'Facebook getting inclusive'

This inclusiveness will grow further when people across economic strata able to access internet

Those who cannot read and write have also started using the popular social network site Facebook in a sign of growing inclusiveness in the digital medium, according to its India office head Kirthiga Reddy.  This inclusiveness will grow further when people across the economic strata are able to access the Internet, she said.

The users of social network sites in India are expected to grow two-fold from the present 100 million in the next few years on the back of growing access to Internet through mobile phones, she said at a two-day digital summit hosted by the Indian School of Business (ISB).

There has been a collaborative effort among the Internet companies, telecom firms among other players on ways to expand the Internet access for more and more people across the world.

In fact, Facebook Inc founder Mark Zuckerberg  had recently announced his mission Internet.org  seeking to connect the next five billion people to the Internet by collaborating with like-minded companies.

Providing Internet access to all will only ensure the ultimate inclusiveness. In countries like India mobile companies have already started overcoming the affordability issues by offering access to Internet, email or Facebook at Re 1 on mobile phones, according to Reddy.

In an example of how people are finding the social network site useful in their own ways,  a turmeric farmer had established a network with other turmeric farmers on the Facebook to exchange inputs on pricing etc, she said. Last month, Facebook had launched a separate business portal for entrepreneurs.