As we all know, February is Black History Month. It’s a month where we honor those who have made an impact on American culture for equal rights, those who have invented, those who have a helped others and those who have inspired everyone to be the best they can be, not only as a person of color but as a human. Last year for Black History Month, I started an online series called 28 Days Diversity where I would feature someone new everyday during the month of February for just being awesome in their own right. Even though it’s black history month, the goal for 28 Days of Diversity is to feature not just African-Americans but other minorities in the web/tech space. Also note that 28 Days of Diversity is not a popularity contest or an influencer list but a list of thought leaders in the social web sector, including entrepreneurs, bloggers, conference organizers, IT professionals and friends not ranked in any particular order who I have either met in person or followed online. Each post will include a picture, bio, two links from the selected person and this paragraph.
For 2011 I wanted to not just feature individuals but also address a topic that affects everyone. For 28 Days of Diversity 2011 each post/person will answer the question “How can we use technology to close the digital divide?” So for the next 28 days, come back to visit SocialWayne.com/tag/28daysofdiversity and 28daysofdiversity.com to see who’s on the list. For day 22, I would like to introduce to some and present to others:
Denise R. Jacobs
Twitter: @denisejacobs
Website/Blog: http://DeniseJacobs.com / CssDetectiveGuide.com
Bio
Denise R. Jacobs is a web industry veteran with over 13 years of experience, ranging from software localization project management, enterprise website implementation, and web design/development technical training. Currently, she is finally doing what she likes best: being an Author, Speaker & Educator, Web Designer, and Consultant. Denise wrote The CSS Detective Guide and is a contributing author to Interact with Web Standards: A holistic approach to Web Design. In addition to writing about the web, Denise presents at various conferences worldwide, develops curricula for the Web Standards Project Education Task Force (WaSP InterAct), and is a member of the Social Media Club South Florida organizing committee. Denise was nominated for .Net Magazine’s 2010 Best of the Web “Standards Champion” award. Through consulting on web strategies and solutions, Denise helps individuals and businesses transform their web presence by increasing their knowledge of current web technologies.
How can we use technology to close the digital divide?
The first place to start is with creating a major shift in perspective. Many don’t even see the need, much less the value of bridging the digital divide, be it on a local scale or a global scale. Before we can think critically about how to use technology to close the digital divide, there needs to be a process of raising awareness about the importance of and issues around the digital divide, an assessment of what are and to how to best serve the needs of those on the other side of the digital divide, and then how to best deliver solutions to those who need them the most. Once the needs of the audience in question are assessed, then the appropriate technologies of both delivery and devices can be chosen and implemented. Creating or increasing access to the devices and delivering technologies is the next step once this is accomplished.
You can follow the status of 28 Days of Diversity 2011 on http://28daysofdiversity.com, http://socialwayne.com/category/28-days-of-diversity/ and syndicated on BlackWeb 2.0.
