Last week, I was asked a number of questions by a new national funder in the technology and digital media space. The questions were formed by her desire to understand MacArthur’s Digital Media Study.  Below are the questions and my responses.  I would love to hear if anyone has anything else to share. 

Questions: How does providing “core media literacy skills” to low-income youth address the “participation gap” as define in the Mac Arthur Study? Are information technology skills really that important to underserved communities in the US and abroad when compared to basic needs such as food and shelter? If so, why?  Are information technology skills viewed as a luxury by low-income individuals here in the US and abroad? 

My Response: The days when informational technology (info tech) and access to it can be viewed as a luxury are over. As stated recently in a New York Times article even the poorest of the poor in third world countries view info tech as a necessity. "When given the choice, they will choose the ability to communicate with their families, employers, customers, aid agencies… as important as food and shelter." (New York Times: Can the Cell Phone Help End Global Poverty? by Sara Corbett, April 13, 2008) This fact is demonstrated by the ubiquitous penetration of info tech into nearly every community in the world. This penetration would not be possible if people did not value and see it as important. 

One difference between the US and third world countries is access.First, access to a device (cell phone, computer, etc.) then access to a consistent source of power to run the device, then to a reliable network for the device to be apart of. Unlike many of the third world counties, most of the underserved communities in the US have the first two hurdles covered. Most communities have access to some type of device either personally (private cell phones or computers in their home) or through public institutions (computers in libraries, schools, etc.). The majority of the communities in the US also have access to reliable electrical power to run these devices. Where US communities encounter barriers is over access to reliable networks. The inability of underserved communities to connect to reliable networks is usually the result of economics. The people/companies who have the networks often find it to costly to provide underserved communities with access to their networks. For example, the cost of installing and maintaining infrastructure in remote places like the mountainous terrains in Appalachia or the desert terrains in Arizona's Native American reservations.  Some companies have recognized the large untapped market potential in underserved communities but most have not. The demand for access is present; the challenge is can companies find a way to fill that demand cost effectively.  

Most of what I’ve said is not news. What is news is the huge economic potential available to everyone once all communities, in the US and across the globe, have conquered these three hurdles. When all three hurdles are eliminated the economical power of the device users increases. Reliable access to the devices and networks is good for business. Business becomes possible were it wasn't before and that increases the wealth of the device users. How this happens can be as simple as a taxi driver receiving a customer's cell phone call or a neighbor selling talk time on a cell phone to other neighbors. It can be semi-complex, for instance, creating a website or blog and selling advertisement space on it. Or it can be very complex such as running an on-line store.

 The level of complexity at which people use info tech dictates how much economic benefit they are able to derive from it. ZeroDivide wants low-income communities to increase their wealth. This means they have to move from being low complexity users of info tech to high complexity users. They have to increase their understanding of and gain skills in info tech. The difference between being a low complexity user verse a high complexity user (the “participation gap”) must decrease. The skills youth and others acquire to decrease this gap is often called technology literacy. You are literate once you understand and create in this medium. “Media literacy”, as defined in the Mac Arthur study, has two interrelated meanings: 1) Youth who are media literate are also high capacity users. They are able to create content for the web not just navigate it; 2) Youth who are able to extract the varying levels of truth from contained in the content they find on the web. This second definition is the one normally associated with the term, media literacy, both on and off-line. When combined these two definitions make the term, media literacy, more difficult to understand. The important fact is that high levels of on-line media literacy will decrease the participation gap and thereby increase the economic wealth of individuals and the communities they live in.  

As the number of high complex, media literate, users grows so will the demand for robust and reliable networks and devices. Also, the economic buying power of the people asking for new services and products will increase. This translates into more sales for companies who provide network services such as cable or DSL as well as companies who sell devices such as Dell and Nokia. It is in the best interest of these companies to increase the “media literacy” and decrease the “participation gap” of low-income individuals. When these companies invest in underserved communities they are in effect building a consumer base ready (and able) to buy their services and products. To me, this is one of the biggest win, win situations in business today. The problem is most people don't have enough experience with underserved communities so they don't recognize their potential. Often people who are making the investment decisions don't live in, and rarely visit, underserved communities. So how would they know? Well, someone who they will listen to has to tell them.