Current notions of social exclusion are to an extent anchored in older concerns with relative poverty, which had the merit of considering not just material deprivation but also the social and cultural dimensions of participation or exclusion. The focus of this article is on the role of ICTs in relation to people’s ability to participate in society. It draws upon detailed qualitative research on single parent and young elderly households to explore what counts as experiences of inclusion or exclusion and the processes behind them.

Dealing mainly, but not exclusively, with the more traditional ICTs of telephony and broadcasting, the article considers processes of self-exclusion as people have mixed evaluations of these technologies derived both from current circumstances and past experiences. It then looks beyond the acquisition of ICTs to show how other modes of access to these resources are important before reflecting upon the quality of experience of ICTs, not just in terms of the functionality on offer but also taking into account that technologies are themselves symbolic goods. Finally, and drawing on more recent research, the article asks what lessons might be learnt from these traditional ICTs when considering newly emerging ones like the Internet.

The first part of the article examines the general aspects of creating an information society economy. Special attention is devoted to the problem of formation of various economic illusions that impede the creation of a stable economic basis for an information society, as well as the problem of a “shadow economy.” In the form of theses it defines the concept of an information society as a complex socioeconomic system that arises in response to the threat of information overload, and forms a specific material basis for turning information into a strategic resource of the economy. It shows that communications, information technology and mass communications can be viewed as a field of certain types of economic activities central to the creation of an information society economy.

When examining such phenomenon as diffusion of innovation, one must keep in mind that the most important factor affecting the speed with which users accept the new technology is the fact that users often adopt new technology to their own wishes and needs, thus changing its function and method of use.

The evolution of relations between people and technical systems may be seen as a change in how users interact with various actors, such as operators, manufacturers, government bodies and so on. This process has such a powerful effect on the nature of these subordinate relations that it bespeaks of the mutual development of society and technology.

The article outlines the ways for developing a state strategy for promptly ensuring that the national economy is provided with a single information space and offers specific practical steps for technically providing the effective management of organizations and economic process in current circumstances.