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 11, I would like to introduce to some and present to others:
Mike Street
Twitter: @streetforce1
Website/Blog: influential1s.com
Bio
Mike Street is the Senior Digital Strategist for Syndicate Media Group. He has a passion for emerging media, technology & social innovation. Having spent 10 years in the digital space, Mike Street has worked with top tier brands such as Time Magazine, Rémy Martin, Oscar de la Renta, Lexus, Turner Broadcasting, and BET Networks. Prior to joining Syndicate Media Group, he served as the Director of Social Media Marketing for a boutique marketing agency which serviced clients such as Paul Stuart, Basil Hayden’s, and Courvoisier.
How can we use technology to close the digital divide?
Information is the gateway to success. The more we have access to information the more we can shape our futures for success. We have made great strides in closing the digital divide but we still have long roads ahead of us before we erase this divide forever. What we must focus on now is empowering communities of color to enter the tech space fully and become web enterprises. This is the next step in closing the digital divide and will will take all of us working closely together to help over come difficulties and to help fund the next Facebook, Twitter, or FourSquare.
You can follow the status of 28 Days of Diversity 2011 on http://28daysofdiversity.com and http://socialwayne.com/category/28-days-of-diversity/
