Traveling Geeks

“Communication is how we connect to others at a deeper level,” Jim “Sky” Schuyler @JimSky7 #TravelingGeek #WDYDWYD?

"Communication is how we connect to others at a deeper level."

Redefining Digital Inclusion

We met with Tristan Wilkinson this morning at Savoy Place in London. Tristan, who is Intel’s Director for Public Sector for Intel EMEA, wears many hats and has several interests.

Below Tristan with Perveen Akhtar, Intel UK PR Manager

He tells us about a program called One Goal which will be launched in August and piggyback off the South African World Cup. The goal is to get 30 million online signatures in an effort to help make poverty history. Take note: 75 million children still don’t have access to primary school education in the world.

Tristan asks, “do those that enjoy the benefits of technology have a moral right over those who don’t? If you don’t have access, you’re missing so much.” He adds,”for example, when did a blue collar worker need access to the Internet and many of these tools simply to get a job? It’s particularly important in this economic climate.”

He talks about the broken education system where we’re still assessed by written exams, rather than an interactive system that allows students to exchange ideas and use technology to learn.

Essentially you’ve got a 21st century learner in a 19th century environment and the two are starting to cancel each other out. And, what are the other things that allow these technology tools to be unleashed? We have to figure out a way to embrace and value informal learning, such as self-study.

The thread is one that isn’t a new one: the digital divide, largely an economic one, however it’s beyond a financial issue, it’s also attitude; attitude among teachers and among parents.

Parents have learned about the perils of Internet use but haven’t necessarily learned about about the value that it can bring to their child’s life, particularly in the classroom.

Robert Scoble asserts that the change will come from the kids, not from top down. And, adds that it’s not about the technology or being able to afford it, it’s about lack of knowledge and education – what’s out there? what tools can help me find a better job? go to a better school?

We discuss key drivers. If success and nirvana is a digitally educated population, we shouldn’t have to wait twenty years for people to catch up to embrace these changes…with technology change accelerating at such a dramatic rate, there needs to be an effort to bring those who are being left behind forward.

Tristan asserts that the problems are very fragmented and that there needs to be a more concerted effort to bring groups like us together to take action.

Sky adds, “the best thing that educators can do is to be totally open to the new devices that already have some of these services embedded….but we have legislation.” Robert has become demoralized and is one of the reasons he doesn’t get involved in this debate regularly.

We also discuss the role of the press….how do the press educate parents and educators and what form it takes. “It’s not that my children are going to get online and be stalked but that if they don’t get online and learn how to use these new technologies, they won’t get jobs, they will be left behind. Parents need to understand that the jobs of the future are going to require them to support their kids to learn how to use technology. There may not be any public or private funds for it but the change needs to happen.

We need to redefine Digital Inclusion. The definition of digital inclusion today is basic access. It doesn’t include basic skills such as understanding some of the technology and social media schools to network and make friends not just locally for globally. It increases their job and life opportunities significantly.

It’s time to move that definition beyond simple access. We need a new definition that policy makers, technology creators, parents, and educators can rally around. There will be a revolution when more and more students get their hands on some of these devices and start using them in the classroom.

Digitrad Launches Yes.tel, Digital Business Card Service

Digitrad, a company specializing in unified communications, launched Yes.tel today in the U.S. Yes.tel provides instant access to a person’s contact information from any PC or mobile device.

Using one user-friendly platform to manage a multitude of digital identities, consumers can seamlessly access and update their personal information consolidated into one domain from their laptop, desktop or their mobile phone.

A subscriber based service, costing $19.99 annually, Yes.tel allows registrants to select a user .tel name of their choice, which includes a local phone number with a unified voicemail, an integrated email re-direction system, anti-spam and antivirus services.

Yes.tel user records are consolidated and stored within an information-encrypted Domain Name Server (DNS), allowing a certain level of access to the public. Once a user registers a domain and distributes it to friends, family and colleagues, other users will be able to look-up the domain and have full access to all of the information associated with that domain, which will be immediately re-directed to the device and saved.

Disclosure: Digitrad is a sponsor of the Traveling Geeks blogging tour to London.

Howard Rheingold and Susan Bratton at the London TweetUp #TG2009

– Posted using MobyPicture.com

Traveling Geeks TweetUp a Success!

– Posted using MobyPicture.com

Joe Neale aka @Joe from Symbian at the London TweetUp #TG2009

– Posted using MobyPicture.com

Life Imitates Google Earth (TG2009)

In a stroke of Alice Through the Looking Glass, I arrived in London after an overnight flight, took the Heathrow Express (fast train – 15 minutes from the airpor to central London), then switched to the tube (subway) for a short ride to my hotel. (JD Lasica was with me.) Arriving at the Barbican tube stop, which is where we emerge to walk two blocks to the hotel, I stepped out onto the street. This was my reaction (see video below) – didn’t know which was real, the real or the Google Earth (Google Street View, actually). Kind of deja vu because everything looked entirely familiar to me after having gone around the block many times on Google Street View to try to determine the best walking route to the hotel. You can tell from my excitement that it was a real revelation to discover that I could “go to a place” in the virtual world, use the virtual world to make decisions about a route, and then have it actually play out properly in real life. Amazing!

London’s Tower Bridge is on Twitter, I’ll be on the bridge later today

Did you know that London’s Tower Bridge is on Twitter? What does it say? When it opens and closes. Fun example of an object in physical space using Twitter to communicate to the world. That reminds me of the Canadian border crossing that uses Twitter to tell the world how long waits are at the border. I wonder what other physical objects use Twitter?

I’ll be on that bridge with Rocky Barbanica (Building43 producer) and Rachel Clarke (she works for a web agency building websites) later today to kick off our Traveling Geeks week. We’re here meeting a ton of geeks and getting a look at all sorts of interesting tech companies and events.

Tonight, if you’re in London, please come by the Tweetup and say hi. Everyone is invited and tickets are still available.

The rest of our schedule this week is fairly packed. But I will try to sneak people into our schedule. Give me a call at +1-425-205-1921 and let’s talk.

Tweet up for “Traveling Geeks” in London

Last year, I was part of a group of Traveling Geeks visiting Israel, and this year, the UK.

The Geeks will be attending a TweetUp on Sunday, July 5th at London’s JuJu on King’s Road. Half priced tickets end on June 26th, so if you’re in London or know someone who is, please let them know.  You can register early here.  Sponsors include The Conversation Group and NESTA.org.

(Words mostly stolen from Renee Blodgett)

Digitrad Simplifies the Way People Communicate