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Isolated Components on the World Wide Web, How do they exist and what are the ramifications?

Article: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,,,CUB,,5062e8a7c,0.html

 

Thinking about the Global Social Network it is easy to ration that almost all populations are some how linked through at least one or two local bridges, and this assumption becomes easier with internet interactions and Globalization. But despite all the forces driving the population of the world towards connectivity there are still large populations that are cut off from the main part of the network through a few local bridges. One specific example is the component of the population of Cuba. Until 2008 it was almost impossible to get a computer on the island as a citizen and since then public internet access is severely limited. Some facts from the article say that only 23.2% of the population have access to the internet, with majority of that usage being through government webs and not the unrestricted internet. About 5% of the population has periodic access to unfiltered internet. Limited access to hardware and severely restricted use of internet makes the population of Cuba into an isolated component that is interconnected within itself but only connected to the main global network through relatively limited local bridges.

It is interesting to consider the factors that lead to a population becoming an isolated component. In the case of Cuba it helps that the entire nation is one entire island, therefore there is an increased ability by the government to monitor what comes into the country. Another factor, other than geographical, is political isolation that is a result of the cold war and an oppressive government able to enforce harsh Laws. These reasons are merely speculation but there are very few populations in the modern world that are relatively modern, yet isolated from the main population with relatively few local bridges.

Comments

One Response to “ Isolated Components on the World Wide Web, How do they exist and what are the ramifications? ”

  • Annie Miller

    This is an interesting perspective on worldwide web connection. It seems that everybody is connected somehow but we fail to see that even a larger part of the world is isolated and disconnected.

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