web24gov

I just blogged at DavePress about the problems many public servants have when trying to engage with web 2.0 and social media services because of outdated browser technology. The vast majority of those working in government have access to Internet Explorer v6 at best - some are using even older software.

To try and see how much of a problem this is, I have set up a simple survey for government types to complete to see what browser they are using at work, what problems they have encountered and what they would like to use in an ideal world.

Perhaps this is even more of a problem outside of government offices, though. There are citizens out there who are probably running ancient versions of Windows, with terribly old browsers which have no way of coping with the latest innovations on the web. It's no good chucking stuff up on YouTube if people's browsers can't display it! I am only guessing, but these problems could well be worse in rural communities than urban ones.

Unlike many of the issues surrounding the digital divide, though, this is one that is potentially really easy to solve. One way might be to set up a little site (that renders perfectly in any browser!) that tells people why using (say) Firefox would be better, and explains that it is free, and how to go about installing it.

What do others think? Are bad browsers a barrier to social web engagement? What else could we do to tackle the problem?