Connection Café: Strengthening Community Ties Online: A View From India

	Strengthening Community Ties Online: A View From India
	Posted by Taylor Shanklin at Apr 04, 2008 09:26 AM CDT Categories: Technology

With today's shift from the pulpit to the Internet as a public forum, some have been concerned with the possibility of technology weakening ties among communities. However, in the U.S. non-profits have embraced social media as a new way to strengthen those ties with their communities of constituents. And, although many of us - who have become accustomed to using the Web in our daily lives - believe that, as Thomas Friedman (in my opinion, a brilliant author and economist) says, the world is becoming flat, it may not be as flat yet as we think it is.

A recent trip to India introduced me to a whole new world, a world with strong, traditional communal ties where the Internet is consumed by early adopters but where there is much room for the Internet's continued diffusion.

On a daily basis, I work with non-profit clients working to streamline and improve the online experience for their uses. While in India, I spoke with a woman who heads a non-profit organization. They specialize in helping women become entrepreneurs. We talked about what I do and how eCRM has helped so many U.S.-based non-profits effectively reach a larger audience than they were able to before because of new high-tech avenues that help to develop strong ties with their constituents. She explained that it's not so easy there. While they have a website, her organization has a difficult time maintaining it. Although she understands the importance of reaching constituents online, the resources are not there. She explained this to be a problem for non-profits in India

There is a much smaller online audience in India. About 5-7% of the country’s population uses the Internet. While driving through the countryside, looking out the window, I observed villages of people hard at work. My travel companion looked at me and said, "What would these people use the Internet for? Who would they e-mail? This question opened my eyes and made me realize that while the Internet is being consumed by a growing number of people in India, there first would need to be a growth in non-profits and an infrastructure improvement for it to fully diffuse.

My experience in India was full of eye-opening experiences. It not only made me see how different other parts of the world live and use technology, but it also made me step back and realize how lucky we Westerners are. It will be interesting to watch the further diffusion of the Internet in India and how it affects non-profits as technology continues to meet humanity.