Chile Forum

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You know, I just got done looking for a relatively big ticket item (ready to spend up to 500,000 pesos or so) on the internet in Chile (not even dilusioned in to thinking I could just order it on the internet, only look for who sells something). It is a frigen miter saw. a perfect item to sell or advertise on the internet,and the exact same item is advertised and sold in countries all over the World on the internet.

I have even gone to stores, but they neither have them on display or do not know anything about them. I know how bad the web sites are in Chile, and all the tricks for finding the sites in Chile. Guess what? I can not find it or any proper information about where it is for sale, or even a working phone number for anyone that might know where I might find someone that does. Who sells, specifications, and so on. I had to go look at the sites in Argentina, in which I immediately found all the information I needed in about 5 mins of search with a stop for a cup of coffee included.

I have been in Chile for going on 9-10 years now (not really sure anymore), and I have seen technology go no where since I arrived. Chileans grasp of how the internet works, both at the highest technical levels and the basic user have not improved one single bit anywhere in this country. Yea, they have more electronic gadgets such as cell phones and computers, but they don't know how they work or how to use them beyond basic functions contained in the user manual. They are all plug-n-play from the cell towers down to the movistar idiots that only know how to configure blackberries and iphones.

Chile is living in the digital stone age on almost every single level.

So, learning how to Google? Waist of time if there is nothing to Google.

Most Chileans think advanced computer use is updating their facebook page or checking their hotmail account. Basic tasks that were considered internet 101 in other parts of the World for almost everyone over 15 years ago, including grandma and grandpa. Not in Chile.

So, one place I agree and diverge from Pinera at the same time, is technology. Yes, Chile needs more technical training on just about everything (not just computers); but Chile is in no way shape or form anywhere near able to be an IT world player. Not even the frigen call center level. Hell, I can't find a competant telephone line installer, that I do not have to stand over their shoulder to make sure they don't do something stupid like pinch the lines. Yea, there has been a handful (being generous here) of companies in chile that have produced something in the IT realm, but almost no one has been able to reproduce the results on any type of economy changing scale.

The question I pose to the forum is, what fundamental element is different between the widespread technical competence (of any form, not just computers) of say Argentina and Chile? What element is missing or where did they make a wrong turn. Fundamentally, the cultures are not that different and access to the basic materials are not that different.

One I would point to is the complete lack of any sort of research driven culture. From the Universities on down. There is no drive to experiment. There might be others, or something else. "Innovation" is the result of experimentation, not some magical thing you teach or can buy.

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