The era we live is called “Information age”. When the development processes of the society are examined, some basic elements are revealed which make a mark on the era. Humanity had been through important transitions in the agricultural society, thanks to tools that helped cultivation. In the industrial society, steam engine and electricity were major agents of transition. Obviously, “information” was existent both in agriculture and industry; however what brings us to call this era “the information age” is the speed of sharing and circulation of the information via the “computer” and “internet” technologies.

Technological development also leads to the emergence of a new social structure. The term “Information society is utilized in order to identify this new structure in which the information is highly important and is used conscious and frequently.

The concept of Information Society can also refer to the massive use of information and communication technologies in daily life and in the predictions towards the future. In the societies that are dominated by information, individual skills and analogical thinking are replaced by information and analytical thinking, respectively. This structure, forces the states to transpass the other inputs such as land, labour and national capital which belong to the other eras and to emphasize the intellectual assets and cultural developments.

In the course of last twenty five years, working class which is the largest and most organized group of industrial societies, has transformed due to the changing circumstances.As Peter Drucker states, a new stratum in this group that he calles “Information worker” became important. We can see this new stratum not only in advanced production but also in service sector. The basic determinants of this new free society are these “information workers”.

In short, the information society develops on an infrastructure of advanced technology. In this society where information is the most important economical resource and labour is made up of workers who has the knowledge, education has become and ongoing undertaking.

People who used to search the information in the world, has reached the point where they are searching the world in the information. So yes, the world is now smaller and information has become the major determinant in all areas of life. Those who dominate the information began to dominate the world, as well.

In this context, www.digital-government.net website is prepared for researchers in the area of e-government (electronic government), information society, informatics, digital state, governance and for people who are interested in these subjects, as well as for those who are using the e- government implementations. We hope our users to enjoy and benefit from our website.

 

 R. Erdem ERKUL

​