Techophilia and Social Progress

I had the opportunity to be a part of a Broadband Symposium in Haida Gwaii in Nov 07. It was organized by Art Lew of the Community Futures there. It was a great opportunity to hear from a large group of experts about the opportunities and challenges for communities that have high speed Internet. Haida Gwaii is just in the process of being hooked up, courtesy of TELUS, the BC Gov’t and GwaiiTel, a local not-for-profit group that is working to connect the last mile.

Here’s some of the presentations, including mine.

• Phillip Djwa – The Future of Work (880KB)
• Jamie Sterritt – Enhancing Community Vitality through ICT
  
• Chris Bywater – Developing and Expanding your eBusiness
  
• Terry McAloney – High-Speed Internet on Haida Gwaii
  

Well today is a big day if all goes well. I’ve been organizing a youth videoconference today that will be wild. Might be up to 50 kids from all over BC and Quebec getting together today on our videoconferencing network. We’ll be having a poster contest with have a bunch of prizes to give away to the kids that come with the best poster – and we’re going to have a special performance from Rapsure Risin, an amazing hip-hop group from Vancouver. I’m a little nervous because of all the tech, but I’m sure it will be fine. These are the kinds of events that we need to have to make this network really sing.

Here is a great quote from an article read today at http://thetyee.ca/Mediacheck/2006/10/17/GooTube/ that is discussing the aggregation of social networking sites by large corporate interests:

Imagine progressive organizations making smart deals with a variety of providers to carry this content deep in the heart of the digital distribution system. Imagine nimble, creative enterprises willing to experiment with new business models. Imagine having the courage to go beyond foundation grants and pledge drives and becoming adept at paying your own way. Imagine developing socially responsible advertising that respects personal privacy, is transparent about how data is collected and used, allows consumers to opt out of immersive experiences, fosters independent identity, builds community and supports social justice.

Can I imagine? This would be close to Nirvana as we want alternatives to the mainstream news we read everyday. But I don’t think a lot of progressive organizations are moving as fast as the large corporations. We need to figure this out fast or risk being yet again left out.

Since 1972, my folks have owned a cabin on the Sunhine Coast, about 4 miles up the Sechelt Inlet. We’ve had boat and a small trail access since about then as well. Originally, the place was a small cedar shack with a small dock and water came from a small water tower at the top of the property. We slowly built it up with a propane stove and fridge and eventually got more regular water from the regional district. Then about 15 years ago we got power and wham that was a change. My mom ended up renovating it so now it is really a summer place. For many years, I had a local dial-up account that got a fairly respectable 49kbps and so I wasn’t out of touch as much as slightly behind the times. People would call and leave me messages, “why haven’t you responded to my email” as I am usually so prompt. Downloading graphic files I regularly review were planned events now. “Tonight I will download email A and email B – total of 15MBs, so that should take close to 3 hours. If I start after dinner I should be done by bedtime!” And of course that meant no using of the phone, but in reality, with cell coverage so great here now, I use my cell.

All this to say it is with mixed feelings that I tell you that I am writing you from there on my highspeed cable connection. I guess the benefit is that now I’m connected and I have missed it in the short time up here without it (as it was installed last week), but now I am connected. The mixed feelings are because I feel that it shouldn’t be something that I *have* to have nor should it be as important as it is. But it is and of course, being in the industry have an excuse, but somehow it feels wrong. Any thoughts?

On the BC3 Listserv, I see a split between the folks that have a vision of something larger (aka FTTH) and the folks that are more pragmatic (ie DSL is good enough for me).

For me, I’m with the dreamers, and I ain’t the only one.

I’ve been doing a bunch of research lately for a client on the Digital home, which is pretty much the holy grail for a bunch of different industry players (networks, ISPs and Consumer electronics folks). Basically, the digital home will be a convergence of all the networks. DVD size downloads are coming fast and whether you like it or not, the rest of the world wants it. There is tremendous interest, just not happened yet.

Why send those big bulky DVD’s in the mail or face the cold hard rain at the rental store when you can zap it down in an instant? Music downloads, DVD video, Skype and Skype- equivalents all are providing pressure on this convergence. But I know we’ve been saying this for a while…

Whether the rural areas get it is still up for debate. John Webb is right that the telcos in Canada and the average person won’t really understand it (until they get it) and the pressure’s not there, but it will grow.

Point is, FTTH is coming to middle America and Canada won’t be too far behind – or maybe we will lead (hahahhhaaahahaa) but it will be here. I am confident that it will happen, but it is the speed that concerns me.

Oh, one more point -> in my travels I have noticed a lot of towns trying to attract boomers and their cash – and lots of boomers are taking up their offers. This kind of demographic shift will play out as well – and the boomers aren’t leaving their computers back in the city…

Below are examples listed by SaveTheInternet of past examples of abuses by ISP companies where they blocked rivals or unfavorable opinions about themselves.

• In 2004, North Carolina ISP Madison River blocked their DSL customers from using any rival Web-based phone service.

• In 2005, Canada’s telephone giant Telus blocked customers from visiting a Web site sympathetic to the Telecommunications Workers Union during a contentious labor dispute.

• Shaw, a major Canadian cable, internet, and telephone service company, intentionally downgrades the “quality and reliability” of competing Internet-phone services that their customers might choose — driving customers to their own phone services not through better services, but by making their opponents seem worse than they really are.

• In April, Time Warner’s AOL blocked all emails that mentioned www.dearaol.com — an advocacy campaign opposing the company’s pay-to-send e-mail scheme.