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Clarissa Ramon: Jump Over the Gap and Stay Under the Cap

Crossposted from Public Knowledge A recent  survey of adults who use their cell phones to access the Internet found that 2 in 5 Latinos and half of African Americans- double the rate of Whites- conduct a majority or all of their web browsing via their cell phones. While smart phones enable communities to cross over the traditional digital divide and become Internet users, they are not perfect solutions. Data caps have the potential to restrict how and when Internet users go online. As data caps on mobile devices become standard practice, and unlimited data plans dissappear, the importance of carrier transparency about caps will increase.

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Hakim Bellamy: New Resolve, New Ideas and New People

New resolve, new ideas and new people. The Grassroots Radio Conference did the job that good conferences are supposed to do. It reminded us why the work is important. We remind ourselves why we do the work we do. Finally, it reminds us that we are not doing the work alone. In the workshop I facilitated (Radio and the Radiohead) , we ended on communication strategies for progressing radio programs, radio stations and the radio movement. However, we began with a simple question (adapted from the film Brown Sugar), “When did you first fall in love with radio?” Hearing our own answers to that question, is almost as reaffirming as hearing others’. As we applied communications theory to issues of messaging, development and distribution, we functioned from the basic premise that our stories are the most valuable resource we have in bringing community members to our movement, and the finding and sharing of our stories is the most valuable thing we do.

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Jeff Rousset: Voices and Visions from the Grassroots Radio Conference 2012

Last weekend dozens of people gathered at the Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center in Urbana, IL for the Grassroots Radio Conference 2012: The Future of Community Radio. Long-time community radio producers and station managers were there, as well as people with zero experience making radio who want to learn and start stations in their communities. There were engineers, community organizers and media-makers all mixing and mingling, teaching and learning, building a shared vision for how to reclaim radio and use it as a tool for community empowerment.

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Want To Pay Less and Get More?

How communities are banding together to create high-speed, affordable broadband access. By Christopher Mitchell and Sascha Meinrath / Cross-posted from Slate.com Imagine paying $40 per gallon of gasoline when people in neighboring towns are paying $4. Or paying $8 per kilowatt-hour for electricity when others were paying 8 cents. Unthinkable! But this stark disparity is commonplace when it comes to paying for Internet access in the United States. As the recent report “The Cost of Connectivity” from the New America Foundation (a partner with Slate and Arizona State University in Future Tense) documents, something is fundamentally wrong with our broadband.   Businesses and households without fast, affordable, and reliable access to the Internet are tremendously disadvantaged in the modern economy. And the gap between the most connected and least connected communities is actually getting worse. Some homeowners in North Carolina are reluctant to publicly discuss their total lack of broadband access due to fears of being unable to later sell their property.

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A MAG-Net Guide to the 2012 Grassroots Radio Conference

The Media Action Grassroots Network is a proud co-sponsor of the 2012 Grassroots Radio Conference!  Check out these sessions, caucuses, and events that feature MAG-Net members, partners and allies. Stay in touch during the conference!  Join the Twitter Conversation by following us @mediaaction and Tag #mediajustice #GRC2012

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Hilary Goldstein: Advancing a Tech Agenda for our Social Justice Movements in Detroit

May First/People Link’s (MFPL) work is the Internet.  We support and work to build an Internet infrastructure for our membership.  We communicate with our more than 700 members online.  Even our staff, spread out across multiple states and over international borders, communicates regularly over the web.  And so we relish the spaces where we can meet face to face.  Last week, MFPL used the Allied Media Conference as a critical gathering space to engage with staff, members and allies.  Although, truth be told, our key work in Detroit took place before the AMC even began.

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Vanessa Maria Graber: We Begin by Listening

One of my favorite moments at this year’s AMC was my radio interview with three bright kids from Detroit who participated in the DiscoTech workshop.  It was their first time on the radio and with great enthusiasm they shared their experiences teaching others about science and technology and how the opportunity for leadership at the AMC instilled confidence in them.

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Detroit Gathering Brings Together Activists, Artists, Techies and Organizers

By Clarissa Ramon, Public Knowledge This weekend, I attended the 14th annual Allied Media Conference hosted by the Allied Media Projects in Detroit Michigan. The conference brought together community organizers, media mobilizers, technologists, and social justice advocates from around the country to discuss the intersection of technology and media as a vehicle for social change.