What I have noticed is that unless you have specific technical skills, it’s very difficult to create new technologies. However depending on the learning curve, you can use many different kinds of technologies. Technological inclusivity has many layers to it.

• You can use a technology even if you didn’t design the technology. For many people with a certain level of digital exposure, you can utilize a lot of technologies.
• If you have limited or no access to the internet or to digital tools, you can’t participate or create.
• Even if you can participate, it doesn’t mean you can create.

Should inclusively mean simply being able to use a technology or should it also mean being able to transform that technology and/or create a new technology? There is not only a digital divide but also a divide between producers and consumers. The labor force doesn’t have enough people with the skills to be producers/creators which causes systematic problems that have ripple effects.

Broadcast Media

Today I took a tour of the Boston Neighborhood Network (BNN) on Washington Street in Roxbury. On their website they state that:

“Boston Neighborhood Network is a nationally recognized, award-winning community media center and 501(c)(3) nonprofit that acts as a public forum for all Boston residents, nonprofit and community-based organizations, and governmental and educational institutions, providing them with affordable training and access to emerging media technologies.”

BNN has been around for 30 years however I stumbled upon them last week while researching local television channels. When Cablevision became the cable provider for the city of Boston, part of the deal was that a portion of their revenue (around 5%) would support the common good. BNN is a platform where Boston residents can learn studio production and produce their own television shows. BNN offers membership, as well as volunteer and internship opportunities for any resident of Boston. The goal is to create a public forum for Boston residents from all neighborhoods to come together and talk about what is happening in their neighborhood and lives. As well as learn transferable media skills.

BNN has a program called the People’s Platform where residents of Boston can come to the studio, untrained, and voice their opinions and concerns about daily life in the city.

It is a space designed for inclusivity. However mimicking the macro problem of neighborhood segregation in a city, even so small as Boston, the residents who live closest to the studio end up utilizing the services more. The fact that it is in Roxbury, scares some people from coming in. When I talked to Janice, the manager of memberships, she said they are thinking of having satellite studios but that takes money and resources that they don’t really have.

Another problem of inclusivity for BNN is the medium, which is broadcast television. Given the switch to streaming content online instead of watching cable, BNN like other organizations are losing revenue. Which means they rely more heavily on grants, fundraising, and donations. And with less resources, there is less opportunity to invest in new technologies and media which is important when you are place for emerging media technologies.

One example is their drupal website. Janice is having a hard time fining someone to work part time with drupal skills to develop their website. Drupal developers are expensive as the supply is low and the demand is high. They need citizens who have these skills to help. Can BNN and NGO’s keep up with the pace of technological advancement given their resources?

There are organizations out there like Code for Boston who support public projects. But there are too many projects and a limited amount of people with the skills to help. The city of Boston has held a few hackathons to get coders in the community to help the city. Again the producers are a limited group of people. The concept of BNN is great, and as I toured the studio I was really impressed by the organization. There were independent producers who were local residents who were spending their time producing shows for the public. It is a real attempt to bring neighborhoods together and residents together. However as technology becomes increasingly important in society, and it differentiates the people who have and who have not, there needs to be a greater effort in ensuring that more people have the access and skills to not only participate but create. Imagine a model like BNN for emerging media instead of broadcast media? You need to train residents in the new skills of media. You need more people in the labor force participating rather than the same limited amount of people. And since technology changes so quickly, it requires investment and resources.

Here is a thought that is not original at all. There needs to be more people in the pool to make sure that technologies are inclusive.