Ed Ferran Ferran presented two examples of community organizing involving on-line technologies in which he participated. One was a guide on how the information revolution would impact poor neighborhoods, and how these communities could use internet technologies. It was written to examine how community-based organizations could best pick from the tools available to them. The other project involved educating community groups about the Internet, so they could see how to communicate with other similar organizations, how they could access job listing off the Web and how they could find resources pertinent to their mission. The goal was to help groups apply for grants that would give them computers and software to get on-line.
Strategies have to be developed to overcome techno-phobias.
Excitement escalates when people experience, first hand, how these technologies can help the larger community by aiding organizations with speedy communication about issues of larger concern. With the decline of industrial capitalism, we are witnessing the development of a new economic base. We, who are affected by social problems, have to ensure that our work does not stay segregated from the people who are privileged enough to have the new tools and access to them. She stressed how concerned she is that the efforts to resist privatization are so fragmented, and how the free market is simply not the only solution for the communities she deals with. He cautioned that these questions can't be answered without lots of communication.