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Digital Technology: PEG’s New Best Friend. Hans Klein Georgia Institute of Technology www.IP3.gatech.edu Conference Session: “The Future is Digital” With Kari Peterson, Scott Alumbaugh, and Marnie Webb Alliance for Community Media 2005 Annual Conference Monterey California 6-9 July 2005.
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Digital Technology:PEG’s New Best Friend Hans Klein Georgia Institute of Technology www.IP3.gatech.edu Conference Session: “The Future is Digital” With Kari Peterson, Scott Alumbaugh, and Marnie Webb Alliance for Community Media 2005 Annual Conference Monterey California 6-9 July 2005
Digital Technology • “Community media on steroids” • Even better than television (complementary!) • Power to the people • You already have it • It is cheap –often free! • PEG has an important role to play
What Is Digital Technology? • All media is a digital file • Music • Video • Telephone • Photos • Newspapers • Books • Broadcasting is the Internet • Broadband • Interesting combinations • Podcasting, peer-to-peer, video blog
Push and Pull • Email • Comes to you (announcements) • Allows dialogue (list serves) • Community-building • WWW • On-demand media • Video on demand • (and everything else)
“Community Media on Steroids” • Already exists in your community • Web sites • Most groups have one • (Do most have access shows?) • Email groups • “thick” social interactions
Power to the People • Unmediated communication • The dream of community media • People own means of production • Computers, cameras • People have access to distribution • Personal web pages • Free list serves
The State of the Art:We are not there yet • Mature • Computer ownership rates (high) • Computer skills (widespread) • Access to Internet (easy) • Internet usage rates (high) • Maturing now • IP TV • Video on demand • Diffusion of broadband
PEG as Accelerator • Digital community media already strong • But can be enhanced • Training • Use of tools • Technology • Computers, cameras, servers
Templates for Common Applications • Email list structure • Internal discussion • External announce • Building a mailing list • Etiquette • Writing a press release • Web sites • Edit, design, archive • Event archives • Easy recording, edit, web posting, summary, timeline
Digital Inclusion • Overcome the digital divide • Market mechanisms doing a lot • But least wealthy need assistance • Train activists in digital media • Make servers available • Make equipment available
Digital Technology is Already There • Internal Email • Web page • Computers • Internet access • Digital cameras and editors? • Staff expertise
Complementary with Existing Technology • Cable Television • Live programming • Call in shows • High cinematographic quality • Imported programming • Web-based • Talking head format • Information, not entertainment • City Council Meetings, lectures • Archive past programming
Incremental Strategy • Web classes • Archives on own web sites • Template development • Eventually… • Equipment switch-over • Terms of franchise • broadband
Ride the Wave • Digital technology is going to happen • PEG can play a role • The time is now • Start an email community • PEG-digital@yahoogroups.com
Better Than Television • Not real time • Viewer need not adapt • Not one medium but many • TV, radio, print, • Community-building • Forums, groups, discussion, interactivity • Low cost • People own the equipment • Easy to use • Computer skill base widespread