This presentation by Dave White lays out a theory for categorizing two major groups of internet users: visitors and residents. While the traditional view of users states that people are either quick to learn and use online tools or are resistant luddites, White's view looks at how people use those tools and the level to which their lives rely on them. Residents tend to live a portion of their lives online, having social and professional interactions with others in the virtual world. The web has become a critical part of their persona. Visitors, on the other hand, use the web as a tool to solve problems as needed but they don't rely on it and they don't maintain an online presence. It may seem logical to use age as a proxy since we typically think of teens and millenials as being constantly online, and grandma and grandpa don't know how to click a mouse. But this isn't necessarily true, as there are many older people who have embraced the internet as a reliable and useful resource, and they may or may not find value in the more social and recreational aspects.
I would definitely place myself in the category of Residents, as I use the web for many aspects of my life and I have maintained my online persona for several years. I maintain both personal and professional relationships using the main social media tools of Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. I use the web as a constant resource for information, knowledge and entertainment. I also incorporate those tools into my teaching, sharing educational videos and news sources with my students, and pushing them to use online tools in productive ways.
At Surfrider Foundation, we realized very early that we could reach more people and spread our environmental messages more quickly by using and participating in social media and having online conversations with people. It's about more than just pushing your agenda in a one-to-many fashion. You have to build relationships and listen to those who want to interact with you. As a non-profit brand we were able to build huge levels of loyalty and dedication in people who cared about the coastal environment. The way to reach those people who are "residents" on the web is to connect with them where they live. They use these tools in ways that have become second nature, and that's typically how and where they prefer to be reached.
As an educator I need to figure out new and fun ways to reach my students in those online spaces where they live. They know how to use the tools for social interaction and for learning what they want to. We need to make the connections to more academic thinking and help students use their online skills in productive ways that will prepare them for life as adults in the workplace.