Why have you became involved in the digital divide network (DDN)?

I was hired in the summer of 1999 by the Benton Foundation to create the Digital Divide Clearinghouse, an online resource that was part of the philanthropy portal Helping.org (now known as Networkforgood.org). Helping.org contained four thematic areas: charitable giving, volunteering, nonprofit capacity building, and the digital divide. It was created by the AOL Foundation, Benton, the American Red Cross and many other orgs.

In December 1999, President Clinton hosted the US National Digital Divide Summit. During the event he hosted a breakfast of leaders from companies and philanthropies, and he complained they weren't doing enough to bridge the digital divide. They talked about helping.org and decided to spin off the digital divide into its own website; thus the Digital Divide Network was born in December 1999, with me as the founding editor.

Although relatively young, DDN is the largest online community of its kind that is dedicated to bridging the digital divide. What do you think have contributed to its growth rate so far?

Well, I wouldn't call us young, since we're actually one of the oldest networks of its kind, having been around for six years now. Most of the growth has occurred in the last year, since we re-launched DDN with a new design created by TakingITGlobal.org (TIG). We had approached TIG to redesign the site to make it more focused on giving individual ddn members the ability to create their own blogs, communities and discussions. This rethinking of how DDN works caused a huge influx of members. We now have almost 9,000 members today, up from 3,000 one year ago.

Do you think we have made enough effort to bridge the digital divide? Do you think the digital divide would widen or lessen in the future? Why?

No, we haven't, but it varies from country to country. Here in the US the federal government has generally ignored the issue since 2001; while middle class America is online, our marginalized populations aren't. But the US is very wired when compared to much of the world, so in many ways the gap between developed and developing nations needs to be a primary international policy effort.

The problem with the digital divide is that it is a result of poverty and disenfranchisement. As long as there are populations that are poor, illiterate, etc, there will always be a digital divide. That's because new technologies are being created constantly, and wealthy populations will always be able to afford them first. Initially we talked about the digital divide as who had computers; then who had dialup Internet; then broadband; then wifi. It'll keep going with each technological development, so we need to combat the fundamental causes of disparities in our society.

What do you think can be the (most effective) solutions for the digital divide?

There's no one answer because it depends on the local challenge. Is it poverty? A lack of infrastructure? Illiteracy? Govt monopolies of telecom utilities? There's simply no short answer to this question.

There has been lots of discussions on digital divide. Perhaps many people are aware of it, but they are not clear of what they can do (as individuals) to help bridging the divide. Is there any project in DDN that suggest specific actions for individuals to take to bridge the divide?

No, because we feel it's important not to prescribe a specific definition of the digital divide, because it's such a broad topic, different communities have different needs and challenges. For example, when people emphasize the divide is about home Internet access, policymakers sometimes neglect literacy, localized content, etc. Instead, we encourage members to interact with each other, find common interests and work together.

Apart from discussing about the digital divide (through communities, blogs, forum…), what other actions have members of DDN carried out? (please mention a few examples if possible).

Again, that's hard to answer since members operate autonomously. We have members who run telecentres, coordinate library programs, teach students, coordinate govt initiatives, etc. - the list goes on. Some of the leading activists in the digital divide movement are members of DDN.

How “international” is DDN? (i.e.: how many countries does it have members in?).

Approximately 140 countries, from what we can tell.

Do you have any personal experience with digital divide (that you would like to share)?

Well, I'm director of DDN. J

Thank you very much!