Transmission Project - language

Language Bank Brochure

Mira Allen — Wed, 05 May 2010 16:37:34 +0000

A brochure detailing the services offered by the Language Bank. Prepared by corps member Rachel Rose-Sandow.

Broadband according to the FCC?

Ben Sheldon — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 16:46:29 +0000

When we attended the FCC’s workshop last week, one of the handouts was the FCC’s consumer publication Broadband Brochure. While informative, the publication does not break any new ground definitely: broadband is defined as “faster than dial-up service and it doesn’t tie up your telephone line like dial-up often does”; nor metaphorically:

To better understand the differences between dial-up and broadband, it might help to envision the Internet as a pipeline for information. If the pipeline is narrow, less information can fit. Bigger pipes allow for increased and more complex information to flow back and forth – bringing content and information to you at faster speeds. Dial-up uses narrow pipes. Broadband uses increasingly fatter pipes that allow much more complex information to flow at faster speeds, including complex graphics and videos.

The glossary of terms in the back is of equivalent depth:

bandwidth - The capacity of your broadband connection to send and receive the data. The higher the bandwidth, the faster the transmission of data. Bandwidth is measured in bits per second.

blog - An online, chronicle journal; short for “weblog.”

download - To transfer a file or files from one computer to another, for example, from a server to your desktop computer. Download is the opposite of upload.

e-mail - Messages sent via the Internet. E-mail can be everything from simple messages or can contain pictures, video - even voice.

encrypted - Encrypted data is data that has been converted so it cannot be easily understood by unauthorized people.

instant message (IM) - A way of communicating with another Internet user by way of simple text-based chat .

IP address - A numeric code number assigned to the computers in a network. A static IP address is permanent. A dynamic address always changes every time you connect to the Internet.

Internet Service Provider (ISP) - A company that provides its customers access to the Internet.

modem - The device that connects your PC to the Internet.

social networking - An online community of people who are socializing with each other via a particular website.

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) - A technology that allows you to make and receive calls over the Internet.

webcam - A simple video camera that connects to your computer and enables you to send live and recorded video as well as still pictures via the Internet.

WiFi - Wireless broadband. Available in many public locations.

Overall the booklet touts the benefits of broadband, but near the end waffles a bit: the section entitled “How can I get it” includes both dial-up and broadband; the “it” apparently referring to the Internet in general. Fortunately they do mention libraries, public computing centers and “retailers”, too.

Not to pick on the FCC, but if these issues require broad and substantial dialogue (as we believe they do), then the dialogue should be framed with meaningful and informative descriptions.

Different frames of media justice

Ben Sheldon — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 15:49:43 +0000

There are many wonderful threads to pull from “Media Justice Through the Eyes of Local Organizers”, a field report from the Funding Exchange Media Justice Fund that came out in September, 2009. In addition to analyzing the different frames groups may approach media and communications justice from, they also make clear that there can be no one-size-fits-all approach:

Comparing her work in the Bay Area to her current work in Louisiana, Xochitl Bervara of Families and Friends of Louisiana’s Incarcerated Children (FFLIC) was surprised to find that public access TV and community radio are uniquely important for the families she works with in Louisiana because literacy rates are so low there. Public Access TV in Louisiana is an important source of civic information. Community radio helps get people out to FFLIC meetings. For community outreach, computers are unusual. Even phone-based outreach can be a challenge. Low-income people tend to rely on pay- as-you-go cell phones and numbers change frequently.

Even in the Bay Area where local organizers told us “access is not an issue” staying in touch with some people can be extremely challenging. To stay in touch with transgender people of color who get caught up in the criminal justice system, Alexander Lee of the Transgender, Gender Variant and Intersex Justice Project often has to resort to tracking them down in person. He believes literacy, digital literacy and cultural discomfort all contribute to low internet usage among those he works with. As pay phones have disappeared, Alex says it’s actually harder than it used to be to stay in touch with this vulnerable population, especially those who have been recently released from jail or prison.

In spite of these challenges, most local organizers we spoke with are relying on internet-based communication tools to keep in touch with their constituencies including social networking, web 2.0 media, and collaborative hubs. Local organizers tend to be circumspect about using internet for their work. They tend to see it as one means of keeping in touch among many and not as a replacement for meetings, phone calls, and other forms of media. They note that differences in demographics such as age and education still make a difference in people’s available and preferred means of keeping in touch. Most organizers said they needed to use multiple methods to keep in touch with the communities they serve. According to Ricardo Valadez of Jobs with Justice, the communications strategy that works with one demographic won’t work with another, “Most marketing and PR work relies on ‘hyper-targeting’ but that doesn’t work and isn’t desirable or feasible when your goal is to help people see their struggle in other people’s struggles.”