Sanford, M.T. 1999, "Communications in the Digital Age: Apicultural Applications" Proceedings 36^th Apicultural Congress, Vancouver, BC, September, pp. 11-12.

Introduction: The digital information revolution is here. It is proclaimed in advertisements everywhere, and articles abound about how this technology will affect our lives. Alternatively it is prognosticated to be the best thing that ever happened or the worst, depending on one’s point of view. On the positive side, information of all kinds becomes much more accessible and usable. At the same time, much of it can also be of little use or worse, harmful. There is the risk of deeply partitioning access to this "new currency" between haves and have nots. Fears also exist that the digital revolution will replace traditional forms of communication to the detriment of humanity.

Like all aspects of society, the beekeeper is also being affected by the digital information communication revolution. The purpose of this paper is to describe how it might pertain to the beekeeper at the dawn of the new millennium.

Electronic Mail—The "Killer" Application: The new communication revolution is electronic. It uses the digital computer that, among other things, facilitates communication through electronic mail (e-mail) over the information superhighway called the Internet. E-mail is usually one on one, analogous to a traditional letter, but there are other ways it can be used. These include a central messaging service (USENET) and discussion lists. Among the thousands of conferences found on USENET, the one dedicated to beekeeping is sci.agriculture.beekeeping. Access to this group is available through any Internet news service provider.

Discussion lists are managed electronically by software. One of the most popular programs is called Listerv®; names often are followed by –L in this application. BEE-L is dedicated to general questions and answers about beekeeping, whereas APIS-L manages distribution of the author’s newsletter, APIS: Apicultural Information and Issues <http://www.ifas.ufl.edu/~mts/apishtm/apis.htm>. Other lists are for topics such as apitherapy and beekeeping extension. French, Portugues and Spanish speakers also have their own lists. Besides simply sending messages, some lists have logs that are searchable and on others one can find e-mail addresses of colleagues (Sanford, 1999).

World Wide Web: Born in 1992, the World Wide Web has superseded USENET in certain arenas, but has not replaced it totally. The Web is an Internet application that allows users to develop their own database of information. The doorway to this is called a "homepage." Information on and linked to the home page is then made available across the Internet seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day. For the most part, these pages are a free resource, available to anybody with an Internet Service Provider (ISP) and browser (Netscape®, Internet Explorer®). The technology allows anyone with specific knowledge to share their particular experiences. Thus, it has opened up the "Global Village," making available a huge amount of information, previously not accessible by the beekeeping community (Sanford, 1998).

Other Resources: Certain other resources are also available because of the digital computer. Accounting and spreadsheet, apiary management and global positioning software all have the possibility of improving apiary management in many ways.

Conclusion: The digital information revolution continues to mature and no doubt will see huge changes in the new millennium. Presently, it is responsible for a much wider range of information available to beekeepers than in the past. This technology also enables apiculturists to better share their knowledge with others worldwide. At the same time, however, it has shifted the burden of separating good information from bad to the consumer. Although extremely powerful, the idea that this form of communication will totally replace those traditionally in use seems ill founded. Most new technologies from the telegraph to the telephone simply added to the already rich array of communication already present in human culture.

References:

Sanford, M.T. 1999. Beekeeping in the Digital Age, Bee Culture, Vol. 127, No. 2, February, p. 22. <http://www.airoot.com/beeculture/digital/1999/column6.htm>

Sanford, M.T. 1998. Beekeeping in the Digital Age, Bee Culture, Vol. 126, No. 9, September, p. 20.  <http://www.airoot.com/beeculture/digital/1998/column1.htm>