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March 29, 2006
What Does it Mean to be a Technology Activist?
Taran Rampersad has just authored an insightful essay on what it means to be a technology activist. (Yours truly gets a mention in the article, which was mighty nice of him.) I'm going to snip heavily from his essay, since he sums up his train of thought better than I can.
Really - what is a technology activist? This has been something I've been trying to figure out, as it is presently a primary description of me... I joked about it, saying that the 'pay sucks' (and it does), and that there's little room for advancement.Andy Carvin is someone I would use the label on. So is Bonnie Bracey. In fact, when I think about it, the entire DigitalDivide.net is really about technology activism, and it's certainly not limited to that one group. There are technology activists everywhere.
And I still can't quite put a finger on what a technology activist is. At the end of the day, it's a very broad and ill defined area which is a bit scarey, because perception might lead people to believe that technology activism is limited to a select group, when in fact I believe it isn't. I believe that it's a part of the natural course of technology.
For my part, I see it as an issue related to quality of life. I know that a lot of other people feel the same, though most I do know of would be categorized as Digital Divide Activists. Which, of course, gets us to what a Digital Divide Activist is and may help define Technology Activism.
The Digital Divide is pretty hard to divide, by itself, but generally speaking I think we could say it has to do with Information and Communications Technologies (ICT), globalization, and a divide in technology usage which affects areas of development. Just like development itself, the definition of the Digital Divide changes every day.
I suppose that means that Digital Divide Activists are doing something. And in the broader context, technology activism isn't limited to Digital Divide Activism.
Taran goes on to say that technology activism in itself is "a pretty poorly defined area." Generally speaking, he concludes, it means "trying to bring about change with technology."
I think that hits the nail on the head. Being a technology activist and working to bridge the digital divide isn't about putting an Internet PC so we can grow the market for e-commerce, online gaming or entertainment. If that's all we're doing, I might as well start looking for another job. (Wait a sec - I'm doing that already. Scratch that.)
Instead, being a technology activist is something more basic: fostering equitable access to tools that will improve people's quality of life - quality as they define it, on their own terms. For some people, that means gaining access to education for the first time. For others, it's plugging them into the democratic process so they can become a voice for change. Still others, it's making sure that their children have more and better opportunities to prosper than they ever did.
At its root, it's not about the technology. Being a technology activist is being a community activist, a social justice activist, a political activist, an education activist, a development activist. We've got these amazing tools that are revolutionizing the way we all live, learn, earn and interact. Shouldn't everyone have the same opportunity to benefit from these tools, so they too can make a better life for themselves?
That's what it's all about. -andy
Posted by acarvin at March 29, 2006 12:16 PM
Listen to a computer-generated podcast of this article
