Channeling untapped entrepreneurial potential key to closing digital divide

The battle to close the digital divide calls for action on several fronts – especially in public policy, the black business community, and education.
 
Lori Perine was recognized last year as one of the 50 Most Important African Americans in Technology. Perine has more than a decade of experience working in both the technology industry and public policy. 

She believes the federal government should make it a priority to provide aspiring black entrepreneurs with funding and mentor resources.

"Within the black community, I think there's a great deal of untapped entrepreneurial potential that has not been necessarily directed towards information technology [and] the digital world," Perine said. "How do we, other than in digital entertainment, capture some of that entrepreneurial activity, and stimulate more of that to go into directions that would help bridge the digital divide from the development point of view?"

The digital divide is typically seen as a hurdle.

But for Perine, it's an opportunity for blacks to innovate and "leapfrog."

"African Americans or anybody who finds themselves on the wrong side of the divide don't need to necessarily emulate what's going on the other side. We can say, okay, now we don't have to make their mistakes," Perine said. "Let's go into a totally different universe."

She also emphasized the need for a strong and lasting federal commitment to funding science and math curriculum for underrepresented groups, especially in grades K-8.

"There's a strong role for government in terms of helping to create opportunities for minorities and for African Americans in particular to go into more [science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)] disciplines. And part of that has to do with how we teach match and science early on," Perine said.

Justin Moore, Vice-President of Chicago-based game studio, Metamoorephosis, and a African American, believes that "from an entrepreneurship standpoint," people equipped with a quality STEM education are "probably more likely to succeed in starting their own creative and technical businesses."

"Perhaps in all businesses but especially in new businesses where capital is limited, managing human resources can be the greater challenge," Moore said. "In starting a creative and technical business like a game development studio, having STEM skills yourself – like knowing how to program computers – might give you the leg up you need to succeed."

Betsy DiSalvo is a lead researcher for Glitch, a research program that uses video games and computer science education to increase young black men's interest in technology careers.

The digital divide isn't just about access to technology. It's more about who is producing technology, because, "Access is easier to come by but who is producing technology hasn't changed," DiSalvo said.

She added that Caucasian males and Asian males produce the bulk of the country's technology.

DiSalvo commented that, "We're not producing enough computer scientists in this country, and one of the reasons why is that there are certain minority groups that are underrepresented in computing."

Helping people understand how "we can all have more," as a society is vital to generating more public concern and support for bridging the divide, said Perine.

"All those fun apps that we're seeing on iPhones and Androids now, imagine how many more we can have if you have [a more diverse group of people] coming at this with all sorts of different ideas," she said.