Accessibility to information

In the last decade, the Internet has revolutionized the structures of the public sphere by creating a virtually unlimited number of websites and forums of discussion available on demand to citizens with Internet access (Ahmad, Kee, Mustaffa, Ibrahim, Mahmud, Dafrizal, 2012). The Internet offers a potential departure from the boundary characteristics associated with the industrial age, namely that of urbanization and suburbanization (Maj & Derda-Nowakowski, 2010). The vast nature of the information retrieval on the Internet cannot be understated. In 2006, it was estimated that nearly 50 million people in the US obtained some of their news through the Internet on an average day (Horrigan, 2006).

Today, the World Wide Web provides an unlimited amount of transmission and storage capacity and thus is the mechanism for information distribution (Bucy, 2004). Initially, the development of the Internet revealed the existence of a vast global community of perceptively disabled people who wished to participate in information accessing (Maj & Derda-Nowakowski, 2010). As a result, online websites are evolving from a non-interactive, passive model of information delivery into an environment of increased immediacy, content richness, and user control (Bucy, 2004). 

Initially, areas of the World Wide Web remained inaccessible or difficult to access by people across a spectrum of disabilities. This had serious implications for the potential use of the web for increasing social inclusion (Adams & Kreps, 2009). Previously, attempting to access raw information without the use of a search engine was seldom comprehensive. Browsing for information on general websites presented filtered and arranged information to a specific user community but usually offered poor user interface and limited search options, requiring the surfing of hyperlinks page after page. 

As a result of this, certain companies have taken it upon themselves to bridge this ‘digital divide’. In particular, Google’s mission statement is ‘to organise the world’s information and to make it universally accessible and useful’ (Google Inc, 2004). Similarly, Facebook proposes ‘to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected.

The development of platforms like Google Earth, Google Maps, Wikipedia, YouTube and Skype are all testament to this idea of global information accessibility.

Social media has facilitated the acquirement of new and prompt information. Described as ‘the great equalizer’, tools like Facebook have gained global attention as interactive and affective communication mediums (Ahmad, Kee, Mustaffa, Ibrahim, Mahmud, Dafrizal, 2012). Social networking is a global integration process that is able to form a global society through mediation and acculturation where values and common language connects the world political economy in an international network system (Adams & Kreps, 2009). Effectively, such networks have connected the globe.

For example (in the clip below), Facebook’s translation function has allowed people from different backgrounds, cultures and social backgrounds to interact with each through a single medium. Kling (1999) proposes that a key idea of social informatics research is that the "social context" of information technology development and use plays a significant role in influencing the ways that people use information and technologies, and thus influences their consequences for work, organizations, and other social relationships. Through the automated translation of various foreign languages, the standardization of Facebook’s system breaks down a multitude of cultural and social barriers. Accessibility of information between different people is increased tenfold in a process akin to ‘the creation of a global village’ (McLuchan, 1964).

The Facebook platform has also given rise to a universal form of communication across the medium. The system integrates aspects of communication including email, IM, text messages, video and wall posting, in doing so creating a universal class of user (Conell & Sanford, 1999). Universal design is defined as the approximation of an environmental facet to the needs of the maximum possible number of users (Iwarsson & Stahl, 2003). It is also based on the principle that there is only one population comprised of individuals representing diverse characteristics and abilities. By providing accessibility to different age demographics and technological backgrounds, Facebook’s messaging system satisfies universal design principles exploring social inclusion and ‘design for everyone’ (Iwarsson & Stahl, 2003).