Digital Anthropology Report for Company Talk Talk

[Beck J]

I am reading the this report see http://www.antropologi.info/blog/anthropology/2009/digital-anthropo... and it is so typical of these types of reports. First criticism is the tribes of Homo Digitalis users - ughh - - are they serious? I hope Talk Talk didn't pay too much for this guys?

The six tribes - I think the terminology is a bit offensive, are digital extroverts - arch type is a 37 year advertising exec, Timid technophobes - 69 yo retiree, social secretaries - 31 yo on maternity leave, First Lifers - 23 yo insurance broker, E-ager beaver - a 30 year old IT sales manager, and Web booomers - a 56 year old teacher.

Admittedly the scope/ethnography is limited or andanalysis is not advanced but guys, hey, what is going on with these categories and their arch types? I hope this is not the future of anthropology? What do you think about this report - any comments?

[Beck J]

The more I read this the more I am angered. The Professor guy - Davd Zetlyn makes future predictions. First, "Our tribes will evolve as technology becomes increasingly uniquitous with some merging, others disappearing altogether and new ones emerging [How rigorous are these tribes - sufficient? distinctiveness?]" . Second "A digital elite will emerge - and social networking will be more important than social class" [They say this in the UK - where class is very important - it is like caste in India - I lived there as a kid so I have some memory of it, and the English always say class is disappearing - but it never does]. The Digitally Excluded will disappear but will be replaced by Digital refuseniks - [refuseniks - why the Russian reference? Isn't that a trifle ethnocentric? & wait for it - the digitally excluded will disappear - sounds like our PM (oz)a few years back claiming he will get rid of poverty - LMAO. The rise of mobiles will set our tribes free [Please read the literature]. This sort of stuff should not be called anthropology? What are you views?

[Beck J]

Sorry don't mean to be offensive guys but this report really angered me - that it claims to be digital anthropology, that it users such offensive terminology ughh

Beck J said:

The more I read this the more I am angered. The Professor guy - Davd Zetlyn makes future predictions. First, "Our tribes will evolve as technology becomes increasingly uniquitous with some merging, others disappearing altogether and new ones emerging [How rigorous are these tribes - sufficient? distinctiveness?]" . Second "A digital elite will emerge - and social networking will be more important than social class" [They say this in the UK - where class is very important - it is like caste in India - I lived there as a kid so I have some memory of it, and the English always say class is disappearing - but it never does]. The Digitally Excluded will disappear but will be replaced by Digital refuseniks - [refuseniks - why the Russian reference? Isn't that a trifle ethnocentric? & wait for it - the digitally excluded will disappear - sounds like our PM (oz)a few years back claiming he will get rid of poverty - LMAO. The rise of mobiles will set our tribes free [Please read the literature]. This sort of stuff should not be called anthropology? What are you views?