See What’s Out There

Our client, One Economy Corporation, is all about getting low-income people access to technology tools. The bottom line is that these tools — high speed internet access, for example — are not luxury items, but essential items for participation in the global economy.

Here is One Economy’s Vision for Technology in the Public Interest

Technology has improved the lives of many Americans, but its benefits have failed to reach millions of low-income people. Less than 45 percent of Americans earning under $30,000 per year have in-home access to a high-speed internet connection. In order to jumpstart the creation of an agenda that promotes the use of technology in the public interest, One Economy Corporation has released “A National Blueprint for Technology and the Public Good,” a set of achievable goals and policy ideas for reshaping America’s technological landscape.

This ambitious agenda focuses on three strategic areas of technology that will enable the United States to prosper in the 21st century:

Universal Access: An executive order that directs the Department of Housing and Urban Development to promote high-speed Internet access in affordable housing and reform of the Universal Service Fund will help bring affordable and accessible broadband to all Americans.

Develop New Technology Applications: Harnessing technology to create new applications will improve health care, disaster relief, and education.

Expand and Encourage Civic Participation: A National Youth Tech Corps, available to low-income communities in all 50 states, will immerse youth in technology training, and help them build their leadership and workplace skills to enter the new economy.

“Technology is changing lives, but too many Americans remain locked out of the economic mainstream,” said One Economy Chief Executive Officer Rey Ramsey. “The ideas in this Blueprint will open the doors of opportunity for everyone.”

The Blueprint was released in conjunction with a forum on telecommunications featuring former FCC Chairmen William Kennard and Richard Wiley, and technology leaders Bruce Mehlman and Blair Levin. A video of that conversation, including the panelists’ comments on the Blueprint, is available online at www.247townhall.org, One Economy’s home for civic engagement on social, political and economic issues.

I am so impressed with the Obama campaign’s use of video. They are really making video a central part of their online strategy and I am certain it has an impact on the crowds they are drawing and the enthusiasm they are seeing.

I got a link to this video by email today. It is the 5th anniversary of Obama’s speech against the war, on October 2, 2002.

Here’s an excerpt from that speech:

“What I am opposed to is a dumb war. What I am opposed to is a rash war. What I am opposed to is the cynical attempt by Richard Perle and Paul Wolfowitz and other armchair, weekend warriors in this administration to shove their own ideological agendas down our throats, irrespective of the costs in lives lost and in hardships borne.

What I am opposed to is the attempt by political hacks like Karl Rove to distract us from a rise in the uninsured, a rise in the poverty rate, a drop in the median income — to distract us from corporate scandals and a stock market that has just gone through the worst month since the Great Depression. That’s what I’m opposed to. A dumb war. A rash war. A war based not on reason but on passion, not on principle but on politics.”

-Barack Obama, October 2, 2002

It shows impressive foresight. But as powerful as it is to read those words, see what they did with the video when they only had 13 seconds of the original speech on tape.

There is nothing here particularly complicated in terms of shooting or editing video. If your organization isn’t finding a way to start using this tool, you are missing a tremendous opportunity.

DoGooderTV has become the platform for nonprofits to host video contests. Hosting video contests on DoGooderTV gives you all of the functionality of uploading, managing users and videos, sign-ups, registration and voting. We even provide you with a contest rules template.

There are two live contests right now on the DoGooderTV platform. You will notice in the second one that it doesn’t look like it’s on DoGooderTV, another way we can provide the platform.

Click here to see the Fresh Focus Sex Ed Video Contest

Click here to see the Love Is Respect Video Contest

This was in today’s mail:

Your Incremental Charge: $0.28

From a review of its billing records, T-Mobile has determined the amount of your Incremental Charge. That amount is shown above…

If you are a former T-Mobile subscriber, the amount of your Incremental Charge will be donated to City Year, a national youth outreach non-profit organization. However, if you want to receive a payment in the amount of your Incremental Charge instead of having that amount donated to City Year, you may notify the Settlement Administrator of your preference by visiting www.WongSettlement.com or calling (800) 282-5966, in which case you will receive a check in the amount of your Incremental Charge.

I am not making this up. Good for City Year. I hope they have a lot of former T-Mobile customers with lots Incremental Charges, whatever they are!

City Year just joined us at DoGooderTV: