|
Title/Headline
Why things will
be different
from now on |
Dear Users and Visitors of
this Web Site,
WebITNamibia.com was created with two
particular goals in mind:
- providing the Namibian public as well as friends and supporters of our
country with an Internet-based platform for exchanging information,
and
- broadening the knowledge base in Namibia about the applications, functions, and uses of
the Word-Wide Web in conjunction with modern Information Technology
for a variety of purposes.
Even though the set-up of Internet connections in urban homes, on
remote farms and in small villages, next to those in business centres,
has mushroomed in recent years, Namibia as a whole is still far
behind international technological developments and lacks vast
amounts of knowledge in this field. What has long since become an integral
part of daily life in most industrialised countries is still
utilised by most Namibians by exception only, if at all.
This is not just due to Internet access limitations in rural areas
but also a matter of affordability and of difficulties experienced
in obtaining adequate and comprehensive information. While the country's
coverage with telephone and cellular phone reception has made
significant progress in recent years, except in particularly remote
areas, purchasing and maintaining a computer and paying monthly
subscription fees to an Internet Service Provider as well as
substantial dial-up charges to Telecom Namibia have remained out of
reach for many.
Wireless Internet connections are as yet completely unheard of
outside larger municipal areas such as Windhoek and Swakopmund,
apart from a few farms connected to a satellite transmission
system. Even though these constitute a cheaper option than
lease lines and dial-up connections to many small- to medium-sized
businesses their fixed monthly costs still far exceed what the
average private person can afford to pay.
In a vast and sparsely populated territory
like that of the Republic of Namibia, the Internet could and should
play a vital role in addressing critical shortages in areas such as
education and information/communication facilities, and compensate
for the absence e.g. of postal services and daily newspapers in
numerous parts of the country. It could
also serve to improve communication between central government
institutions, larger companies, non-governmental organisations, etc. and their respective remote outposts, and
amongst the population at large.
What may appear to be a
"chicken-and-egg" situation in terms of the cost of providing
national Internet coverage versus the extent of usage, is in fact
none - the general availability of Internet access will dramatically
increase the usage, if not on its own than surely if promoted in a
nation-wide campaign based on appropriate decisions, policies and
the provision of facilities.
Countries larger than Namibia with areas just as remote and
difficult to access like ours have done so highly successfully. They clearly do so because the benefits
outweigh the necessary input.
Developments in our neighbouring country, South Africa, in recent
years have also shown that its population was ready to embrace
technological advancements on a large scale and are now enjoying not
only extended Internet as well as telephone and cellular phone
coverage but also greatly reduced usage fees.
We do not know the reasons why
taking this route in addressing the countries development needs has
not been given one of the top priority positions.
We however firmly believe that Namibia cannot afford
to trail behind global trends in this respect for long anymore. Access to the
Internet and all the opportunities it provides to the individual are
not meant to be treated like a privilege benefiting just a selected
few - it is the Internet's intended and inherent characteristic to serve
everyone as a tool for gaining easy access to information that is of
educational, motivational and stimulating value; as a tool for
improved communication across the world and for supporting the
global community in growing closer together; in sharing views and
finding answers to national, regional, and global problems; for improving work- and school-related
performances as much as the individual's knowledge in fields of
private interest, and in boosting international trade relations as
much as the global economy.
It is not meant to foster the individual's isolation and the growth
of dubious business activities but since the Internet is probably
the most democratic public institution in the world, it takes a
discerning user to make a difference between "the good, the bad and
the ugly".
Only in the absence of such discernment, which usually comes with
education and learning to make the right choices, can parts of the
Internet thrive on e.g. costly yet meaningless entertainment.
The untrained Internet user may find it
difficult to make a difference between truly useful, valid
information and advertising available online and those of lesser
value but since there are millions of web pages on the same and
similar topics, everyone has the opportunity to compare alternatives
and to draw the appropriate conclusions. Training in this respect
only comes with unrestricted opportunities to become familiar with
the workings of the Internet at ones own leisure - not through
isolated access to the Internet and while having to consider the
affordability of each minute spent online.
While WebITNamibia does not have influence on
developments regarding Namibia's Internet coverage and the price of
Internet access we can and will point out where not all is as well as it should be in
this respect in Namibia and hope to start a public discussion on
these issues, using our website as the communication carrier of
choice. Thus we are not only proving the point that the Internet can
be much more than just an advertising and entertainment medium in
our country but a tool to set things into motion.
At the same time, our web pages will also be read by people in
foreign
countries who made other experiences and who care enough about
Namibia to contribute their views and share their knowledge, which our local online community
will be able to read, consider and respond to. This concerns
exchanges on discussion topics as much as interactions regarding
private activities, such as hobbies, and those regarding business
dealings.
Compared to many other Internet Portals the main
difference in how we manage our online presence is that we will
filter the content to be published according to its compliance with
the quality standards we set for ourselves and the quality we want
to deliver to our various kinds of customers and site visitors. We
will NEVER restrict the publication of different, even controversial
views on issues we found worthwhile covering in our web pages, as
long as they are presented in a balanced reasonable manner. We will
however ban anything illegal, for "adults only" and anything related
to the gaming industry from publication - and to ensure that this
will indeed happen, we decided not to include Blogs, a
guest book or other features into our web pages that could be
"hijacked" for such purposes. We will filter all content
to go online and all submissions for
publication manually.
We want WebITNamibia to remain a website that
will be useful and enjoyable to the discerning Internet visitor of
any age.
Since we place particular emphasis on
educational, motivational, stimulating, and informative content, we
will also make limited space available for advertising. An
un-checked number of advertising banners in all colours, shapes and
sizes may earn some website owners good money who do not question the
usefulness and irritation factor to their page visitors - we earn
our money from other reputable work, some of which is presented in
our pages, and can therefore afford to accept only advertisements
that add value to the featured content in one way or another. Hence
our advertisers can also rest assured that their promotion material
will reach the most suitable target markets in the most direct and
effective way possible, in a conducive and well-managed environment .
Education and the empowerment of Namibians in all
things relating to Internet, Information Technology (IT), web
publishing and marketing tools as well as their meaningful uses in
all areas of public, business and private live is high on the agenda
of WebITNamibia.
In spite of or rather: especially because of the restrictions
experienced in Internet access by Namibians as described above, we
will attempt with the content of our web pages to bridge the vast
divide between those who "own" knowledge and those who don't.
According to an old saying "knowledge is power" but unfortunately
more often than not it is forgotten that "with power
comes responsibility". Where "power" does not result in the
"empowerment" of others the power of knowledge can
unfortunately all too easily be degraded to a
cheap tool for misinforming or misleading, if not manipulating those
who do not have a similar kind of knowledge.
The Internet as it stands today might not be
the ideal medium for spreading and obtaining knowledge but it is as
yet the cheapest, most diverse and unlimited one, in other words
the best in existence. With the free educational content of its
web pages WebITNamibia counts on a growing number of interested
Namibians eventually making a point of gaining access to the
Internet and putting it to the best possible use for their personal
growth and own economic advancement.
In order to make this process
as easy and affordable as possible, at least in these early days of
IT usage in Namibia, we decided to cover the basics comprehensively
albeit in easy and fast to read chapters so that the beginner is
spared the trouble and cost of sifting through a myriad of websites
with similar yet incomplete or too advanced content.
We will
debunk some myths, highlight pitfalls to watch out for and provide
guidelines for making educated choices when it comes to utilising
the Internet and technology for a variety of purposes. We will also
inform our site visitors of the do's and don'ts, give tips and
suggestions, list alternatives even to anything we might be able to
provide ourselves, and put them IN the picture in the most honest,
fairest way possible and to the greatest possible extent.
With this we chose what our website will be all about - from here on,
dear reader, WebITNamibia is YOUR information vehicle to drive!
|
About
the Author:
|