No, it’s not, and I think it’s about time these two things were separated out more clearly because the difference is neither subtle nor inconsequential, despite that fact that many people believe the two to be essentially the same thing.
The key is in the word ‘communication’ (as if that weren’t already a clue) and to ignore it is to demonstrate that you’ve missed the point about Web 2.0 entirely.
In this day and age, IT (Information Technology) should really be only used to describe the ‘inner’ workings of digital technologies – i.e., stuff that relates to Computer Science, hard coding, software development, hardware development, scripting, and all that. ICT (Information Communication Technology), on the other hand, should be used to refer to the social aspects of digital life, to Web 2.0, and to anything that funnels the flow of communications between people.
Thus, “I am an IT specialist” should be taken to mean “I have a functional knowledge of how the web works and I can write source code and run servers and do other awfully clever, technical things.” Whereas “I am an ICT guru” should mean, “I know how to find, evaluate, and effectively exploit for social ends the tools that other people have built.” Quite a different thing, really.
People tend to use the terms interchangeably, but that single word, ‘communication,’ makes all the difference because there’s quite a distinct skill set involved in successfully engaging with either. Just because you can write javascript doesn’t mean you know how to make the most of participatory culture.
