The impact of online communication networks on scientific research and innovation: A case study on creative class and online communication networks in Turkey

There have been changes observed within economy, production methods and the class phenomenon on a global scale through the momentum that has been created by ICT in the last 40 years. Countries that are able to quickly adopt to the change process, form their production, investments and that carry value of the locomotif in it`s own work force have achieved to be pioneer players of the New Economy. Within this developing and changing approach, the emerging countries that could not be able to capture the Industrial Revolution, have accelerated their efforts in order to cope with the new era. Information and Communication Technology literacy, skilled work force and the right investments are among characteristics of this period nominated as Informationalism Age by Manuel Castells (Castells, 2000). This study investigates the profile of Creative Class (Florida, 2002), which is supposed to use the Information and Communication Technologies effectively. The sample is chosen from Istanbul and the empirical study includes the effects of Online Communication Networks on innovation and creativity, a fact unresearched by Florida. Key Words: Information Society, Informationalism, Creative Class, Online Communication Networks, Innovation