We Are What We Do creates Internet Buttons, a new tool that makes using the internet super easy for new or nervous users.
We Are What We Do creates a new tool that makes using the internet super easy for new or nervous users.
We Are What We Do, the not-for-profit company behind Historypin and the I’m Not A Plastic Bag shopper, is back with a new creation set to make a major contribution to digital inclusion: Internet Buttons.
The webtool allows people confident online to create a simplified, personalised experience of the web for those people in their lives who are new to the internet or find it confusing.
Currently, 9.2 million people are digitally excluded in the UK, of which 6.4 million are over the age of 65. Yet 75% of those excluded know someone who could help get them online.
Designed to get this audience onto and into the Internet in the simplest way possible, Internet Buttons aims to contribute to getting 1 million people online by 2012.
At internetbuttons.org users can set up a page of Buttons, which link to sites and services the person they’re helping might find useful or enjoyable. It removes all the complicated bits of the internet and makes it easy to keep going back to the places they like.
These Buttons are saved on their own personalised URL (e.g. internetbuttons.org/joanmiller), so they can be accessed from any computer. They work well as a homepage.
The supporting users can also add a photo and message to the page, reminding the person they are helping to call them if they get stuck. As well as better access to personal support, there is extra help for new users on the site via a permanently available helper bar and guides to using their Buttons.
As their experience and confidence grows, new Buttons can easily be added, either remotely by the original creator or by the new user. Suggestions and guides to new Buttons in the ‘Ready-Made Buttons’ section allows users to explore and expand their use of the internet comfortably and gradually.
Nick Stanhope, CEO of We Are What We Do commented:
“Internet Buttons is the simplest way to help someone you know have a much easier, less stressful experience online. For new users, and for lots of people that have been struggling for years, the Internet can be full of pot-holes that put you off using it.
“By setting someone up with some Internet Buttons, you can give them quick and safe access to what they want straight-away whenever they go online and get heaps of help and support.”
Helen Schofield, 50, Internet Buttons user from Tywyn, Wales, said:
“I love using Internet Buttons and use it almost everyday now. My daughter, Beth, set it up for me. I find it easy to keep in contact with friends and relatives through email, Skype and I’ve set up a Google calendar that is shared by the whole family. Some of my favourite buttons right now are BBC recipes, thetrainline.com, and shopping sites such as Marks and Spencers and Sainsbury’s.”
Internet Buttons was created by We Are What We Do as part of their work to get people from different generations spending more time together. In particular, Internet Buttons aims to overcome the growing digital divide which is often a barrier to communication.
The webtool is supported by the Nominet Trust and UK Online Centres, who are already promoting it to centres and Digital Champions through www.helppassiton.co.uk.
Annika Small, Director of the Nominet Trust, said:
“Internet Buttons is an imaginative and practical tool that enables people to get their family and friends online, which will hopefully help a raft of new, previously excluded users to see the potential of the internet to enrich their lives.”
UK Digital Champion Martha Lane Fox, who founded the Race Online 2012 ambition said:
“Internet Buttons are an excellent way of making the web more fun and accessible for new users. They are simple, intuitive and a fantastic tool for onliners who want to pass on their skills and show their offline family members and friends specific benefits of the web that appeal to each individual.”
Helen Milner, Managing Director of UK online centres said:
“Internet Buttons is a fantastic tool for UK online centres because it gives our staff another way of engaging people and instantly making the internet both easy and relevant.”
For more information, please contact:
Ella Wiggans
ella.wiggans@wearewhatwedo.org
71 St John Street
London
EC1M 4NJ
020 7148 7665
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Notes to Editors
We Are What We Do
We Are What We Do, registered charity number 1134546, is a not-for-profit company which encourages individuals to take small actions that will make a big difference to major social and environmental issues. Founded in 2004, We Are What We Do has published three titles, Change The World For A Fiver which sold over one million copies worldwide, Change The World 9 to 5 which was launched by David Cameron in 2006 and Teach Your Granny To Text which was given to every school in the country by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) as a teaching resource. A collaboration with Anya Hindmarch and Sainsbury’s in 2007 launched the I’m NOT a Plastic Bag shopper, taking the plastic bag issue onto the front pages and helping Sainsbury’s reduce the number of free carrier bags issued by 58% in the following two years. wearewhatwedo.org features over 150 simple, positive everyday actions anyone can do to and track – the current most popular actions include Cook a meal from scratch, Use a mug not a plastic cup and Read a story with a child.
Nominet Trust
Nominet Trust is a charity which launched in 2008 to mobilise the internet for social good. To the majority of Internet users, the name Nominet remains largely unknown, but for millions of website owners in the UK, Nominet provides registration and administration support for their .uk domains. For Nominet Trust – the organisation’s charitable arm – it’s the users that are the primary focus, and the Trust funds distinctive and innovative IT-related projects that make a difference to people’s lives, particularly in the areas of web access, education and safety. The Trust also supports projects that use the internet imaginatively to address specific social problems.
Almost ten million people in the UK have never been online and four million of those are amongst the country’s most socially excluded. So the people who have the most to gain from the Internet — whether to overcome isolation, to save money or to find help — are the ones who are missing out. Nominet Trust seeks to redress these imbalances by funding projects that give people the skills and tools to be online safely and responsibly.
UK online centers
UK online centres provide millions of people with access to technology and support in using it, at 3,500 local centres. Centres are based at the heart of communities, in libraries, community centres, on high streets and even on buses. They offer free or low cost access to the internet and email, help people use online public services, deliver online courses and encourage people to progress onto further learning. Visit www.ukonlinecentres.com for more information.
Digital Exclusion
Digital exclusion in the UK has a series of consequences for the 9.2 million adults who are currently offline, for their families, friends and communities, for the delivery of national and local government and for society as a whole.
- 9.2 million adults in the UK have never used the Internet – a substantial proportion which highlights the urgency of the digital inclusion campaign
- 4.6 million (46%) of these are over 65 years of age
- 31% of internet users say they don’t visit new sites and 37% carry out 0–5 out of 17 types of activity; older people, those on low incomes and people with a disability are more likely to be narrower users – showing the extent and implications of narrow use of the Internet
- While 90% of those aged 16–24 say they use the internet (anywhere) only 22% of those aged 75+ do — demonstrating the potential consequences of the digital divide for inter-generational relationships
- 4 million of 10 million offline are socially as well as digitally excluded – which highlights the need for community level access, support and outreach to bring new users online
- Offline households are missing out on saving £560 per year from shopping and paying bills online – and these households are often those that would benefit the most from these savings, again highlighting the urgency of digital inclusion work
- The total economic benefits of getting everyone in the UK online is in excess of £22bn – even as an estimate, the importance of this substantial figure is amplified in the current economic climate
- 59% of people don’t see a reason to get online, and this rises to 63% of those 65–74 and over
(Sources: Manifesto for a Networked Nation, Race Online 2012 (2010); Strategy & 2010 Plan, Race Online 2012 (2009); The Economic Case for Digital Inclusion, PriceWaterhouseCooper (2009); The Connected World Report, The Carphone Warehouse / Mobile Life (2008); Digital Participation – 2010 Metrics Bulletin, Ofcom)
Race Online 2012
On June 18th 2010 Martha Lane Fox was appointed by The Prime Minister as the UK Digital Champion with a remit to encourage as many people as possible to go online, and improving the convenience and efficiency of public services by driving online delivery http://www.number10.gov.uk/news/latest-news/2010/06/martha-lane-fox-appointed-uk-digital-champion–52086
Full copies of Networked Nation are available to download atWWW.RACEONLINE2012.ORG/MANIFESTO
The UK’s Digital Champion is asking organisations of any size to get involved to ensure everyone can use the web. It’s simple to sign up and only takes a few minutes to register and make a digital promise at www.raceonline2012.org
Digital Inclusion Limited is government funded by the Department of Communities and Local Government (through the Community Development Foundation) but is an independent organisation.