Supplementing the efforts of Race Online 2012, spearheaded by UK Digital Champion, Martha Lane Fox, this week is ‘Get Online’ week. This is imperative for the public sector, and not just because of the looming cuts. Whilst an online transaction is an order of magnitude cheaper than a phone call, and that in turn is an order of magnitude cheaper than a personal visit, the important point is the way in whcih an online presence can transform lives. It can help vulnerable people, it can provide comradeship and support. In these difficult days when young people are finding it difficult to get employment, it provides a low cost opportunity for entrenpreneurial start-ups (for example by writing and selling applications (‘apps’) for mobile devices.
There is a website devoted to the issues. See http://www.getonlineweek.com/