaving the entire town incommunicable.
s Geographical Location
o Not everywhere has Internet access either because it is too far out of the way, or geography does not allow for a feasible means of connectivity to be implemented
o Example: A Peruvian village high in the Andes cannot afford to, or cannot physically lay cables down to the closest ISP, thus inhibiting connectivity, and satellite Internet is much too expensive and therefore not feasible either.
s Internet’s Current Content or Restrictions
o Some of the Internet’s content, or lack thereof, discourages users from using it.
o Example: If a Chinese user disapproved of the Chinese government’s regulation of US search pages, and decided either not to use the Internet altogether, or to only use certain Chinese sites for his/her blogs.

Growth — “Haves”
s Corporate Financing
o Corporations realize not only the business importance of communicating with clients, but also the revenue-growth implications; all of this inadvertently connects more people from across the globe.
o Many times companies only invest in where they feel they will have the most success, financially, which involves primarily European and other developed countries.
o Example: Companies like Intel have set goals to help connect an additional number of individuals to the Internet, by a certain time. Not only do third-world and other foreign persons get to connect, but Intel faces a much wider market for product distribution in the future.
s Personal Investment
o Individuals are recognizing the importance of being able to connect and communicate with colleagues and friends, and are making investments in Internet services.
o Usually requires a decent base of working capital.
o Example: A Danish family signs up with an ISP, and then the father communicates with business clients in the US, while the mother webcams with family in Finland, while the daughter has a German e-mail pen pal.

In General
s Damaging to:
o Third-world or underdeveloped countries
o Minorities

s Benefits:
o Those with capital
o Every society using it by making their citizens more multicultural and diverse.