By Jim Cashel “In the 25 years since the World Wide Web appeared with the launch of the Mosaic browser, about half the population of the planet has gained access to the internet. In the next three to five years the other half will be gaining access. That second half of the planet’s population, notably, Read More

“This video describes some of the realities faced by the Native American population, regarding treatment and repatriating their culture. It is a harsh reality that is dealt with on a daily basis. Nearly every Tribe has a Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (THPO), and they are constantly trying to reclaim cultural artifacts from institutions that have Read More

Libraries are important access points for information and the Internet. Around the world, communities are finding their local libraries can provide free Internet access and more. This paper, drawing from presentations from libraries around the world, tells the story of the roles libraries can play in developing skills, promoting employment and economic growth in their Read More

By day, Pat Scannell is a professional technologist, who has spent a 25+ year career commercializing disruptive technologies into mass market adoption, and he has done this in domains ranging from Internet, Mobile, IoT and Defense. By night, he researches and writes about the cumulative effects of technology in humans, specifically the effects on how Read More

On February 13, 2019, NTIA, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the White House Offices of American Innovation, Management and Budget, Science and Technology Policy, and the National Economic Council announced the American Broadband Initiative (ABI), “a comprehensive effort to stimulate increased private sector investment in broadband”. In a report released the same day, over 20 federal agencies set Read More

By Mark Buell To truly close the digital divide, we need to aim for infrastructure solutions to make sure rural and remote Indigenous communities can keep up to a rapidly changing world of communications technology and products requiring speeds 100 to 1,000 times faster than what our best-connected regions already get. The ICS report features Read More

Through a review of “LikeWar: The Weaponization of Social Media” by P. W. Singer and Emerson T. Brooking, you can enjoy a fascinating read about the origins of the social networks we use today. It is a little known fact science fiction lovers created the first social network by asking everyone to send a list Read More

The New York Times reports on a new study by Microsoft that found as many as 162.8 million Americans do not use the Internet at high speeds. Predominantly affecting citizens in rural communities, where Internet inaccessibility has severe economic, educational, and health implications, the study highlights the inherent issues in the Federal Communications Commission’s recording Read More

The Internet is known to be a democratizing force, yet much of the content published on sites like Wikipedia remains skewed towards the biases of their North American or European editors, who are often in positions of power and privilege. In order to realize the full potential of the Internet and improve representation of marginalized Read More

Ordinary people can do extraordinary things when given the opportunity. When the right circumstances align, we can all band together to collectively invent something that can improve our world. The story of Citizens Band Radio, an initiative that arose from World War II, which enabled people from all walks of life to communicate freely, shows Read More