Keynote Address

How to Kill Community Networks

Douglas Schuler believes that technology is not autonomous. "People affect every aspect," he said, "you shape technology by how you use it."

To kill community networks, you must think of them:

• as a utility such as gas or electricity
• as businesses
• as technical projectsInnovations such as clean water and fire
• protection were not just technological marvels, but involved significant social and political change.

• as unfinished works
• as community projects
• as part of a social movement

Report By: Cheryl Steiger, Graduate, Microcomputer Specialist Program, Grant M acEwan Community College.

How to Kill Community Networks was not just about killing community networks. Mr. Schuler also explained ways to breath life into a community network as well. It was an informative and interesting speech that would be of value to those who are creating and/or nurturing a community network such as Freenet. The reason that it would be useful to these people is by knowing the strategies that can kill a community network, and knowing the strategies that breath life into them, the people who want to create/nurture a community network would have a better idea on how to go about it. In the next few paragraphs the strategies for killing and nurturing a community network are outlined.

The Strategies for Killing a community network as discussed by Douglas Schuler are:

Strategy 1

Think of community networks as Utilities like Gas or Electricity

• Think of information as power. "Information is power for people in power"
• Eschew values and principals
• Don't Advocate
• Don't Develop community projects

Strategy 2

Think of Community Networks as business

• Think of all citizens as customers
• Don't build constituencies
• Don't even think about public funding
• Let the "market" decide

Strategy 3

Think of community networks as technological projects

• Use lots of computer (and other types of) jargon
• Avoid Politics
• Discourage non-technical volunteers
• Think only in terms of technical solutions

These were the strategies that would kill a community network by alienating the people who use the community network, or allowing it to be monopolized by l arge companies.

Mr. Schuler also exhibited an on-line Gallery of web pages. A few examples of t he many web pages shown:

Berkeley Vietnam Veterans Memorial
- an on-line, interactive memorial of the missing and now presumed dead soldier s of that war.
A Homepage of a Mexican Family in Palo Alto
California Prop 187
- a political statement made by children about Bill 187 (U.S.).
Project Censored
- people suggest stories that haven't been in the national news and put these s tories on the web

After the gallery of web pages, Mr. Schuler went on to the three strategies tha t would breath life into community networks.

The Three Ways of Breathing Life into community networks:

Think of community networks as unfinished works.

• Think creatively
• Get feedback continually
• Introduce new Technology - keep abreast of new technology
• Work with the media: press and community radio
• Never give up

Think of community networks as community projects

• Develop collaborative/integrative projects
• stress civil society - civic values
• Partner with a civic organization
• Build a community of community network developers
• Build systems that support local heads with local people - part of a social movement

Build on Shared Principals

• support universal access
• focus on the undeserved
• oppose media monopolies
• support divers/alternative and marginalized voices
• Don't be afraid of politics
• Don't be afraid to compete

What Douglas Schuler conveyed with his message, is that in order for community networks to work, they have to be community based, not taken over by large companies or government.

The closing of the speech had a very interesting analogy to the story of the th ree brick layers, but it was adapted to community networks. This analogy sums up what a community network could be:

"Brick Layer 1: 'I am laying bricks'"
"Community network 1: 'I am setting up mail and distributing web pages'"

"Brick Layer 2: 'I am building a wall'"
"Community network 2: 'I am working with a social service agency to develop co mmunity projects'"

"Brick Layer 3: 'I am building a Cathedral'"
Community network 3: 'I am building a new society'"

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