The "Digital Divide" Might be Fading. Is a "Social Media Divide" Taking its Place?

(Photo by Nathan Krig -- Please do not use without proper attribution)

There is no doubt that the digital divide is slowly fading. Laptops and personal computers are increasingly available worldwide. As this is the case, the number of people online continues to increase, closing the gap between those online and those not.

Even as this is the case, companies might be in the midst of creating a new divide -- between the social media savvy and the non savvy. My grandmother attempted to create a blog under the impression that she could make money doing so. The end result was a sparse page with several ads relating to cat food -- not one blog post was present. I talked to her about it and learned that she did not understand how the blogisphere works at all. Furthermore, she gave up because she could not figure out how to make progress with her blog. It is important to note that she did read about blogs and gave hers some thought. It seems to me that there are some people who understand social media after studying it and there are others who do not understand and therefore give-up.

This leads directly into the question I have asked in the title of this post. I would say there are two very simplified groups of people online, those who engage in online discussion and those who do not. Within those who do not engage, there are probably two more simplified groups, those who chose not to engage because they do not wish to, and those who do not understand how to engage -- like my grandmother.

This becomes relevant in a new context when we look at the way corporations have begun to lavish customer service on social media influentials. For example, Todd Defren recently blogged about his troubled experience with a Netgear item he purchased. He called Comcast, his Internet provider because he could not get his new item to work: He had a crummy experience. Next he resorted to online tactics, and had a better experience with a more helpful individual, but still he could not solve the problem. Then he called Netgear, and had another terrible experience. After becoming frustrated he began tweeting. Immediately, a Netgear representative assisted him.

I wonder if Todd Defren was assisted so quickly because he has a substantial online following via his blog and Twitter. Or was he assisted just because he is social-media savvy? He implies on his blog that he was assisted on Twitter because he is active in social media.

If this is the case, what will become of people like my grandmother as corporations move forward in the online world? Will a social media divide be acceptable?

I'd love to hear your thoughts!