Internet Expert to Open 'Media Vision' series

Doha, November 16 (QNA) - Northwestern University in Qatar's 'Media Vision' series telling all what everyone needs to know about the Internet will be held here November 21, the university said Wednesday in a media statement. The Center for the Digital Future Director Dr. Jeffrey Cole, a renowned expert on use of the Internet and broadband technology, who will be in residence at Northwestern University in Qatar next week, will inaugurate the university's series, with a discussion on 'Surveying the Digital Future: What Everyone Needs to Know about the Internet'. The event is free and opens to the public and will be held at 7 p.m. at the W Hotel in West Bay. An expert in the field of technology and emerging media, Dr. Cole will present an engaging report based on a ten-year longitudinal study of people's use of the Internet and broadband technologies - and how that has affected our lives, media use, politics, and business. Dean and CEO of Northwestern University in Qatar Dr. Everette E. Dennis said, "The Media Vision series will feature conversations and presentations by world leaders in digital and global media, from thought leaders to industry executives and regulatory authorities, among others. "Jeffrey Cole is the ideal person to inaugurate this series since he has a broad world view of the digital revolution and knows both its social impact as well as the changing contours of Internet use. He is a one-of-a-kind expert on this subject. He has tracked the Internet from the get-go and the results are impressive." Dr. Cole integrates insights from his World Internet Project, an ongoing assessment that spans five continents and more than 25 countries. Its unique data on Internet users around the world makes the World Internet Project the leading international study on the ways in which our social, economic and media lives are changing. Dr. Cole s inspiration for his study of the Internet came while doing extensive work in the mid 1990's on television and its content. In 1998, television viewing by children under the age of 14 in the United States dropped for the first time in the 50-year history of television. For the very first time children had found something more appealing than television: computers and the Internet. He holds that while television has had an unprecedented influence on world culture, its impact has been primarily about entertainment and leisure. It is now becoming clear that computers and especially the Internet are producing effects comparable to televisions on work, school and play. Believing that the importance and influence of computer technology and the Internet will dwarf that of television, the World Internet project is designed to do the important research that should have been conducted on television in the 1940s. Dr. Cole will be 'in residence' at NU-Q the week of November 21, during which time he will serve as a resource for students, faculty and staff, speaking to classes and holding private consultations. While in Qatar, he will also be meeting with industry and community leaders to exchange knowledge and share expertise. (QNA)