Shameless Self Promotion

I have started a new blog, called Internet Newcomer. It is, as the title suggests, a blog of information and advice for Internet beginners. The aim with this site is to build a collection of articles and references that will bridge the knowledge gap that exists for most newcomers to the Internet, allowing them to view the Internet less as a mystery and more as an interesting new landscape to explore. This site is all about making the Internet useful to the newcomer, in either their business or personal life.

Please come and visit and leave comments or suggestions. If you like what you see, tell your friends. I expect that those who use the site will help to choose which paths to explore and to let me know if we have gotten off track.

Podcast on Community Wireless

On IT Conversations, Jon Udell interviews Michael Lenczner, co-founder of Île Sans Fil, Montreal’s community wireless network.

With over 150 access points and nearly 60,000 users, the project is a huge success, all the more so given that municipal wi-fi projects in other cities have failed to materialize. And yet, Mike questions the value of what’s been accomplished. The project’s goal was not merely to light up hotspots in downtown Montreal, but to enhance the “sociality” of the city and elicit more and better civic engagement. He doubts these goals have been achieved, and asks himself hard questions about how technology can be deployed to these ends.When I met Mike recently in Montreal, I said: “It amazes that you’re asking yourself these questions. He replied: “It amazes me that others don’t.”

Listen or download at http://itc.conversationsnetwork.org/shows/detail3571.html