Technology may offer huge benefits in the modern age, says Nigel Bates, but it has also meant a rise in‘cyber communities', at the expense of traditional neighbourhoods Looking back, we see that technology has shaped each stage of evolution. All the great periods of human civilisation are characterised in terms of that society's technologies – from the Stone Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age to the Industrial Age and the Information Age. Notionally, the Information Age started when electronic movement of information became faster than physical movement – in the early 1980s. However, arguably, it began during the latter half of the 19th century, with the invention of the telephone. Although parts of the world and sections of society do not have widespread access to information technology, its impact is felt worldwide. The time taken to deliver the benefits of technology to the masses is ever on the decrease. I believe we have now entered the Innovation Age, an era in which people are taking the tools at hand and using them in ways the creators probably never envisaged. We are in a world where the balance of power is shifting from traditional information providers to the individual. The growth of citizen journalism and the non-professional observer encourages people to use the Web as a voice for their passions or for expressing their views. The reality is that individuals now have more power than ever before to influence the communities they seek to address. These are fundamental shifts in the balance of power in our world. People are realising the potential of technology, not just in their work and social lives, but how it can be used to help them take advantage of the many different public services provided by the Government and local authorities. While some have argued that technology has helped bridge the information gap and, in turn, assisted with the democratic process, simultaneously, it has encouraged people to follow a path of greater individualism. The Government now faces a real challenge in engaging with citizens in our diverse, ‘online' society. Recent research from Microsoft backs up this notion that the traditional idea of ‘the local community' is in decline. Some 63% of people think being part of a local community was more important 30 years ago than it is now, citing the key factors of extended families living closer together, social lives geared around local community facilities such as a church, social club or school, and local businesses bringing people together. Almost one-third of people (30%) don't feel they belong to a community, and of those who do, one-third (32%) stated their community was united by shared lifestyle and interests rather than living in the same neighbourhood. In our hyper-connected society, it seems that for many people, community is no longer synonymous with neighbourhood. Yet technology is now being used to extend our personal networks, and new ‘cyber communities' are demonstrating that people are looking towards technology to fill a void. Sites such as UpMyStreet.com are being used by people to keep in touch with their neighbours, allowing them to circulate information about their local community. With technology effectively giving ‘power to the people', citizens are now expecting more from the Government and local authorities. Some 51% of people use technology to research local government or education services, and it is in this area that the Transformational Government strategy has, to date, rightly focused on. Giving people access to information regarding public services has been the starting platform for the citizen centric and choice agendas. One thing for sure is that change is here to stay and it is going to be radical and difficult, but also more exciting, more rewarding, more entrepreneurial and ultimately, result in a more effective public sector and hopefully, a better world. n Nigel Bates is head of local and regional government, Microsoft UK.
