Nov 21, 2008

Like a circle in a spiral, Like a wheel within a wheel..

The Beauty and Beast that is the Internet

Can you remember life B.C.? Before Computers? What about before the internet? What did we do before we sat in front of computers all day, able to communicate as quickly with the other side of the world as we can the other side of the city?

For deaf people, by which I mean culturally Deaf, deaf, hard of hearing, hearing impaired - any person with any amount of hearing loss - the internet has been both a blessing and a curse.

It has created the opportunities for finding others who have similar interests, and assisted those with good (or at least ok) written language skills to communicate with groups that before may have been too difficult to find, and even more difficult to understand. Young deaf people use the instant messaging systems as much as any hearing youth use the telephone.

However, for those who don’t feel comfortable with written language, the internet has often resulted in fewer opportunities to meet face to face. In the past Deaf clubs were frequented so that the Deaf could catch up with each other after a week of living in the hearing world. Now both hearing and deaf use text messaging and emails so often that a perception of isolation has reduced. Attendance at weekly Deaf clubs is often declining, and at the same time ageing, as younger people accept the internet revolution more readily.

Now that YouTube and cheap web-cams have given the signing community an easy method of communicating in sign language the isolation is further reduced - but then our “friends” can be on the other side of the world, and a bit difficult to have a coffee with.

Another challenge is now finding these communities of like minded people. Previously they were so few, now they are so many… the internet is like a giant library of resources that no one has bothered to properly catagorise.

I guess that is why we wanted to establish DeafHub. We are trying to get the resources that are available on the internet into some sort of order - to review what is out there, and give the best, biggest, widest range of information so that the beast is tamed, and the communities that are fragmenting geographically can be found again in the “shared interest” arena.

Is there something you are searching for, and just can’t find? Why not drop us a line, and let’s see if we can help you find it… and at the same time, help others to find it too.

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February 27, 2008 | Filed Under General 

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