BUSINESS
Year in Review 2008: Top tech trends (part two)
31-12-2008
by Sylvia Leatham
Part two of our top tech trends looks back at some of the social and cultural aspects of the tech world in 2008, at home and abroad.
All aboard the broadband wagon?
Ireland continued to make slow and steady progress in the broadband stakes this year, with the overall feeling being one of 'a lot done, more to do'. Figures for broadband uptake and penetration were a real mixed bag, and there seemed to be a serious case of good news/bad news going on. One good news figure released in December is that Ireland now has a broadband penetration rate of 29.5 percent, according to ComReg. The bad news was that mobile broadband was a huge factor driving that number, and when those figures are removed from the count we're left with a penetration rate of just 19.7 percent. While mobile broadband was generally welcomed as a technology helping to bring high-speed internet to hard-to-reach places, it certainly wasn't viewed as a panacea for all our broadband ills. A study of broadband speeds by internet monitoring firm Epitiro found that browsing using mobile broadband was "considerably slower" compared to fixed-line services. Meanwhile, some in the industry expressed their frustration at the Government's seeming reliance on mobile broadband to boost the numbers, with Magnet CEO Mark Kellett calling Minister for Communications Eamon Ryan's equating of broadband success with high adoption of mobile broadband a "cop out" that deflected from "the failure to develop or implement any action plan/strategy on broadband".
Late in the year the Minister conceded that "we are not where we want to be on broadband but we are getting there", as he reiterated the Government commitment to the National Broadband Scheme, which promises to deliver "broadband for all", bringing high-speed internet access to regions currently without a service. The bad news was that the scheme -- whose contract was awarded to Three rather than Eircom in a surprise outcome in November -- is to be delayed until 2010, a development that drew criticism from Opposition parties. Minister Ryan pledged that by 2012 our broadband speeds would equal or exceed those in "comparator EU regions". The Government also committed to undertake a pilot project to bring high-speed broadband (100Mbps) to second-level schools around the country.
Maths: must try harder
One trend that continued to cause concern this year was another round of poor Leaving Certificate results in maths and science subjects. This year's results, released in August, did nothing to quell fears that Ireland will soon face a skills shortage in science, engineering and technology-related sectors. More than 5,000 students failed ordinary and foundation level maths this year, and only 17 percent of students taking maths chose to sit the Higher Level paper. Compounding the trend, this year's CAO offers showed that students were shying away from IT and engineering courses in their droves. As institutions struggled to fill places with students who lacked either the qualifications or the interest, many colleges held special maths entrance exams to give pupils a second chance to attain the grades needed for entry.
Meanwhile, industry leaders urged the Government to take action to turn the tide before it was too late. Head of HP Ireland, Martin Murphy, said the trend could lead to a serious skills shortage which could have a significant impact on foreign direct investment to Ireland. In December, the Government-appointed Expert Group on Future Skills Needs outlined its proposals to improve Ireland's proficiency in maths. In a report, the group called for students to be incentivised to take maths at Higher Level, for primary and secondary school teachers to be provided with teacher training courses, and for the development of a more interactive, imaginative approach to teaching maths. The one bright spot amid the results gloom was the Junior Cert, where there were some signs that student performance in maths was improving, with a failure rate of less than 3 percent on the Higher Level paper. Observers will be keen to see if the class of 2008 can sustain this level of achievement when it comes to doing their Leaving Cert in a few years' time.
Web 2.0? Yes we can
The rise and rise of Web 2.0, and particularly social networking, continued apace in 2008. Perhaps the most significant role of Web 2.0 during the year was the part it played in helping America's first black president sweep to victory. With a two-pronged aim of mobilising support and raising funds, the Barack Obama camp pulled out all the stops with some clever online manoeuvring. Allowing internet users to make donations of as little as USD15, the campaign garnered some USD440 million through online fundraising alone. Meanwhile, some web-savvy interaction with Facebook users, YouTubers and gamers helped Obama target the difficult-to-reach 18-to-25-year-old demographic.
Here at home, the Green Party were keen to jump on the Web 2.0 bandwagon, launching a search for a 'new media officer' to help revamp its communications strategy, and seeking user feedback on the topic of next generation broadband in a number of online forums before a major conference in October. Meanwhile, a new book by Bill Tancer of web traffic analysis firm Hitwise made it official: social networking matters more than porn to today's young adults, according to search results stats. And while security experts continued to worry about the safety of such sites, an 'EU Kids Online' survey released early in the year showed that the number of Irish children and teens freely posting personal information online has increased dramatically: 79 percent revealed their name or e-mail address on social networking sites during 2007, up from a figure of 28 percent the year before.
The kids are alright -- aren't they?
The darker side of Web 2.0 also came to the fore in 2008, as cyberbullying caused increasing unease. While parents and educators expressed their fears and some high-profile cases catapulted the subject into the mainstream media, big web firms, telecoms operators and even the EU waded in with measures aimed at halting the trend, or at least helping victims. A May survey conducted for RTE's 'Prime Time' caused ripples with its finding that one in seven Irish secondary school students were victims of cyberbullying. In the US, the Lori Drew case drew to a conclusion, with the MySpace mom being convicted of three minor offences for her role in an internet hoax that apparently drove 13-year-old Megan Meier to suicide last year. Meanwhile, shock spread beyond the online community in November as Florida teenager Abraham Biggs broadcast his suicide live on the web, while fellow members of a discussion forum watched.
Responding to the trend, many of the major social networking sites, along with video-sharing giant YouTube, took steps to protect younger users this year, making it easier to report instances of bullying and inappropriate behaviour or content. Here at home, the Irish Cellular Industry Association told a Joint Oireachtas Committee of the moves Irish mobile operators were taking to tackle the issue, and in December launched a 'Parents' Guide to Mobile Phones'. Meanwhile, the European Commission unveiled a EUR55 million 'Safer Internet Programme' for kids, as it revealed findings that more than one in 10 European children who use the internet has been bullied, contacted by strangers or encountered sexual or violent images online. But there was at least some cause for hope here in Ireland, as EU figures revealed that 80 percent of Irish parents stay close to their children while they are on the net, and more Irish family PCs have monitoring and/or filtering software than almost any other nationality in the EU.
The hitman and her
The year was also notable for many strange incidents involving the internet, which clocked up a number of 'firsts' as a communication and information tool. Apart from the key role the web played in getting America's first black president elected (see above), an Irish jury were warned for the first time ever not to 'Google' for information pertaining to a trial, and an Australian court allowed legal papers to be served via Facebook when conventional methods of contact failed.
And back at home we witnessed one of the most bizarre trials in recent memory, as it came to light that you really can buy anything on the internet. It was the case of the hitman and her: the so-called 'LyingEyes' trial, which resulted in Clare woman Sharon Collins being sentenced to six years in prison for conspiring to kill her former partner and his two sons. In a series of increasingly implausible twists to the case, it transpired that Collins had used the online handle 'lyingeyes98' to hire a hitman on the internet who used the e-mail address hire_hitman@yahoo.com. The purported hitman, an Egyptian poker player, later double-crossed the self-styled 'devil in the red dress' Collins and turned instead to attempted blackmail of the target. Computer forensics were responsible for uncovering much of the overwhelming body of evidence that eventually led to Collins' conviction.
Look out for our other 'Year in Review' features elsewhere on the site, including our pick of the tech 'winners' and 'losers' for 2008.
Building your list: Denise Cox says that in order to build a subscription list you need to be proactive about securing subscriber attention.
