May 21, 2013
Tag Archives: technology

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The Latinos of Silicon Valley

Radio_telescope_The_Dish

By Giovanni Rodriguez, Forbes

What’s most striking about the emerging Silicon Valley Latino community is how it challenges one of the most prevalent cultural stereotypes:  that Latinos have little to do with one of the principle engines of the 21-century economy.  While disparities in education (STEM) and employment exist, the conventional wisdom obscures the reality that Latinos are emerging as a force in technology.  And it’s not just leadership in general management and marketing, but technology itself.

The way to look at this opportunity is the way folks in Silicon Valley look at startups.  Although Latinos have been organizing for quite some time in Silicon Valley, it’s safe to say that the community is at an early stage of formation.

Click HERE or on the picture to read the full story.

[Photo by Steve Jurvetson]

White House Task: FCC Focused on Digital Literacy & Diversity

kids and computers

linar_logoBy Jason Llorenz, LIN@R

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the independent agency that regulates the Internet and the nation’s telecommunications and broadcasting industries, is hiring in 2013.

Two positions are to be filled – the chairmanship, which is being vacated by Julius Genachowski, who has taken a post as senior fellow at the Aspen Institute’s Communications and Society program, and Commissioner Robert McDowell. And the stakes are high.

The current FCC heralded reforms and new programs with long-term consequences. Under Chairman Genachowski, the issues of digital literacy and broadband adoption have been pursued with great success.

  The achievements have included the Internet Essentials program, which was negotiated as a part of the Comcast-NBC-Universal merger, the Connect 2 Compete program and a slew of reforms, including to the universal service fund – a complex, $9 billion national fund that, over time, will be better used to close the last gaps in broadband deployment.  All these reforms seemed nearly impossible just a few years ago.

Digital literacy and universal participation in the Internet economy are among the issues underpinning American competitiveness in the global, digital economy. Broadband access has equalized in many regards – due especially to adoption of high-speed wireless broadband. But broader measures of digital participation, including home broadband adoption, and digital entrepreneurship, remain lower for Latinos, African Americans, and poor communities.

The most recent studies report Latinos and African Americans, combined, attracting about 1% of all tech venture capital dollars.

The national civil rights community wants new commissioners to pay attention to diversity. This week, the Minority Media & Telecommunications Council (MMTC), joined by 50 national organizations, submitted a letter to the White House urging nomination of FCC members committed to promoting diversity and inclusion. The coalition’s letter states,

“Minority and women’s participation in broadcast ownership are particularly at risk, as they continue todecline rapidly.  As the nation becomes increasingly diverse, the signators encourage our President to address these issues by nominating leaders who will assign the highest priority to racial and ethnic minority and women’s participation in the nation’s most influential industries.”

MMTC’s blog post underscores “the representation of women and minorities in media and telecom ownership, procurement, and employment remains disproportionately low in industries overseen by the FCC. These industries collectively represent one sixth of our nation’s economy.”

The next FCC will be charged with advancing full participation in innovation, fostering an environment that ensures the continued growth of next-generation technologies, and bringing the benefits of that innovation to every community in the country.

The hires could not be more important to an agency with immense power, and responsibility to navigate the complexities of the technology sector in the public interest.

This article was first published in LIN@R.

Jason A. Llorenz, Esq. Is Senior Fellow, Latino Information Network (LIN@R), Rutgers University School of Communication and Information Studies; he is also Director of Innovation Policy for LIN@R. Follow him on Twitter @llorenzesq and follow LIN@R technology tweets@LINAR_technolog.

[Photo by San José Library]

Why Latinos Should Pay Attention to IP Transition

telephone switchboard

By Victor Landa, NewsTaco

True Story: my father, who passed away late last year at the age of 92, said he remembered watching silent movies. He said he and his buddies giggled nervously thinking there were actors behind the screen. This is the same man who, years later, would call me over to the house telephone (the rotary one attached to the wall) and ask me to dial his brother’s number – “comunícame con tu tio Júlio.”

In my father’s lifetime communications technology has transformed as if from Jules Verne’s imagination; from silent movies to mobile devices we carry in our back pocket. And as I write this we’re on the cusp of even greater transformation.

Anther true story: when the United States was first formed, one of the first laws that the very first congress approved was the formation of the postal service, and special rates for newspapers. The postal service was not intended, as such, for the delivery of mail as much as for the delivery of information – an informed citizenry being a pillar of a democratic society and all…

Government regulation of the communications industry – with the excuse of regulating commerce and the scarcity of the channels on the radio and TV dial, among other reasons – has been around as long as the U.S. has been…pretty much since Ben Franklin, et al.

Through the years the two – the advance of communications technologies and government regulations – have gone forward in step (there have been hiccups and fights and nastiness). But the most recent advances in communications technologies have come at such a rapid pace that government, through no fault other than its own nature, has been left swimming upstream in a torrent. Technology advances at an increasingly fast rate, and government is designed to act slowly – we want it this way, we want to make sure that government goes slow so we can keep it in check for the same reason Franklin and Co. set up a postal service to keep the citizens informed.

The problem is that we’re at an impasse. Tech is biting at the bit to move forward and government needs to step up.  The old copper line telephone system was once a novelty to my Dad, but it hardly fits the need of today’s communications. In fact, hardly one third of all communications is done via those old copper voice lines. Most of us use our wireless and mobile phones, internet pipes, chats and hangouts and such. The transition from the old infrastructure to the newer way, across the country from rural to urban areas, is over due, and so is an organized way to get it done.

This is what’s known in communications technology circles as the IP Transition (IP stands for internet protocol, which is technical jargon, but means all the stuff that makes the new technology work), and it’s incredibly important for the Latino community. The way IP Transition is carried out will have an enormous impact among Latinos.

In this regard there’s an idea for an IP roll-out called the All IP – Pilot Program. It calls for a region specific roll out where phone companies would switch off the old lines and test new IP technology. This “pilot” way would allow for wrinkles in the process to be found and ironed out, but most importantly it would give an opportunity to find how the new technology will affect all consumers.

It’s a good marriage of the open and free-wheeling advance of technological discovery and the deliberate nature of the governmental process.

The All IP – Pilot Program is a good idea, but only if Latinos are included, front and center, from the very beginning.  Latinos lag 19% behind whites in in-home computer use. Most of the lag has to do with affordability. So the Pilot Program should include Latinos and affordability in it’s fundamental set-up.

It’s exactly what the revered founding fathers had in mind back in the late 18th century: access to information, educated citizens, vibrant democracy. Nothing’s changed since then, since the days of silent movies and rotary telephones – except the technology. And that’s where we need to catch up, with deliberate equity.

[Photo by ABC Archives]

Broadband Can Benefit Latinos and Boost Job Creation

mom and daughter computer

linar_logoBy Jason Llorenz, LIN@R

President Obama has much to be proud of in his four years as President, including managing us through the economic meltdown and strengthening the safety net for Americans still struggling to make ends meet.

But, as he embarks on his second term, seeking to secure his legacy, he might take a cue from a recent Senate Commerce Committee hearing, which focused on modernizing our telecommunications networks and the way the government regulates them.

 In plain language, the discussion among lawmakers and the five FCC commissioners who testified came down to this: policymakers need to do everything possible to bring communications regulations and infrastructure into the 21st century.

More specifically, they must help expedite the transition to advanced communications infrastructure so that Americans enjoy the full benefits of broadband-based Internet service.

The transition, which involves changing from technology designed for old fashioned phone service to high-capacity IP networks designed to deliver voice, video and data, mean faster and more reliable service for more Americans.   Possibly aided by the kind of trials runs used in the switch to digital TV, updating networks for the 21st century should be a no-brainer.

Modernizing telecom is a natural goal for President Obama, who has vowed to deliver high-speed broadband service to 98 percent of Americans.   It also would have the happy consequence of creating quality jobs, an area where the administration is still struggling.

As FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski summed it up in a recent Wall Street Journal op-ed: “Few sectors have more job-creating innovation potential than broadband, particularly mobile broadband.”

Combined with a new push to expand broadband deployment and adoption, updated networks also will help deliver social justice by providing better access to jobs, educational opportunities and quality health care to people at the bottom of the economic ladder.

Committee members from both parties also pressed commissioners to expand the amount of spectrum available for wireless broadband by moving ahead with a spectrum auction targeted for 2014.  Sen. Thune (S.D.), for example, urged the commissioners to boost spectrum supplies “as quickly as possible.”

The growing popularity of wireless service is stretching the current spectrum inventory to the limit and threatens to create wireless traffic jams in which Internet connections drop, videos freeze, and phone calls can’t get through.

Boosting spectrum supplies is essential for keeping our wireless devices working.   A successful auction would provide spectrum to those who are ready to put it to work fast to meet consumer needs.

With just about every part of the economy now linked to the Internet, adding spectrum and modernizing our networks so that everything travels across its infrastructure should be an economic and opportunity bonanza.

Making sure that every American has access to broadband also means a wider distribution of the economic benefits of America’s technology sector.   If he can make those things happen, the President will have even more to be proud of.

This article was first published in LIN@R.

  Jason A. Llorenz, Esq. Is Senior Fellow, Latino Information Network (LIN@R), Rutgers University School of Communication and Information Studies; he is also Director of Innovation Policy for LIN@R. Follow him on Twitter @llorenzesq and follow LIN@R technology tweets@LINAR_technolog.

[Photo by  GSCSNJ]

As Latinos Lead Mobile Usage, Is It The End Of Landlines?

end of landlines

By Marco Santana, Des Moines Register

As more telephone customers cut the cord and shift service to wireless or Internet-based options, some major telephone companies have asked the federal government to pull the plug on the old-fashioned service.

They say regulations that require maintenance of outdated, little-used infrastructure hinders progress because it ties up money that could otherwise be invested in technology upgrades. But some small companies question the motivation behind the push, saying it is likely a self-serving effort to allow those major companies to run wild in a relatively new, far-less-regulated Internet-based telephone environment.

Click on picture to read full story.

[Photo by mmarcotte51]

Minority Communities & Tech Transition: Not Your Mom’s Rotary Phone

broadband

Broadband_&_Social_JusticeBy Jacqueline Clary, Broadband &  Social Justice

A typewriter is to a laptop as copper telecom lines are to IP enabled telecom systems.  Right now, we are in an age where we are upgrading from one outdated system to a newer, faster, sleeker one.  This IP transition, the future of the telecom world as we know it, can be boiled down to a few words: speed, functionality, and – for civil rights groups – opportunity.

Consumers are increasingly exercising their purchasing power to demand more from their telecommunications services and devices.

I distinctly remember when free long distance rates were introduced for landline telephones.  My weekly chats with my grandfather abruptly evolved from a quick “Hi, how is the weather?  Have a good week!” to lengthy calls discussing school, activities, and philosophy. Well, maybe not that deep, but the calls were longer and more involved.

Several years ago, my grandfather started questioning all of us about our mobile provider to determine the best plan.  While he still relies primarily on his cell and landline phones to talk to family, many consumers are turning away from voice – particularly landline service delivered from the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) – in favor of mobile, text, email, video-chat, and other IP enabled networks that allow users to access voice as one of many communications options.

As consumers move away from the legacy telephone system, the cost for providers – and the declining number of consumers relying on the legacy system – is steep.  What’s more, regulations that require this continued investment in this limited infrastructure divert investment from more advanced communications systems.  For civil rights advocates and the communities they serve, the transition to IP enabled systems represents an opportunity to encourage robust, affordable broadband adoption to help close the digital divide.

Corporations and policymakers alike have acknowledged the necessity of modernizing policies to facilitate the transition from the circuit-switched network.  The FCC recognized this in its National Broadband Plan:

“Regulations require certain carriers to maintain [Plain Old Television Service] – a requirement that is not sustainable – and lead to investments in assets that could be stranded.  These regulations can have a number of unintended consequences, including siphoning investments away from new networks and services.  The challenge for the country is to ensure that as IP-based services replace circuit-switched services, there is a smooth transition for Americans who use traditional phone service and for the businesses that provide it.”

The Plan continued to explain that in past communications transitions, government policies eased way to a more efficient system.

Consistent with the Plan’s recommendation for the FCC to commence a proceeding to examine the necessary components of such a transition, AT&T, the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association, and the US Telecom Association filed petitions to get the conversation started.

Civil rights advocates responded to AT&T’s petition, which urged the Commission to conduct limited trials to determine the most efficient means to complete the transition.  The Joint Commenters support limited market tests with stakeholder participation as the best means to resolve the issues raised by the transition process.  Specifically, the Joint Commenters reasoned, “With minimal consumer disruption, the beta-trails would enable policymakers to choose the best and fastest path of how to migrate consumers from antiquated 20th century ‘voice only’ networks to the networks, services, and applications that will directly benefit the nation’s economy and the (minority) communit(ies) in particular.”

The FCC is listening.  The Commission is holding its first technology transition task force workshop next Monday, March 18, between 9:30-4:00PM EDT.

The transformation is already underway, while many questions remain, including important public safety, competition, universal service, and affordability concerns. It is crucial to have an open and transparent public policy dialogue on these issues.

This article was first published in Broadband & Social Justice.

Jacqueline Clary is the John W. Jones Fellow at the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council. In this position, she focuses on a variety of policy issues to advance minority participation in the media and telecommunications industries. Ms. Clary earned her B.A. from John Carroll University, her J.D. from Syracuse University College of Law, and is a member of the New York State Bar.

[Photo by Gilgongo]

Closing the Digital Divide: Latinos and Technology Adoption

PewHispanicResearchCenterPRESS RELEASE

Latinos own smartphones, go online from a mobile device and use social networking sites at similar, and sometimes higher, rates than do other groups of Americans, according to a new analysis of three Pew Research Center surveys.

The analysis also finds that when it comes to using the internet, the digital divide between Latinos and whites is smaller than what it had been just a few years ago. Between 2009 and 2012, the share of Latino adults who say they go online at least occasionally increased from 64% to 78%. Among whites, internet use rates also increased, but only by half as much (80% in 2009 to 87% in 2012).

computer labOver the same period, the gap in cellphone ownership between Latinos and other groups either diminished or disappeared. In 2012, 86% of Latinos said they owned a cellphone, up from 76% in 2009.

Among the biggest drivers of these increases are spikes in technology adoption among foreign-born Latinos and Spanish-dominant Latinos. Both groups’ rates of going online and of owning cellphones increased sharply since 2009, helping to reduce the digital divide between Latinos and whites and also reducing gaps within the Latino community itself.

This analysis, based on three national Pew Research Center surveys of more than 7,500 adults combined conducted between May and October of 2012, also finds:

Cellphone Ownership: Fully 86% of Latinos say they own a cellphone, a share similar to that of whites (84%) and blacks (90%). Among Latinos who do not own cellphones, 76% are foreign born and 24% are native born.

Smartphone Ownership: Among adults, Latinos (49%) are just as likely as whites (46%) or blacks (50%) to own a smartphone.

Going Online from a Mobile Device: Latino internet users are more likely than white internet users to say they go online using a mobile device (76% versus 60%). Black internet users are equally as likely as Latinos to access the internet from a mobile device.

Social Networking: Among internet users, similar shares of Latinos (68%), whites (66%) and blacks (69%) say they use social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook at least occasionally. Among Latinos who use social networking sites, 60% say they do so mostly or only in English, 29% say they do so mostly or only in Spanish and 11% say they use English and Spanish equally.

Computer Ownership: Some 72% of Latinos say they own a desktop or laptop computer, compared with 83% of whites. Among blacks, 70% are computer owners. Half of Hispanic computer owners are foreign born. By comparison, 73% of Hispanics who do not own a computer are foreign born.

Internet Use: Nearly eight-in-ten (78%) Latino adults go online at least occasionally, compared with 87% of whites and 78% of blacks. Half (50%) of Hispanic internet users are native born and half are foreign born.

The report, “Closing the Digital Divide: Latinos and Technology Adoption,” was written by Mark Hugo Lopez, associate director of the Pew Hispanic Center; Ana Gonzalez-Barrera, research associate with the Pew Hispanic Center; and Eileen Patten, research assistant with the Pew Research Center’s Social & Demographic Trends Project. It is available at the Pew Research Center’s website, www.pewresearch.org.

Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan source of data and analysis. It does not take advocacy positions. Its Hispanic Center, founded in 2001, seeks to improve understanding of the U.S. Hispanic population and to chronicle Latinos’ growing impact on the nation.

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[Photo by woodleywonderworks]

SXSWEdu: Ideas, Change and Latino – Focused Thinking Spaces

linar_logoBy Jason Llorenz, LIN@R

“Can I tell you about my idea? I think this stuff is going to be revolutionary!” Asks an entrepreneur in her mid-20s roaming the halls of SXSWedu in Austin, Texas, with an idea for a mobile app and cloud-based ecosystem that could help K-12 teachers better serve English language learner students.

The digital divide has morphed into today’s significant “techpreneur” gap, where Latinos and African American entrepreneurs combined claimed only about 2% of startup investment dollars as recently as last year. Access to SXSW and its unique collaboration spaces is an important way of closing that gap. This year Latinos in Tech Innovation and Social Media (LATISM) is hosting a casita of Latino techpreneurs with a prototype, working, dedicated team, and an overriding focus on their startup.

SXSW01_EDU_0762SXSWedu also features spaces for thinking about Latinos, technology and innovation. The session moderated and organized by this author, “Mobile Technology and Hispanic empowerment,” focused on the ways in which the rapid advance of mobile technology is working to empower Latino communities civically, socially and economically.

The session featured Mark Hugo Lopez, of the Pew Hispanic Center, NBC Latino blogger and LATISM guru, Elianne Ramos, and Joaquin Guerra, of the Center for Community Change.

Our session featured engaged conversation about the ways technology is creating opportunity to engage an emerging Latino community with civics. Look for a full post about this session and the details of its text poll in a follow-up post this week.

The young entrepreneur quoted above, joined by hundreds of others, along with investors, education and government leaders and community stakeholders, make the legendary SXSW conference unique, and powerful.

The opportunities to marry ideas with funding and partnership make the conference a must-attend for those looking to bring their “do good while doing well” ideas to life.

Cutting edge innovation, married to youthful, “techy” idealism focused on the greatest modern social challenges, give SXSWedu 2013 an electricity and buzz unique to this venue. Latino participation in the thinking and collaboration culture of the conference may be transformative for a community of innovators leading the future.

This article was dfirst published in LIN@R.

Jason Llorenz, Esq. is Sr. Fellow, Latino Information Network (LIN@R), Rutgers University School of Communication & Information, where he directs technology & innovation policy for LIN@R. Follow on twitter @llorenzesq. Follow @LINAR_technolog for LINAR technology tweets.

[Photo by Josette Chen, SXSWedu.com]

National High Tech Day Inspires Young Latinos

HTD 2By Victor Landa, NewsTaco

It’s not lost on Latino educators, community and industry leaders that a major part of preparing young Latinos for careers in the 21st century involves science, technology, engineering, and math – the four columns of the education structure commonly called STEM.

At NewsTaco we’ve made it a priority to highlight news about STEM as it pertains to Latinos and to shine a light on organizations that take it upon themselves to carry the STEM effort forward – we feel it’s that important to the future of our community. HACEMOS, AT&T’s Latino Association, has done just that.

For 15 years HACEMOS has hosted National High Technology Day, where they engage students at risk of dropping out of high school in hands-on technical activities and interactive workshops designed to encourage them to consider careers in science and technology. This year’s event hosted about 1,800 teens in 31 cities across the country. The event wwas held in Miami and Houston on March 7, 2013.

In more than half of the participating chapters, HACEMOS will collaborate with AT&T Aspire Mentoring Academy, the key community engagement program of AT&T’s $350 million investment in Aspire, which is focused on high school success leading to college and career readiness. Through Aspire Mentoring Academy, AT&T employees are engaging in their communities and providing 1 million hours of mentoring to students at risk of dropping out of high school.

HACEMOS National High Technology Day is designed to give students insight into the many opportunities available in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields—areas where Latinos and other minorities have historically been underrepresented. HACEMOS aims to build stronger communities by providing positive role models and demonstrating the importance of education to achieve success in life.

“We’re thrilled to once again offer our future leaders real-world insight and guidance by offering them full access to our company’s senior leaders, employees, and program speakers,” said Delia Hernandez, National President of HACEMOS, the Hispanic/Latino Association of AT&T.  “Careers in science and engineering are extremely rewarding and we hope to spark our participants’ interest in these fields.”

The theme for this year’s National High Tech Day was Awaken Your Dreams, intended to expose student participants to opportunities in technology fields, the prevalence of technology in their future and the importance of specialized skills and higher education.

Programming will vary by location and include an introduction to circuitry and workshops featuring cyber security, mobility and AT&T U-verse® technologies. In addition, there will be specialty tours, keynotes from top AT&T executives and students will connect with other high schools using AT&T Telepresence Solution®, AT&T’s advanced, high definition videoconferencing service.  Students will also have the opportunity to simulate the dangers of texting while driving through AT&T’s It Can Wait campaign.

HACEMOS National High Tech Day broadcast two live national webcasts featuring the youth engagement company CoolSpeak. Motivational speakers from CoolSpeak included Carlos Ojeda, Jr. in Middletown, NJ, Lilyan Prado Carillo in Dallas and Ernesto Mejia in Chicago. They delivered messages of education, leadership, community activism and entrepreneurship on the webcasts, available to participating HACEMOS chapters and schools nationwide.

In Miami, the event featured Fernando Fiore, an Emmy award winning broadcaster, who is the host of “República Deportiva” (Sports Republic), the top-rated weekly sports entertainment program airing on the Univision Network.  Mr. Fiore covers sporting events around the world for Univision Deportes, the sports arm of Univision Communications Inc.

HACEMOS chapters also featured remarks and presentations by various AT&T leaders including Carmen Nava, Senior VP – Customer Experience; Marian Croak, Senior VP – Applications & Services Infrastructure; David Christopher – Chief Marketing Officer; Marissa Shorenstein, President – New York; and Rodney Smith, President – Connecticut.  José M. Gutiérrez, President – Wholesale Solutions, and Glenn Lurie, President Emerging Enterprise and Partnership, made significant contributions to support the event.

The event linked 1,800 high school students from close to 70 schools in:

  • Atlanta, Georgia
  • Austin, Texas
  • Charlotte, North Carolina
  • Chicago, Illinois
  • Corpus Christi, Texas
  • Dallas, Texas
  • Fresno, California
  • Ft. Worth, Texas
  • Houston, Texas
  • Joplin, Missouri
  • Kansas City, Missouri
  • Lake Mary, Florida
  • Los Angeles, California
  • Lubbock, Texas
  • Mesa, Arizona
  • Miami, Florida
  • Middletown, New Jersey
  • New Haven, Connecticut
  • New York, New York
  • Norman, Oklahoma
  • Orange County, California
  • Sacramento, California
  • San Antonio, Texas
  • San Diego, California
  • San Juan, Puerto Rico
  • San Ramon, California
  • Southfield, Michigan
  • St. Louis, Missouri
  • Tampa, Florida
  • Washington, D.C.
  • Whitehall, Pennsylvania

(AT&T’s Hispanic/Latino Association HACEMOS, with approximately 5,000 members, recognizes the importance of educating Hispanic youth and preparing them for a technology-intensive future. Its members are dedicated to developing and supporting technology education projects in communities where they live and work. For more information about National High Technology Day, please visit HACEMOS. )

[Photos courtesy HACEMOS]

Latinos More Likely to Have Multiple Cable / Satellite Services

Tr3sBy Insight Tr3s

We know that Hispanics are big TV viewers – but what do their TV set-ups look like at home? Tr3s’s new study, “Hispanic Adults 18-34 Living ‘The Next Normal’” has some revealing insights about what services they subscribe to and what kind of TVs they prefer. Here is a summary:

Bicultural Hispanics 18 to 29 are more than twice as likely as their non-Hispanic peers to have multiple cable/satellite providers.
• 26% of bicultural Hispanic 18-29s subscribe to more than one cable/satellite provider, compared with 12% of non-Hispanic 18-29s
• 18% of foreign-born Hispanic thirty-somethings have multiple cable/satellite providers

satellite dishesThose with more than one cable/satellite provider are most likely to have made that choice to satisfy the diverse viewing preferences of their household.
• Among Hispanics 18-39 overall, the main reason for choosing multiple providers is “to get the channels everyone wants”
• Non-Hispanics 18-29 also want to accomodate diverse viewing preferences in their households — and they have an equally strong desire to have a backup in case one system goes out

From streaming subscriptions to multiple cable providers, Hispanics 18 to 39 are seeking content from a number of sources and in many configurations.
• Nearly 6 in 10 Hispanics 18-39 have streaming subscriptions such as Netflix
• Close to 4 in 10 Hispanics 18-39 use devices like Slingbox to watch TV on other platforms (laptop, tablet, smartphone) – more than non-Hispanic 18-29s (20%)
• About 1 in 10 Hispanics 18-39 use a streaming player like Roku or Google TV (compared with 5% of non-Hispanic 18-29s)
• 16% of bicultural Hispanics 18-29 have streaming subscriptions and more than one cable provider – more than foreign-born Hispanic 30-39s (11%) and non-Hispanic 18-29s (6%)

Bicultural Hispanics 18 to 29 like big TVs, spend a lot of money to buy them, and prefer Samsung.
• 31% of bicultural Hispanics 18-29 have a TV that’s 50 inches or larger – and they’re more likely to have a big set than non-Hispanics 18-29 (26%) and foreign-born Hispanics in their thirties (20%)
• Hispanics and non-Hispanics 18-29 spend an average of $1,107 on their TVs – compared with $684 among foreign-born Hispanic thirty-somethings
• Samsung is the #1 television brand among bicultural Hispanics 18-29 — while Sony is the top choice of foreign-born Hispanics in their thirties and non-Hispanics 18-29

Source: Tr3s Ipsos-OTX 2012, Experian Simmons Summer 2012 12-month NCHS

This article was first published in Tr3s.

[Photo by jDevaun]

Rethinking Broadband: The role of Wireless Among Latinos

linar_logoBy Jason Llorenz, LIN@R

Universal broadband adoption and meaningful digital literacy remain among the equity issues of our time, standing alongside our goals for education, and healthcare.  But quickly evolving technology and our own patterns of use are changing the very way we think about access to broadband.  The fact is, the best Internet access point for me may not be best for you.

That decision really depends on how that broadband connection will be used, and what qualities are valued most – speed, reliability, and mobility to name a few.   But, whether for video or e-mail, whether for connectivity while on the go, or for at home in front of a laptop, whether it’s for work or for play, there’s at least one flavor of broadband for you – probably two.

mobile devicesThis wasn’t always so.   At one time, good broadband meant a wired connection at your desk.   When considering whether America was meeting its broadband goals or was stuck in a permanent digital divide, what mattered was “broadband at home,” hardwired to your computer.

For those still least likely to participate in the entrepreneurial opportunities presented by broadband, the home divide – still more than a 10 percentage point gap for Latinos — is a key indicator. But wireless technology is a significant and growing opportunity to close the gap.

Thanks to technological advances, many of us now find wireless a realistic option for our broadband needs.   Want a high-definition video, an online game, the latest app, a connection to Google search or Bing, or directions to where you want to go – we can do it by wireless.    Just about any Internet-based activity that can be done on the desktop, my tablet will do, too.   A few weeks from now, when March Madness underway, millions will thank that smartphone in their pocket for letting them watch basketball no matter where they happen to be.

The newest generation of wireless, LTE, is delivering speeds matching wired connections.   Because of its enhanced reliability, LTE is also providing premium wireless access to innovative health care options, as well as advanced school courses and online degrees.  General Motors says that beginning this fall all of its new cars will be built with wireless broadband inside.

This is not to say that wireless is better, or that we should encourage communities to get rid of their wired Internet connection. Wired, home Internet, connected to a computer will continue to be one of the ways that we measure digital participation, especially for those already behind the curve.   But we must acknowledge that we now have genuine choices – from multiple providers, including rapidly improving wireless LTE, and satellite broadband offerings that offer more for their money than ever before.

For a growing number of consumers, especially younger Americans and minorities, mobile wireless is their first choice.   The Pew Project on the Internet and American Life reported that more than one third of minorities use their smartphone as their favorite route to the Internet.  All told, Pew says that two thirds of Hispanic -Americans and six of ten black Americans use a cell phone to reach the Internet.

More than three quarters of Americans under the age of 30 go online with their cell phone. Last year, Americans connected 51 million new devices to wireless networks and Cisco estimates that by the end of this year, the number of mobile devices will exceed the number of people on earth.

When it comes to connectivity, wireless, especially mobile wireless, is a powerful option that’s often the number one choice for reasons of convenience and economics. More powerful networks and evolving devices — like tablets and netbooks that can be connected to larger screens and real keyboards — also mean that some higher-level functions like coding and resume-building will also be accomplished via mobile. Many of the most interesting education technology experiments leverage mobile technology as a central strategy.

In rethinking broadband, we know that home access, and computer ownership will be an important indicator of success. But, with the advances of the technology already achieved, and those ahead, neither wireless broadband nor any competing technology will be the clear “right” choice for everyone.

In most cases, that choice will be the need for more than one.   Policy decisions should reflect that reality as we figure out the best rules and regulations to achieve America’s broadband goals. We can neither afford to think of wireless as second best, nor a wired connection the only broadband option — innovation, and our own choices mean it’s time to think again.

This article was first published in LIN@R.

Jason Llorenz is Sr. Fellow, Rutgers SC&I, and LIN@R Director of Tech & Inovation Policy. Follow Jason on twitter @llorenzesq, and follow LINAR’s technology tweets @LINAR_technolog.

[Photo by gailjadehamilton]

MacArthur Foundation: A New Digital Divide That’s Hard to Cross

computer lab

By Mike Cassidy, San Jose Mercury News

This divide isn’t about who has computers and who doesn’t; or who does and doesn’t have Internet access. This divide is between kids whose families have the means and know-how to layer an extra helping of education on their children and those who don’t.

The old divide is closing with the wide adoption of smartphones and the growth of free access to the Internet through public Wi-Fi and, of course, public libraries. But the new gap has to do with how kids are using the Internet and who is available to guide them along their digital journey.

Click on picture to read full story.

[Photo by woodleywonderworks]

Vine is Ready for its Close-up, Mr. DeMille

By Jesse Luna, NewsTaco

vinormous-oscars

Like Alice going into the rabbit hole, I’ve become so addicted to and curious about Vinevideos that I created a viewing platform, Vinormous.com. Vinormous, allows you to get your fill of 6-second Vine videos which have been posted to Twitter.

For Oscars night, I created a special Vinormous channel that screened for #Oscarhashtagged posts. The result was a fun collection of Vine videos with people having Oscars parties, creating special treats named after films up for awards, snuggling with popcorn and their trusty furry friends.

I shared the link on Twitter and Facebook and one Facebook friend was confused because he thought I posted a link to stream the actual Oscars show. “What is all this crap?” he asked. This reminded me of my first impressions when I first ran into Twitter tweets off of a Web search many years ago. There are still a lot of people who don’t get Twitter so it’s easy to see why people don’t get Vine.

Brands and auteurs are beginning to understand the power of Vine and they showed it on Oscars night.

The Academy posted this Vine video and tweet before the Red Carpet portion of the evening.

But it wasn’t just about big brands breaking in a new platform; it was also about you and me getting ready for the festivities, as in this tweet and Vine video.

As the Oscars got started, people started recording snippets of their TV’s and the actual Oscars. With DVR’s some of them were able to create looping blooper reels of celeb wardrobe malfunctions, gaffs, trips, and crazy facial expressions trying to open those darn envelopes.

As the Vine platform continues to evolve, more and more people will explore and play and brands will invest time and money. Apparently some brands even commissioned Vine videos as well.

If you’d like to find more Oscars-related Vine videos, follow me on Vine (jesseluna) and check out my “Likes” from Sunday night.

Did you “Vine” the Oscars?

This article was first published in JesseLuna.com.

How To Get More Latinos Into Advanced Science & Tech Classes

high school

By Emily Deruy, ABCNews/Univision

Only a small percentage of the Hispanic students who qualify for AP classes actually take them. Of the 20 percent of public school graduates in the class of 2012 who scored a three or higher on at least one AP test in high school, only about 15 percent were Latino, according to a report.

The problem is particularly acute in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) subjects, a set of industries currently clamoring for qualified American workers.

Click on picture to read full story.

[Photo by America Redefined]