Interfaces for Community Memories

Computers and networks are now accessible to millions across the globe. But many more millions have no access at all for a multitude of reasons. A lot has to do with economics and uneven distribution of wealth. But it is also due to the interfaces and applications that are the main target of the computer industry and which are mostly geared towards literate individuals living generally speaking in abundant conditions, or towards business and manufacturing activities in strongly developed economies. This paper raises the question how we could start to address much more seriously the overwhelming majority of the human population and the human activities that do not fall in this category. There are now several initiatives, such as the One-Laptop-PerChild project, that make hardware available to greater groups, particularly children in developing nations. But we believe that it is not just going to be a matter of infrastructure alone. We need to inquire what future generations need the most and how those needs can be satisfied. The goal of this paper is not to introduce new technologies but to be a position paper. We contribute to the discussion on visions for the future and identify projects already going on that may act as successful inspirational cases. We also draw attention to social tagging as an important ingredient of the interfaces to community memories.