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Internet us Last week my column talked about sex and and Internet. Now lef s talk about sex and the Internet again! (OK, I actually want to talk about gender and the Internet. But Fm sure I'll get more readers if I use the word "sex" instead.) Traditionally the Internet has been viewed as a sort of high-tech boys' club, h'or years now, an oft-quoted estimate has had nine males using the Internet for every one female. Well, it turns out the Internet might not be as populated with Y chromosomes as everyone thought. Four Internet surveys have come out since April, each showing a higher level of female participation on the Net than previously believed. However, they disagree wildly as to how many women there are: The Graphic Visualization & Usability Center conducted an anonymous World Wide Web survey in May and June. It found 82 percent of respondents were male, 15.5 percent were female and 2.5 percent refused to say. Web address: http://www.cc.gatech.edu/gvu/user_surveys/User_Survey_Home.html Career Fair September 12, 1995 ' K> OLDE, Americas Full Service Di; * looking for motivated people to in the stock brokerage business. OLDE offers: 4-12 month paid traininj Potential six-figure inco Excellent benefits If you possess excellent commun general market knowledge and t see us at the Career Fair on Sept< If you are unable to attend the C 1 800 937-0601 or send resume to: OLDE Discount Stockb National Recruiting 751 Griswold Street Detroit, MI 48226 ] M DISCO An Equal Opportunity Employer HP^r ~ BKk ** JBU/bBIx bbbMP * j|... y ins apply Available in most areas. * .? Th ers still con TECHNOBABBLE Marc LaFountain SurveyNet, a web site specializing in anonymous surveys of the Net, started a continuing survey in August. So far, 76.9 percent have said they are male and 22.9 percent have said they are female. The rest have chosen not to answer. 117 _!_ IT Til// T ii weD aaaress: nupy/www.wi saom.com/sv/ O'Reilly & Associates, which released its study in July, took the more statistically reliable approach of randomly selecting its own sample of telephone users. O'Reilly found that 66 percent of those surveyed were men and 34 perc en t w er e w om en . Webaddress: http://www.ora.com:80/survey/ Matrix News conducted an e-mail survey of the Internet from October to December of last year. Matrix released data in April showing that 64 percent of survey respondents claimed to be J , g| scount BrokerSM, is I P^ " establish a career New Guitars - Ar (And Ot z program Al_ me *Bl V ication skills, he desire to excel, "JL, jjgijjjP smber 12,1995. I Career Fair call: rokers igK 0 ' ;ff % Delti IQLDE ?UNT STOCKBROKERS Member NYSE and SIPC rT > ' - + *' ?* * //// ^/??BBHHP?fiSSIl Hi/ ^'"-' fro Gamecock HShIH Wednesday nmunicate i male and 36 percent claimed to be female. Web address: http://www.tic.com/mids/demostat.html I have included the addresses of all the surveys so you can browse them. They examine far more than the gender composition of the Net. For instance, thfi snrvevs confirm tfio sneni cion held by many that Internet users are wealthier and better-educated than the average citizen. The GVU study found an average income of $69,000 per Internet user. In the O'Reilly study, 43 percent of respondents said they had incomes between $35,000 and $75,000. All of the studies that dealt with education found higher-thanaverage levels of college and post-graduate degrees among Internet users. A depressing finding was made by the GVU study, showing that there are very few minorities using the Internet. The GVU survey had 82.3 percent of its respondents identify themselves as white. No other race made up even five percent of the survey results. So, now that I have rattled off all of these statistics, what do they mean? Well, in spite of some Devine Street Columbia, S.C. & Used Major Brands f ft nps - Drums - PA Equipment J her Musical Instruments) {y I L at Discount Prices JY * SELL * TRADE 5? * 1HH2 en .Wh dfjbl k $ ing witn the USC Women's Chorus '' J i] <Mvs,c t27)' ' -i ^d&jf^es^y^n^Jhur^ay 23 ^ no audition required m -Call 777-5369 for more4nf(>rjnqiio^||J| Hie^^lHw^KaBfc' &* Jy?. .*<'iSJlj^^H jp'^^ Jtj , September 6, 1995 n homogen V recent gains by women, the Internet is still primarily the domain of the white, well educated, well paid, male. - And, that's not a good thing. Women?even well-educated and well-paid ones? often aren't choosing to use the Internet. Minorities, the less educated and the less affluent either seem unable or imwilling to use the Internet. What all of this spells is the possible creation of a technological underclass. I am not a gloom-and-doomer when it comes to technology and the future. I don't believe we are heading toward a real-life "Brave New World.'' However, I do believe information will be the cur kV._ ??: T_ i.i iciiujr ui tne turning age. in uiai age, mere will be information have-nots, and those could easily be people not using the Internet today. The solutions to getting more people online are not easy ones, but they must be considered. First, we need to structure more Internet content so that it appeals to women and minorities. We need to let those people know that going online can be interesting and beneficial for them. Next, we need to get the poor and less affluIsTB Dinner | Hootie Russell Ho coiumbl September i 9/13/95 i Concert Alpha-Ome | Register IN LTlJ Play It N] Sam ft by Woody Allen 115 : : Tickets on sale $8 w/USC ID, $: USC studen fP*'' ; Ti All programs are paid for, in p : cial assistance for disabilities, j 1 ^ " f t ;'{/_' "f | W\ Wk v w mmi.fM,;- <^M.^,A 4 Mil ^ P'WflF* ^IH eous world ent online. While I don't support Newt Gingrich "laptop for every citizen" fantasy, I do think s a nation we could be doing a lot more to foste community computer access. Columbia is a pe: feet example of a city that has done somethin to give access to citizens with the creation of Mi< Net (which I wrote about last year). I was surprised somewhat to realize that fit the mold of the stereotypical Internet use (OK, I dont make $69,000, but maybe someday! While it would be nice to think the net is fille with people just like me, it also would be borini I really don't want to share a virtual world wit millions of copies of myself. We need differer types of people online to make the Internet a energetic and vibrant place. Marc LaFountain, a journalism senior, can be < mailed at lafountain-marc@sc.edu. To subscril to an electronic version of this column, send < mail to listserv@univscvm.csd.sc.edu with "SU, T-BABBLE YourFirstName YourLastName" i the body of the message. Theatre <0 use Ballroom ^ 14,1995 6:30 pm ga Players - AHilarious Comedy ffjjbf ofOffBeat Wit! . 6at Russell House Info. Center L0 USC Faculty and Staff & Non ts, $15 General Admission. :ket sales end 9/11. art, with student activity fees. People needing spe >lease contact Carolina Productions at 777-7130. BPmaVvv I PBvVtV y J. ?1995 ATXT