Panel: Life in the Electronic Public Space: Models for community networks (Kirk Roberts, Tyler Burns, Michael Gillespie, Marc Belanger) Kirk Roberts Kirk Roberts gave a brief description of NirvCentre, the Toronto-based non-profit organization which runs Web, a national-access computer network for non-profit and social service organizations. Roberts pointed out that emerging technologies such as desktop publish- ing are very recent developments which allow for new things to be done. He said that what is disturbing is the way the "entertainment supershopway" is being marketed as an information service, when it is really an entertainment service. Emerging technologies can be "extremely democratizing" tools. For example, they enable a national coalition to function with only one or two staff members located in Ottawa. The non-profit sector, he said, "will be the leading edge of how these new tools are applied." This is because non-profit organizations have a mandate to communicate, a need to network, and a history of co-operation. If they can build the right partnerships, they will be lead- ing government and the private sector in the development of grassroots appli- cations of emerging technologies. World-Wide Web and the ability to publish one's own work are key tools in this endeavour. There are also barriers, such as the cost of computers and online time. At the global level, the ability to gain access to networks "is a political decision in many countries". The "rampant movement" to make things free means that free "junk" is supplanting good data, and causing it to be undervalued. The question that should be asked is: "who can afford to publish for free?" The answer is: "the American Right". It should not be considered unethical or improper to charge for information on the net, Roberts emphasized. NirvCentre and Web are building communities within the non-profit sector and across the country, said Roberts. The Canadian Women's Networking Support Program has been formed to address "the enormous gender gap" caused by the fact that "white male computer geeks" between the ages of 25 and 35 dominate the 'Net. Environmental and justice networks have also been formed. "It all starts here," Roberts concluded: non-profit organizations must show government and the private sector what is possible. He reiterated his assertion that the 'Net is not about "information": "Ted Rogers is not an ally," he stated. Tyler Burns Tyler Burns explained that Ingenia is comprised of 50 Internet "gurus" based at Carleton University. It supports the Community Access Project with the goal of bringing the Internet to 1000 rural communities. It is crucial that communities define their own needs, said Burns. The program to get rural communities online must include an educational component, provide a national forum for communities, and ensure that services are devel- oped by and for the communities. The benefits to rural communities of access to the 'Net include: * Improved access to information services; * The removal of geographical boundaries (less isolation); * Improved employment opportunities within the community (e.g. telework); and * Reducing isolation of Aboriginal communities through improved communica- tion. Rural access projects will become sustainable if: * Community needs are defined by the communities and not by the technology available; * The telephone and cable companies help create an appropriate infrastruc- ture; * Secure partnerships are formed which tap into the knowledge base within the community; * There is a vision of future development that will improve the community; and * There is a business plan. Industry Canada's Community Access Program provides $30,000 of "seed money" over 18 months, as a catalyst to get organizations together and to put pressure on phone companies to update phone switching equipment and reduce long-distance rates. The benefits of rural access for Canada as a whole are: * A technologically literate population; * Increased local economic activity; * A more diverse group of Canadians with which to communicate. Michael Gillespie Michael Gillespie, of Blue Sky FreeNet in Manitoba, stressed the differ- ence between the perception and the reality of the information highway. He explained that Blue Sky FreeNet's goal is to provide free access to the 'Net for all people in Manitoba. This involves a "literacy project" to ensure that people can read, can operate computers, and can manage the information Ä which Gillespie described as "like trying to wet your tongue on a firehose". There is much confusion; and the barriers include the fact that some communities do not have single-line phone service. The sole impediment to rural access is the telephone toll charge, said Gillespie. It will be easier to sustain the rural net than the urban net. The project involves 600 dial-up lines, and includes schools, First Nations communities, and other communities. The budget for this project is over $20 million. Referring to "phenomenal waste" in the provincial govern- ment, Gillespie explained that the project could be supported with government money for the cost of one postage stamp per person per month. He said the Department of Education has been "in direct odds" with the goals of Blue Sky FreeNet and the school divisions. In Manitoba, 47 service providers have started up since February, serv- ing approximately 1800 users in Winnipeg and Brandon only, and ignoring the needs of rural communities. The Manitoba government "backbone", which is supposed to provide broad-ranging access, only serves 5 out of 60 toll-calling areas. Another problem is the high noise level: there are too many conflict- ing messages, especially in rural areas. Although government says that community-based programs are not needed and that it has a better plan, that plan has yet to be seen, said Gillespie. Government "Freedom of Information" acts are actually designed to control information, he continued. Gillespie highlighted the fact that the Internet cannot deliver government services to people without access, and access can only be achieved through community programs. Gillespie gave the example of a democratic exercise set up by Blue Sky FreeNet during the recent provincial election. They created a site at which the public was given the opportunity to choose positions on issues and e-mail their opinions to government. The project received negative feedback from politicians, who used words like "subversive". He observed that the money being offered by government - $15,000 rather than $30,000 - is too little and too late. Blue Sky FreeNet is seeking inde- pendent funding, rather than wait for government assistance. If toll charges can be eliminated through local dial-ups, rural communities will be very in- terested in gaining access. Blue Sky FreeNet has offered enhanced access to businesses to fund free access for the general public. Marc Belanger Marc Belanger, of CUPE, explained that SoliNet, the network for the labour unions, works toward creative ways of building community by: * Providing support to collective bargainers; * Holding special month-long conferences which address issues like employ- ment equity and economic renewal; * Distributing up-to-the-minute news which can be edited for local news- letters; * Making active national committees possible and affordable; and * Delivering educational programs (e.g. an online labour degree offered through Athabaska University). Technology can be shaped either at the beginning or the end of its life cycle, said Belanger. In the middle of its life cycle, "big money" comes in and takes over. He predicted that the "big money" would be coming in and tak- ing over the information highway, but also said that at the end of the cycle these companies would "get bored" and allow communities to regain control. Right now, at the beginning of the design process, "it is these meetings that affect the design of the technology," said Belanger. Belanger outlined "ten lies the information superhighway construction industry are about to present": * "This technology will promote education:" Technology is not education, said Belanger, and detracts from human contact between teacher and stu- dent. * "This technology will create jobs:" If this were true, said Belanger, these jobs would have appeared by now, and corporations like Bell, which are engineering the information highway, would not be laying off thou- sands of employees. * "This technology does not destroy jobs:" On the contrary, Belanger argued, the federal government was able to lay off 45,000 people because it has invested in technology to do their jobs. * "There are no health and safety problems related to this technology:" There are health problems related to all new technology, said Belanger. Problems with screen radiation were initially denied by companies, but they did improve the monitors. * "It enhances community:" While the information highway provides certain tools with which to build community, the fact that we have the technol- ogy does not mean we are going to use it for that purpose. Belanger referred to automated phone operators, who can no longer locate an indi- vidual through their knowledge of the community. * "Less body work is better:" Belanger pointed out that there is a whole group of people who are predisposed toward work involving the body, rather than academic or high-tech work. The technology is limiting their potential and affecting the self-esteem of these people. * "People want more entertainment:" Pointing out that people watch TV simply to relieve stress, Belanger said entertainment-providers are convincing government that people actively desire even more entertain- ment. * "This new technology will be better directed by private enterprise:" The technology was developed by government and universities, which still know more about it. "If we had waited for the private sector to develop this technology, it would not exist," said Belanger. * "We know what we're doing:" Companies like Unitel and Bell have no idea what the technology can do or what people want and need from it. * "It is a natural process toward progress in society:" This idea stems from the Industrial Revolution, which society was told was inevitable and represented progress. A whole generation of workers was sacrificed for the technology of the Industrial Revolution, said Belanger, and the same thing may be happening now. Belanger concluded on a positive note, saying that "the human imagin- ation is unlimited" and that we are moving from an economy based on scarce resources to one based on unlimited resources (imagination). Meanwhile, how- ever, society is being lied to about the effects of the technology. Garth Graham: Response Garth Graham, a member of the Steering Committee for the conference and a representative of Telecommunities Canada on the Coalition for Public Information, began his response by referring to Burns' recommendation that the word "rural" be removed from the vocabulary. He responded that, when rural communities have access, the distinction "urban/rural" may not matter horizon- tally, but does matter vertically. Responding to Gillespie's comment that flat rate service would only require 43 cents per person per month, Graham said there is an impact that economists do not understand but phone companies do understand. The marginal cost for Internet use is zero: once the 'Net is in place, the companies will not make any profits, except by implementing asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) services, where tariffs can be levied because it is a switching technology. "It is essential to defend the technological aspects of the tool that leave it open," said Graham. In response to a comment by Belanger that now is the time to influence the design of the technology, Graham said a group of civil servants with whom he is working to study the potential for the technology in the workplace are having no problem imagining the future; their problem is in getting management to understand what must be done in order to get from here to there. Graham commented on the fact that "there is no centre" for networks, which are self-defining. However, management has trouble accepting the dis- solution of the leader/follower hierarchy. Referring to the belief that "the money is in the value-added" services, Graham explained that, as the quality and use of hypertext improves, a user gains access to all the information on a subject simply by connecting with part of that information. As a result, value-added service providers may not have the job to do that they expected they would have. Discussion A participant from Lanark County informed delegates of Fidonet, a system that is parallel to the Internet and provides inexpensive community access to tens of thousands of bulletin boards. Another speaker expressed concern about corporate applications of tech- nologies in the workplace. Phone companies, for example, are laying off employees and replacing them with technology. He referred to a book entitled The End of Work. On the other hand, the potential for community and interna- tional solidarity is "mind-boggling", he said. Mexicans have used the tech- nology to get their message out and to organize internationally, keeping pres- sure on their government and limiting some of its actions. The speaker stressed the importance of organizing socially and politically. Ursula Franklin referred to the Industrial Revolution as one of the only times that the morality of allowing technology to take work from people was addressed in parliament. She referred to a book entitled The Machinery Ques- tion. The British House of Lords passed a bill giving the death penalty to those who destroyed machinery. Only three members opposed the bill. Franklin said that although there is no longer a death penalty associated with this issue, it is very serious to let people go without work and without meaning in their communities. She advocated community involvement in addressing this issue. On the subject of decentralized organizations, Franklin commented that a group of women can organize themselves to do their work collectively; but when the question is taken up one step, the women are told they cannot organize that way. This is an example of the usefulness of feminism, said Dr. Franklin. An audience member said human resources and information from all over the planet is being entered onto databases from which people can collect information on any question. He said community-based organizations should be asking what corporations are doing with their vast resources and their access to this vast information source. The price of computers is dropping and access to networks is increasing, said a speaker. He said the question of whether or not the technology repre- sents progress is key. "Are communities getting stronger?" he asked. Although there has been much discussion of horizontal links with resources and databases, "the person sitting next to you" may often be the resource you need. Roberts added an eleventh lie to the list outlined by Belanger: "The price of computers is dropping." He said the cost per family of "getting into the game" has not changed, and communities should be asking why. A speaker addressed Burns with the comment that rural communities are not receptive to top-down approaches by people from the city, and will be even less receptive to government. To Roberts, he said there is a need to see Web get away from being the point of access for all non-profit organizations. They should be able to gain access at other points. Commenting that, like the Greeks, our society uses myths and stories to reinforce ideology, Belanger cited Star Trek as a key ideology-laden myth. It takes viewers to a technologically advanced world without hunger and war, but this world is also a military dictatorship. An audience member said she was struggling with the question of what tools would be most useful to non-profit organizations. She suggested that simple, basic community-building tools like e-mail, list servers, and discussion groups have more potential than things like World-Wide Web sites, which "may be more likely to fall prey to the course of events over the next few years". Graham agreed with this statement, adding that the 'Net allows people to get their word out, but is also an interactive medium. Gillespie agreed that 99.5% of community network users use services like e-mail almost exclusively. However, organizations like Blue Sky FreeNet are enhancing their services beyond this point because people would rather sign up with commercial services than wait for FreeNets to provide timely and complete service. Burns agreed with previous comments, reiterating that community network- ing must not be top-down. In response to Belanger's claim that the technology will not reduce unemployment, Burns said it will not reduce unemployment to zero, because of "structural inefficiencies". He noted, however, that his company had grown significantly in the last few years, on the basis of new technology.