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http://www.iaginteractive.com/emfa - Details Below
Universal Internet - Comments and Responses #1
----------------------------------------------
The following messages are included in this digest:
(Titles written by event host.)
1. Christopher D. Frankonis - CyberCafes
2. Alan Mackenzie - UA Technology Needed
3. Nathalie Goss - Free-Nets and Libraries
4. Eric Siegel - Library Cards and E-mail Accounts
5. Kyle Seidlitz - Inevitabile Access System
Send your general comments and essay responses to:
emfa@publicus.net
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[1]
Date sent: Thu, 7 May 1998 10:16:22 -0700 (PDT)
From: President b!X <baby-x@geekforce.org>
Subject: T2Q4 Response
# 4. Public access to the Internet from libraries and
# increasingly diverse community locations represent the first
# opportunities for those without the necessary technology to go
# online. What are the trends with public access initiatives?
# What has been learned? What are some of the better access
# models for harder-to-reach populations? What are good examples
# of community-oriented technology and information-literacy
# training and education programs?
To begin to answer this question, let me first offer the
following brief text, the manifesto for the cybercafe I co-own in
Portland OR:
"The Millennium Cafe recognizes that throughout the history of
cafes, they have been social centers for meeting friends and
associates, reading the latest news, writing letters and tracts,
and discussing the events and issues of the day.
"Further, the Millennium Cafe recognizes that since its days as a
research network, the Internet has itself evolved into a social
center for chatting with others near and far, searching the web,
sending email and publishing homepages, and participating in
Usenet.
"Understanding the clear parallels between the histories of the
cafe and of the Internet, the Millennium Cafe seeks to bring the
two together in meaningful ways by using the cafe environment to
communicate and extend the culture of cyberspace, and utilizing
the medium of cyberspace to facilitate and expand the culture of
the cafe's community."
Much of the rhetoric surrounding efforts to expand access to the
Internet often appear to operate on a level of "it's good for its
own sake", perhaps because to a certain extent many current
netizens take it for granted that the net is useful, powerful,
and enjoyable.
But to expand access to the net, we need to show how the medium
is somehow -relevant- to people's lives; to demonstrate that the
Internet can easily be intregated into the sorts of activities
and interests they already pursue from one day to the next. We
need to make it to some extent familiar.
While there are many variations on the general theme of the
cybercafe -- from establishments founded mainly as a jump onto
the bandwagon of hightech hype and flashy gizmos to neighborhood
coffeeshops with an almost evangelical Internet mission -- they
all nonetheless share the premise that familiar public spaces
(cafes) can help bring people into unfamiliar public spaces
(cyberspace).
What cybercafes can perhaps do better than other avenues of
increasing public knowledge of and access to the net is provide
direct face-to-face contact and support for new Internet users.
Trying to figure out the net on your own can sometimes be
daunting. Calling tech support can sometimes be aggravating. But
in the hopefully more relaxed and informal atmosphere of a cafe,
new users (in my experience) often find it easier to overcome the
initial hurdle of their lack of knowledge, and take it upon
themselves to ask the person behind the counter, or even another
customer who appears clued in, to help them understand.
It certainly helps new users understand that the net is not only
about the machines and the wires, but about the people using
them. And that certainly helps breed familiarity with something
new.
Name: Christopher D. Frankonis / President b!X
Title/Organization: Millennium Cafe, Inc. / GEEK Force
E-Mail Address: baby-x@millennium-cafe.com / baby-x@geekforce.org
Web Address: http://www.millennium-cafe.com /
http://www.geekforce.org
Location/Country: Portland, OR
President b!X - Guerrilla Techno-Fetishist
baby-x@geekforce.org
----------------------------------------------------------------
"The last splash mission besides irresistable bliss."
----------------------------------------------------------------
Global Effort to Eradicate Know-nothings http://www.geekforce.org
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[2]
Date sent: Wed, 06 May 1998 19:27:32 -0700
From: Alan Mackenzie <talanm@earthlink.net>
Send reply to: talanm@earthlink.net
To: emfa@publicus.net
Subject: Universal Access posting
The prospect of universal access is a powerful one. However,
technology is a long way to making this a true reality. I
coordinate 10 computer centers in inner city Los Angeles.
Participants have a difficult time adjusting to working with
computers. A simple skill, such as keyboarding, can be a huge
challenge. Many of our participants struggle for 8 weeks simply
to master the basics of keyboarding. Never mind typing a
minimally acceptable rate of 35 wpm. Learning a word processing
program is an even greater challenge. In effect we offer
universal email to all our participants. Few take advantage of
it. Without full internet access (we can only provide access to
email) most people simply are not interested in using email.
Email provides no service that is not already available by
telephone. The real challenge is providing individuals with the
ability to have universal access in their bedrooms. That is
where most people surf the net. I worked briefly for a Houston
company in the early 90's that provided an inexpensive email and
services box for $19.95 a month. People without PC's had ready
access to the same services that a subscriber using a home PC
had. The box could not have been worth more than $150.00. We
need to bring low cost equipment to the table before talking
about greater access. A $200 unit is what is needed. $200
total. Simply plug the phone line into this portable unit and
bring the Internet home, in living color. And yes color is
essential.
Alan
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[3]
Date sent: Wed, 06 May 1998 23:53:31 -0700 (MST)
From: goss@aztec.asu.edu (Nathalie Goss)
Subject: T1 General Comments #4
Nathalie Goss
Past President, AzTeC Free-Net 1994-March1998
Director, AzTeC Free-Net 1998
E-Mail: goss@aztec.asu.edu
Tempe, Arizona
>> 4. Public access to the Internet from libraries and
increasingly diverse community locations represent the first
opportunities for those without the necessary technology to go
online.
Just a short comment here as I have already sent an essay in
concerning "Networking Communities" which will appear on the
12th.
The AzTeC Free-Net has had a close relationship with the
libraries in Arizona since its inception. We encourage them to
offer free access to our Free-Net for their patrons. Our goal is
to have every library in the state connected and offering their
patrons free access. Since we are the only Free-Net in the state,
at this time, we are constantly striving to make this goal.
In 1994 we also began a loaner service in which we provided free
donated computers and modems to any organization willing to
provide public access. Several libraries took advantage of this
offer. The librarians in those libraries also became active with
the AzTeC Free-Net and together we offered free seminars in
Maricopa County. In my opinion, at least in the states, the
library is the most convenient public access for many people.
Some librarians may not be anxious to delegate needed funds to
technology services and some may not be as willing to learn or
teach their patrons how to use the Internet. Our experience here
has shown that the majority of librarians are willing and able to
help. As with anything new, funding, education and even space
available in a given library will need to be addressed.
As someone pointed out, it makes no sense to just provide the
computers and modems if no one is there to teach the
fundamentals. At AzTeC we do this at our monthly, public meetings
and at special seminars all over the state. We also offer ongoing
support via our 24 hr. help line and a manual written by an AzTeC
board member.The manual is sold as a fund raising effort at
nominal cost, but also given free to any library offering access
to our servers.
--
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[4]
Date sent: Thu, 07 May 1998 13:45:53 -0300
From: Eric Siegel <esiegel@nyhallsci.org>
Subject: Re: EMFA: T2E2 - Learning from Internet
Demographics - Birdsell
Professor Birdsall writes:
"In particular, we will want to study closely the explosion in
public points of access such as after-hours school programs,
libraries and community-based centers."
This is a crucial point, and a way in which public and private
investment may be leveraged to expand access. It is technically
trivial (as hotmail and other providers demonstrate) to provide
individuals with their own email boxes. There is next to no
marginal cost for adding an email user. So should everyone who
gets a library card get an email account? Everyone who registers
in schools? As this expands, the "network effect" (as all of my
friends get email accounts, email is much more valuable to me)
should encourage participation.
Eric Siegel
Director, Planning &
Program Development
The New York Hall of Science
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[5]
Date sent: Wed, 6 May 1998 03:11:51 -0400 (EDT)
From: kseid@eugnpop1.eugn.uswest.net
Subject: UAC Comments
Full Name: Kyle Seidlitz
E-Mail: kseid@pop.eugn.uswest.net
Comments:
The way that I see the trend of technology
and it's apparent accessability, I see the
inevitability of a "public" internet access
system. The Worldwide AT&T backbone will
most likely decide that it is easier and
more cost effective within the next 5 years
to start phasing out personal dedicated
phone service. With improvements in IP
Telephony that have already started to
appear compared to three years ago, a
videophone on the household computer will be
about as commonplace in the American
household as cellular is today. With the
"shrinking world" concept taking off at
geometricly increasing rates, electronic
mail on a global level will even reach rural
areas in "3rd world communities" before the
end of the next decade. The above is my
personal estimation of the next progression
of the "market"'s interest and "guidance" of
the world wide technology platform.
end
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