The Internet as a “virtual cultural region”: are extant cultural classification schemes appropriate?

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Abstract
This paper examines the concept of the Internet as a virtual cultural region with its own demographics and psychographics. Longitudinal studies of the changing make up of Internet users have been running for much of the 1990s and market intelligence companies have been applying their proprietary segmentation models to this data and also creating new models specifically for the Internet. At a more sociological level, what are the cultural norms and cutoms of the population of the Internet cultural region? This paper complements the market intelligence research by an investigation into the applicability of cultural classification schemes as exemplified by Hofstede with a view to information extant and prospective Internet involvement. Finally, practical recommendations are made in order to reduce the risk of activities likely to cause irritation of and non‐response from this burgeoning new market.

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