The OxIS 2007 Report was launched at the House of Commons with a large turnout of academics, regulators and industry people eager to view the report and its findings, and to discuss their implications.
Proceedings were opened by Derek Wyatt MP (PPS to the Minister for Culture, Media and Sport) who gave the welcome and opening remarks. Presentations on the significance of OxIS were given by representatives from the sponsoring organisations: Adrian Arthur (British Library), Nick Penston (Cisco), James Thickett (Ofcom) and Craig Gordon (Talisma). Ellen Helsper (OII) then presented on digital differences (gender and lifestage) and Bill Dutton (OII) wrapped up with key trends and themes in a talk on 'The Internet Past and Future'.
OxIS coordinator Ellen Helsper said on the day: 'One of the issues that concerns us most in relation to the Internet in Britain is that we found that 'digital divides' continue to exist. Men use the Internet more than women for everything but health related topics, and retired users are three times less likely to use the Internet than students. It is important that we understand why this is the case and OxIS is the most valuable source for this type of information in Britain.'
Adrian Arthur of the British Library said: 'The intelligence on real Internet usage in the UK today contained in the 2007 OxIS report will be vital for the British Library in coming months as we develop a new strategy with digital and Web 2.0 services at its core. The figures on broadband penetration, usage of social networking sites, and information seeking behaviour are particularly interesting for us'.
