Selling Singapore's E-Lifestyle Initiative to Late Adopters

Abstract

Singapore’s transformation to a knowledge-based, information and communication technology (ICT) hub in the Asia-Pacific region began in 1992 with A Vision of an Intelligent Island (The IT 2000 Report) initiative. This blueprint for Singapore’s future was initiated by the government “to spread the use of computers in everyday life and ... to have all households ... linked to the Internet” (Kuo et al., 2002, p. 1). To achieve this goal, the government implemented five strategic themes: development of a global hub for business, services and transportation; improvement in the quality of life by using technology to reduce or simplify mundane activities; boosting the economic engine through pursuit of information and knowledge economies; linking communities locally and globally through a comprehensive information and communication technology (ICT) platform to support civic and social networking; and enhancing the potential of individuals through the use of Web-based learning (Chun, 2002).