Trinidad and Tobago National E-Commerce Secretariat on the Digital Divide (August 20th, 2003)

In the last edition (Volume 4, Issue 32) of the Trinidiary mass email, I caught that there will be a Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society meeting this Saturday at the Pizza Hut in Gulf City. I have yet to meet someone from a country where the major food group of people interested in computers is NOT pizza. Where is a sociologist when you need one?

What caught my eye - and caused me to write this entry - is one of the topics we'll be discussing this weekend.:

* the "National Survey on E-commerce usage and awareness among businesses" by the

National E-Commerce Secretariat (NeCS)

(http://ecommerce.gov.tt)

I recalled something about the survey, so I wanted to refresh myself on this topic - perhaps even give myself a chance to digest it so that I can discuss it sensibly on Saturday. So, I checked out the site and found nothing on the 'National E-Commerce usage and awareness among businesses" at all.

What I had recalled was the E-Commerce Household Survey on Awareness and Usage, which was done a few months ago. I'm here anyway - right? Might as well see what the results of that were....

The results of the survey, which will be completed by the end of July, will assist the NeCS in formulating national electronic commerce policy, developing priorities and implementing programmes that can assist in achieving its strategic objectives. The results will be available on our website and in a daily newspapers at a later date.

In essence, the results of the survey will be available before the Earth is destroyed to make way for an Hyperspace Bypass (RIP, DNA). Hopefully, anyway. But take a look at this survey. Really look at it.

The National E-Commerce Secretariat recently conducted a baseline household survey to measure the current awareness and usage of electronic commerce in Trinidad and Tobago. The survey was administered in conjunction with the Central Statistical Office during the period May 26, 2003 to June 14, 2003. A random sample of approximately 300 households were visited by competent interviewers who sought to investigate the following...

Well, we wouldn't want incompetent interviewers doing interviewers, now would we? But really - 300 households over 3 weeks that ended on June 14th. It's August 20th today. Is there a disconnect?

Certainly, this could have been published in a newspaper. But - come on! This is the National E-Commerce site? Am I expecting too much for the results of a very small - almost insignificant - survey to be published 2 months after the data was collected? Is it too much to ask that the National E-Commerce site publish it on the website? Please...

Anyways, I see Are you an MSME Entrepeneur? Complete the survey here to assist us in designing the E-SME Helpdesk, and follow the link - and voila! A survey!

How in Hades was I supposed to know that I could be considered a 'MSME Entrepeneur'? Sounds like a Microsoft certificiation...

So I filled it out - I am willing to do a survey to benefit E-Commerce in Trinidad and Tobago. They have this strange way of getting input - this whole category bit is non-intuitive, but I muddled through it. Below are the categories, and my comments:

Category 1: Developing an e-commerce strategy

How do I accept credit card payments on my website? I cannot develop an e-commerce strategy without collecting funds.

Category 2: Market research

How do I accept credit card payments on my website? I cannot conduct effective market research without considering the payment abilities my customers will have.

Category 3: Using the Internet for effective customer communication

Single point failure at Scarborough can and has caused a lack of communication with my customers.

Category 4: Characteristics of a good e-commerce website

How do I accept credit card payments on my website?

Category 5: Technical issues - (hardware, software and connectivity)

Single point failures at Scarborough can and have affected connectivity adversely.

Category 6: Legal issues - (privacy, security and consumer protection)

There are no privacy laws - at least that are enforced - therefore there is no security, and no consumer protection.

Category 7: The Ethics of doing Business on the Internet

I do not have ethical issues related to my business, but there is a definite need to consider ethics and gambling by way of ENFORCED legislation.

Category 8: Finance and payment system

How do I accept credit card payments on my website?

Category 9: Local policy and country developments

How do I accept credit card payments on my website?

Category 10: Other (please specify)

How do I accept credit card payments on my website?

6. Any other comments:

This survey will not be revealing. The wrong questions are being asked - and the NeCS should know the answers to most of these ANYWAY. Quit wasting time and money.

As you can see, there's a definite trend in my answers. At this time, there is no *local* way to process payments, so I wonder how you can have business without collecting money? In fairness, someone at the University of the West Indies pointed out that a lot of e-Commerce is done through bank wires. But let's say I want to sell hammocks on this site. Is someone in Romania going to rush to the bank to wire me money, or would they prefer to use their credit card?

The majority of eCommerce is not bank wires. It may be the method by which the largest amount of money transferred, but if they are using THAT as a metric, eCommerce will never happen in Trinidad and Tobago. Not unless they intend to set up a website to sell oil. Surf-through oil purchasing, do you want your monitor cleaned while you wait?

Again, maybe I expect too much.

As far as the connectivity issues - people will note I mention Scarborough quite a bit - and a few of you will wonder why. Well, any data that comes into Trinidad and Tobago, or leaves - through TSTT - goes through Scarborough, Tobago. If a coconut tree falls on that dish, the internet becomes very local very quickly.

And this all got me thinking about this Digital Divide that we hear about; many of us see it in some way or the other. But since I was so amused by the website so far - why not read what the good people at NeCS had to say about it?

And I was pleasantly surprised - though generic, the Adobe Acrobat PDF Digital Divide is pretty well done. It's worth a read if you're unfamiliar with the Digital Divide, but - it reads like a well plagiarized piece of work. The fact that there is no apparent author is worth noting - as well as the lack of a copyright notice. It may be fair to assume that the document is Public Domain, since the NeCS simply must understand Intellectual Property issues associated with the Internet.

In all... The NeCS doesn't appear too serious. The problems with eCommerce are apparent here in Trinidad and Tobago.

Try sending me a dollar. Where the rubber meets the road, that's the Digital Divide.