The Digital Divide has been a contentious issue since the mid-90s, so no, it’s not new - though it remains problematic. Minority representation on the internet has a lot to do with access. 

To a very large extent the physical demographic minorities are mirrored by the ones on the net. For to be represented on the net, the fact is you must have access, and you must have a certain working knowledge of the Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) available to you.

Representation for minorities means that group being fairly represented. In my first post, Baby steps to getting connected, I tackled the concept of what qualifies a group to be in the minority. 

The number of people in a group never really seem to be the factor – hoards can still be overthrown by few. Instead it’s a matter of which group’s ideology wins out in the end. With gender it’s generally males, with race whites, with money the rich, with class the affluent and so the list goes.

So my class and I took a little trip to Jo’burg last week. A moment was needed for lungs to acclimatise to the air’s toxic properties…and for the traffic (which made me miss the general Rhodes populace riding around on bicycles).

As the designated documentation officers for the conference’s three-day duration, we had to pretty much utilise the technologies at hand, save the possibility of their imminent failure or that of internet connectivity or other such ‘glitches in the Matrix’.

Tweets (microblogging regular updates on the conference’s happenings) had to be sent to twitter.com,  flickrs had to be posted, pics had to be taken, and video recordings of interviews had to be done. All with the toy of the day – our shiny new Nokia N82.

The Mobileactive08 conference we attended - ”Unlocking the Potential of Mobile Technology for Social Impact”, has been running for three years now.

At MobileActive08 participants will explore how mobile phones are used to advance civil society work, assess the current state of knowledge in the use and effectiveness of mobile technology to advance social action, and investigate trends, needs and investment opportunities.

One of the sessions I partook in a woman from the Philippines shared how cell phones have become an integral part of everyday culture there. Touching on the topical event a couple of years ago, that mobilised citizens to using IT to help topple their president. 

As much as mobile penetration in South Africa has passed the 80% mark, for a significant number of people familiarity with this technology remains a foreign concept.

Besides the problems though, incredible strides are being made with regard to the use of mobiles. MobileActive08 was about exposing people to the innovative ways mobiles are being used nowadays. From receiving reminders to help patients with chronic illnesses keep track with appointments and reminders for taking medication.

To farmers keeping up to date with developments happening in local markets, also via SMS. So as not to waste resources and energy travelling to a market where one’s crop is in access, a famer can simply reroute and head to another market where their crops are needed from the get go.     

There is a large group of people including sectors from NGOs, citizens, health workers, government, and researchers are who interested in developing this country using ICTs. A truth that was evident at the conference with all the interested parties who attended, enquired, and shared broached their ideas.

The “Lost Museum,” created by City University of New York (CUNY) graduate students in the New Media Lab, is an interactive 3-D look at P.T. Barnum’s 19th century American Museum.  Barnum’s museum, the most visited museum in the United States until it burned down in 1865, has unfortunately been lost to those of us who have an interest in the odd and the weird.  This virtual recreation provides a comprehensive and engaging look at one of Barnum’s great achievements.  

What is particularly nice about the “Lost Museum” is that is literally has something for everyone.  Visitors to the site can explore virtually reconstructed exhibits, play an interactive mystery game that includes hidden clues pointing to who burned down the Museum, explore the vast archive of historical documents and present scholarship, or visit the online classroom that has references, essays and classroom activities.

I became interested in the life of P.T. Barnum after doing extensive research on the Hartford Circus Fire, but I was not really that knowledgable about Barnum’s life outside of the circus.  The “Lost Museum” is a fabulous resource for everything from Barnum’s early life, amusement devices, abolition, the Civil War and more. But what I really enjoyed about the site is how it caters to different groups of people.  The game is great for kids (and adults, too”, the virtual exhibits are fabulous for anyone interested in Museum’s, and the archives and classroom materials are perfect for teachers and people doing original research.

The “Lost Museum” certainly makes learning fun, and is valuable resource for understanding the life and time’s of the fabulous showman, P.T. Barnum.

Eine kleine Zusammenfassung der Diskussion mit u.a. Karel Dudesek vom Take Away Festival in London habe ich mindestens Ritchie versprochen – für meine eigene Wissensorganisation werde ich das aber sowieso auch noch machen. Nur heute morgen habe ich keine Zeit mehr, ein paar Skizzen und Notizen zur Diskussion bei der DIY-Fair im net culture lab aufzuschreiben. Was ich aber hinkriege ist eine ganz kurze Beschreibung von Kitchen Budapest bzw. Kibu, einem New Media Lab, das von Telekom Magyar gefördert wird (tatsächlich zufällig der analoge Sponsor zu ncl und Telekom Austria), deren Eszter Bircsák und Sipos Melinda (Melinda Sipos?) gestern auch da waren. Es funktioniert insofern anders, als dort immer gleich ein ganzer Schwung von Forschern gefördert wird, die für drei Monate parallel und gemeinsam an ihren Projekten arbeiten, die jeweils anschließend präsentiert werden. Die Masse an entwickelten Prototypen war schon beeindruckend.

Kitchen Budapest haben ihren eigenen Youtube Kanal, auf dem die Projekte angeschaut werden können. Ich zupfe hier nur einmal ein paar exemplarisch raus und empfehle den Rest zum Selbststudium.

Reverse Shadow Theatre – ein Real Time Animationssystem, das ohne die ewigen faden Motion Capture Bällchen funktioniert, da per se auf anthropomorphe Strukturen ausgelegt:

Moonlight – eine Leuchte für den nächtlichen Toilettengebrauch, die einen nicht flasht sondern sanftes Licht verbreitet und bewegungs- und lichtempfindlich ist (und im Herbst auf der 100% Design Fair in Tokyo vorgestellt werden wird).

Breath Fairies – auf Dampf projizierte Feen, die mich an ein ähnliches Kunstwerk im net culture space erinnern, bei dem nicht auf “Atem”, sondern auf rieselnden Sand projiziert wurde.

Etc. pp. Siehe Kitchens Youtube Channel oder deren Homepage.