Daun, Tara R.Muessig, Hans2014-11-122014-11-122012Daun, Tara R. & Muessig, Hans. (2012) Assessing the Digital Presence of Rural Minnesota Businesses: Basic Methods & Findings. University of Minnesota Tourism Center. Retrieved from the University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy,https://hdl.handle.net/11299/167709pp 9. Across America, a digital divide exists between rural and metropolitan communities: Rural communities have slower, less consistent Internet service and fewer opportunities for broadband Internet connection. To address this gap and encourage economic growth, the federal government has invested $400 million in rural Minnesota to provide broadband services and infrastructure between 2010 and 2012. Our assessment of almost 14,000 Greater Minnesota businesses reveals that ore than half do not have a website easily found on Google. Furthermore 90 percent do not use social media. In short, they are not marketing themselves online and this likely has detrimental economic consequences,both to individual businesses and to their communities as internet use continues to increase.Are businesses in greater Minnesota using the Internet to sell themselves?enDigital PresenceRural MinnesotaInternetReport