In February a summit was hosted by The National Urban League, National Council of La Raza, The Asian American Justice Center, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, and the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council (Broadband Opportunity Coalition - BBOC); this group had the common goal of tackling a huge problem - eradicating broadband access barriers. Created from the melding of these dedicated minds was a report which was released Monday outlining how responsibly crafted broadband policies can “advance the interests and needs of communities of color”.

The BBOC recognized how aligned their objectives were with the Obama administration and purposed themselves with creating policy recommendations for Obama’s broadband adoption policy–a policy that Obama sites as being a major part of his economic recovery plan. For this plan, the administration has set aside a little money for the diffusion and adoption of broadband - about $7.2 billion and though it seems like a large sum of money to me and you, this coalition believes that it should just be viewed a starting point.

The BBOC seeks to assist the Obama administration narrow the focus of their broadband policy by recommending they address those issues which, current research shows, are truly barriers to the efforts of broadband adoption, issues like:

• “lack of understanding of the benefits of broadband
• lack of technical knowledge and training (”digital literacy”)
• shortage of relevant content
• language barriers
• privacy concerns”

The general consensus of this coalition is that these barriers can only be brought down with a change in the perception of the importance of broadband technology. Simply put, habits of the mind must be changed in such a way that broadband technology is no longer viewed as a luxury only a few can afford but instead a necessity that all can afford.

Hey y’all.  It’s been awhile since we last talked. Well, I’m doin ok.  I hope y’all are all living blessed. Have you decided who you’re voting for yet?  What about that Sarah Palin?  Who’s going to win?  All these question and more like them can be discussed on another blog; as for us, we are going to talk more about Mr. McCain’s proposed way of doing technology for America, if he becomes “the man.”
 
To start off, Mr. McCain believes that in order to get America at the forefront of the technological revolution, we need to invest in programs that will encourage more students to participate in the math, science and technology fields.  According to Mr. McCain, less than 20% of students in the US obtain degrees in the maths and sciences (that because it’s hard). Mr. McCain went further to say that the number of students pursuing computer science degrees has fallen by over 50% in less than a decade.  He believes that by introducing programs like the “America Competes Act” we will be able to move these numbers in a positive direction again.  Mr. McCain also is aware that there is a digital divide between Americans with access to broadband and information communication technologies and those without, and he has attempted to address the issue by providing grants for digital and wireless technologies instruction to minorities and those in the lower income brackets.
 
Due to the fact that participation in the abovementioned areas is dwindling, we are coming up with a shortage of skilled tech workers.  Mr. McCain believes he can address this issue by leveraging our technologically skilled workforce by increasing the number of H-1B visas granted to foreign workers, who are oftentimes educated in the United States, and encouraging those workers to stay here in the States to benefit our national productivity.My three cents.
 
All this is good and I really have nothing bad to say, just a suggestion.  Mr. McCain’s camp has made it a point to make it known that he has supported efforts in the past, on behalf of minorities, to shrink the digital divide by providing the grants mentioned above. I think that Mr. McCain could be even more effective in reducing the digital divide by providing grants and scholarships to those same individuals interested in taking advantage of digital instruction by funding their education at traditional colleges and other post secondary schools. If these same people realize that America will help them learn new skills, and will assist them in getting a degree and earning a living, they will more likely to pursue careers in math, science and technology-related professions, thereby increasing the pool of qualified minorities in the market.

Hey everybody; it’s me again.  I am here to make another contribution to the independent thought forum that is “ITEmpowersU.com”. I think yall remember me saying that I wanted to discuss the various tech stances that the candidates want to institute.  In my last post I discussed a bit of the direction that Mr. McCain wanted to move America in – I liked it - minus the big emphasis on globalization. 

So what does Obama say about the direction he will take America in with Technology?  Well, Obama has five pillars to his tech policy; over the next few days I am going to post about the three I am most interested in:

• Create a transparent and connected democracy.
• Encourage a modern communications infrastructure.
• Employ technology to solve our nation’s most pressing problems.

Today we are going to talk about his intentions to create a transparent and connected democracy.  Barack says that we should “open up the government to our citizens” to make it more transparent.  Barack believes that the marriage between government and special interest groups have impeded progress in America by shifting access to privileged information, which should be available to the public, to certain groups who have benefited from policies created for their corporate gain.  Barack wants us to have access to much of the same information as special interest groups so that we can be empowered to make positive changes in our communities.

Another way that Barack will create transparency is through e-sources like Websites and blog.  Barack wants to provide the common citizen access to knowledge on the sometimes secret deals that occur in Washington.  Under Barack the public will have access to information about   grants, contracts, earmarks and other transactions that otherwise would not be available to it.

My three cents

I like his idea to create more transparency. I think that openness can foster honesty,  but is it possible to be too transparent .  In my personal opinion, I don’t think all information should be for all people.  I do think that the government can do it’s shady dealings but I do know that what one uneducated citizen might see as a shady dealing today might actually provide jobs for a community some years down the road.  If left to the well intentioned, whistle blowing citizen those jobs might never be created.  Sometimes things done under conver can end up for the common good – buuuuuut usually not – I’m playing devil’s advocate.  Let me know what yall think.

News Corp’s MySpace has been officially sanctioned by the Commission on Presidential Debates to launch MyDebates.org, scheduled to debut later today; one more example of the power of both technology and the internet today.

“MySpace will launch ‘MyDebates.org’ – a new website which will house online tools to promote deeper levels of political engagement with viewers at home. Visitors to the site will have the option of downloading a personalized application which, during the debates, will stream the television event live from the embed location (e.g. within a blog, social network, or website). The application will also provide users with an on-demand playback functionality as well as issue-based tracking, allowing users to track a candidate’s stance on issues they care about throughout the live stream. The full functionality will be available in the days leading up to the first Presidential debate on Friday, September 26.”

While the upcoming election was already set to be a landmark event in allowing bloggers to podcast from the national conventions now thanks to MySpace the rest of the general public have the power to communicate with the candidates live and in real time… if they have a computer and broadband access. 

So that’s right, for those of you out there with high speed internet and the ability to watch streaming video, you too can ask Barack Obama what Oprah is really like or ask John McCain what Jesus was really like… 

No, but seriously, the internet, webcams, podcasts, and you in the online community are going to play a huge role in the upcoming elections.  If there was ever a more undeniable example of the power of technology I for one am completely unaware of it.

Who would have thought just 8 years ago that today, in 2008, the fate of the United States could rest on who has more friends on MySpace, but I guess the bigger question is… who will Tom vote for?

I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.