Leaping the Gap: Addressing Independence in Underprivileged Communities
It's amazing to me that in this day and age, very few of us have addressed the issue of independent ownership on the web. With the advent of Media Make Change, and its like-minded allies, we have a venue by which to address the inequities that persist in an increasingly global and digital world. Some of the first things I thought of when it came to addressing "ownership" came from Malcolm X, community organizer. While he's most popular for his radical stances and politics, he's also well-known for his advocacy for community ownership. His idea of ownership stems from understanding that the minute a community invests in their own financial capital, the more they'll invest in their own human capital.
The same applies to the web.
While the percentage of homes with Internet access grows yearly, there's around a 20% difference between percentage of Blacks and Latinos home access and Whites and Asians, so the digital divide persists. Even amongst those of us who have Internet access, regardless of background, we still rely heavily on free services such as Blogspot and Livejournal to host our thoughts, Facebook and Ning to house our networks, and Twitter and (sadly) MySpace for promotions. While many of the reasons why we stick to the free services are purely economical, a few of us with the capita don't invest simply because we would rather outsource our personal information.
And that's where the future lies.
In my case, I relied heavily on free services to host everything I did. I was an early adapter to Facebook, Xanga, Twitter, MySpace, and every other larger scale social network service there was. Then, as my interests expanded, I began to see the limitations of these spaces. I started to see friends in similar fields get their memberships revoked or their material dissolved. Social networks began to change their terms of service to de-privatize personal usage, and some services even began to arbitrarily block certain sites that others deemed offensive, even when others of its like never got any warnings.
Thus, with the help of a few friends, I got my own .com.
Admittedly, this is not a new idea for many of us web savants. Multiplatinum musicians and businessmen advertised this idea in the early 90s. Yet, how to attain this status has escaped those who didn't have access early on. Even I had my fears about jumping into this web on my own.
Still, the cost of freedom is worth every penny. In my journey, these three points helped develop my own presence on this vast Internet:
- I have my own name and extension under which anyone can reach me.
- I have contracted independent hosting (note: the difference here is that the hosting services are beholden to you when you're paying, especially if you know what you're supposed to get)
- I use the free services as a means of networking with those who use the services.
Notice that the relationship here is different. Once you've controlled your own space on the Web, you can now interact on those sites without being beholden to them. In a way, they need you because it's your content that engages your network, particularly when you build a sizable network of your own.
Media Make Change is part of that vision. Building and teaching to a curriculum that serves the people who need this sort of information the most may do well for our prospects in decades to come. Until then, let's work towards our independence, one .com at a time.
How else can we build as a community on the Internet?
Jose Vilson, who wrote a synopsis of this back at his site ...
Introducing The Board!
Media Make Change is proud to announce its newest Board of Directors! Not sure how we did it, but we successfully managed to bring together some of the brightest and most innovative minds of snew media and non-profit management. So, without further ado . . .
First up is Joseph Perez, an IT Specialist and one of the first to join our board. Joe played a major role in developing the MMC website, along with our Executive Director, Trina Chiasson. I'm continually amazed by his talent and dedication to MMC. I encourage everyone to read about Joe's impressive background in the IT Industry and with Open Source technology in the Board section of our website.
Next, is Nathan Havey, a new media and political campaign strategist who has worked on major campaigns in Denver, LA, D.C., and Boston. Nathan and I met at Brave New Films, where we single-handedly ruled the world of Communications, at the Associate level! Aside from being incredibly smart with a unique ability to problem solve using his imagination and creative genius, he's also a person with a tremendous amount of integrity, and he is a wonderful friend. Oh, plus he takes a really awesome picture behind a Macbook Pro.
Aisha Mohamedi Richard is an attorney in New York City who used to teach law and advocacy to teens in Baltimore City. She's a wonderfully gifted woman dedicated to her work and serving the communities around her. I met and connected with Aisha on Twitter this year, and I've kept up with her night court tweets about the criminal justice system, flirty male lawyers, and grumpy judges. She's incredibly insightful about issues concerning women/human rights and issues relating to communities of color.
Myra Donnelley is currently the Director of Development for Brave New Films. Myra's knowledge about non-profit management, fundraising, grant writing, etc., is second-to-none. When I thought about starting a media justice non-profit, Myra was the first person I consulted. Even while working with Myra at Brave New Films, I was always in awe of her dedication to community development, education, and media advocacy. She is a walking, talking resource library of foundation and non-profit information. Myra is a wonderful woman and friend who thankfully kept in touch with me on Facebook after I moved away from Los Angeles.
Finally, Jose Vilson is an educator in the New York City public school system, he's also a poet, writer, and popular blogger. His work with youth is no less than admirable. He is dedicated and passionate about education and using the written word to empower communities. He's also a techy like many of us here. His knowledge about social and new media technology/methods will be invaluable as we continue to develop MMC. Jose and I met a few years back on one of the social networking sites - I think Facebook? I quickly learned that even in social networks, it's a very small world. I found out that Jose (a native New Yorkah) is friend's with a childhood friend of mine (from Ohio), of whom he met by way of a popular African-American blogging site! Did you get that?
Check out Jose's website and blog at http://thejosevilson.com.
There you have it! If you want to know more about these wonderful folks (and we just know you do!), please check out Media Make Change's About/Board page.