KCB201: May I ask who I'm talking to?

Here are a few modern day buzzterms that are usually shuffled out around universities and research institutes:

• everyone's a journalist
• everyone's a publisher
• open information
• free communication
• freedom of speech

Well, stats released from the ABS today suggest these phrases may not be as substantial as I thought. What we need to ask when we reference these words is who are we actually talking about? Who's able to be an instant `journalist`; and who is `free` online information actually open to.

The ABS found the group of people in Queensland who use the internet most frequently are highly educated 18-24 year-olds with high incomes. I imagine people who publish their own online content are predominantly the same group but maybe a little older.

So are we just preaching to ourselves when we publish online content, and is freedom of online information only valid if you've got an internet connection?

I would argue - at the moment - yes. The digital divide is fairly thick, but I think it's diminishing as broadband is more accessible and information becomes more fluent in regions like the Middle-East and Asia.

Until these countries gain freer access, I guess us rich [*not*] scholars are stuck talking to eachother ...
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*photo courtesy of GSU