ICTs are seen to improve productivity as well as to support an inclusive society, enhanced lifestyles and competitive advantage. However new technologies continually do not fully achieve the promised benefits. What is necessary for the success of the Information Society is to emphazise the interdependencies between technology, people (as individuals, groups, communities, society) and the information- and communication-based tasks they perform. This means to deal with the barriers and facilitators to the uptake and effective exploitation of new technologies. This knowledge ought to be translated into best practice for the benefits of both stakeholders and users in any field, including industry, government, science and civil society. 

The society focus is dealing with new challenges coming along with new technologies and is therefore adressing the political, social, economic, legal, cultural and ethical implications of ICT diffusion.  This “explosion” is recognized as a global phenomenon, and the international impact of ICTs is one of the main issues for this initiative. Topics including the Digital Divide, e-commerce, education, on-line communities and social networks, development, inclusion, participation, transparency, privacy, e-diplomacy, e-government, e-health, every day life, barriers, and other aspects of the social sphere. 

Further topics:

 -         Technology:

radio, tv, computers, internet, pdas, mobile phones, satellites, Videogames

 -         Policy/Philosophy:

coordination, standardization, funding, responsibility and representation, democracy, outreach, awareness, manipulation, freedom, self-determination, independency, transparency, fundamental rights, human rights, data protection, trust, NGO coordination, neo-luddims, media influence, ethics, social communities, common good, social and organizational change, social control, monitoring, censorship, copyright, patents, glocalization, digital divide, gender, culture, history, philosophy, development, identity, living, education, choice, e-governance, regional development, humanities, law, organizational theory and workplace dynamics, impact on human destiny

 -         Applications:

e-content, media, energy supply, e-health, design, digital tv, e-entrepreneurs, e-consulting, e-diplomacy, e-negociation, e-government,  disabilities and barriers, usability, interface design, knowledge management, multilinguality, geoinformatics, scientific measurement and knowledge, I.T.’s impacts in biotechnology, deployment for enhancing productivity and the quality of working life, computer-mediated communication, professional writing and literature, user experience, effects on mental health