Today, the issue of digital equity is receiving more attention than ever. For good reason; Internet access is no longer a luxury, it is a daily necessity in how we live, work and play. Still, we are far from the most connected nation on earth (as shown above from TransferWise), and a quarter of our homes aren’t yet on broadband networks.

One issue is that the digital divide isn’t a simple binary split between “haves” and “have nots.” There are many shades of grey in between. Not everyone uses the Internet and connected technologies the same way, with the same skill set, or even with the same context. Before we can solve this divide, we have to understand these subtleties.

I met Michael Liimattta at an event last week and he got me started thinking about this in more detail. He is the co-founder of Connecting for Good, a Kansas City nonprofit focusing on digital inclusion. I have taken his remarks from this blog post and added my own thoughts as well.

In our efforts to level the digital playing field for low income families, we must avoid the assumption that all of them relate to technology, computers and the Internet in the same way. To be effective in digital inclusion efforts, we must recognize that there are at least four different subsets within this population, each with its own and different needs.

1. The early adopters: Several national studies indicate that low income families with school children have a higher rate of broadband adoption; approximately half of them can access the Internet at home. The cities where we find the highest adoption rates are those where discounted Internet plans have been offered for a number of years and where there is extensive outreach in the public schools. However, these plans are not available everywhere. There are also cost issues: some families have to purchase expensive smartphone data plans to connect their computers, and many families have outdated PCs or don’t have the necessary tech support or lack sufficient bandwidth. These early adopter families also have another issue: understanding the dangers of the Internet in terms of accessing inappropriate content and meeting child predators.  
2. The uninformed: We do not want to forget that there are still low income families that know they need to be online and can afford a discounted Internet plan but simply don’t know what plans are available. ISPs like Comcast, Cox and Google Fiber have staff members dedicated to this type of outreach in cities where they offer discounted Internet services. But they will need more local help to increase awareness.
3. The financially challenged: The truth is, there are families that recognize the need to be connected but truly cannot afford to do so. With the FCC’s modernization of the Lifeline program, a $9.25 per month subsidy for broadband services should be available to eligible low income families, if only more ISPs adopted it. There are other programs from local housing authorities and private philanthropy that can also help to defray these costs.
4. The unconvinced and intimidated: Lastly, there are low income families that are able to afford a discounted Internet connection but are simply not convinced that they need one or are too intimidated by technology. Ultimately, convincing the adult heads of household is the trick. They must value access enough to dedicate seriously limited financial resources toward paying for an Internet subscription. When it comes to broadband adoption efforts, this can be the most challenging group of all, representing a significant portion of households living on the wrong side of the digital divide. This group also includes people who don’t know the difference between accessing the Web via a phone or the larger screens of tablets and PCs.

Digital inclusions efforts need both dedicated leadership and “boots on the ground” to be executed successfully. Too many efforts focus on providing computers and connectivity but fail to factor in the social dynamic of broadband adoption. To be effective, crossing this divide will take hours and hours of time spent in training and technical support if we are to bring the Internet to the rest of America’s poorest families.

Here is one small step forward: Next week, the National Digital Inclusion Alliance will hold a webinar to introduce digital inclusion practitioners and advocates on the state of digital inclusion at the local community level. You might want to tune in.

What do the TV series House of Cards, Moneyball pitcher Chad Bradford, women’s erotica purchases, You Tube Spaces and Harrah’s casinos have in common? I will explain in a moment, as you mull over each of these situations.

In a new book entitled, Streaming, Sharing, Stealing: Big Data and the future of entertainment, two Carnegie Mellon professors present years of researching the book publishing, movie-making, television and music industries and how they treat their customers, their artists, and their data. Their conclusions will both surprise and delight you, and I would urge you to buy this book and read it carefully.

Let’s go back to our intro. In February 2011 when the producers of the show House of Cards approached several cable TV executives to get their show green-lighted. Political dramas weren’t popular, and the execs passed. As you all know, Netflix acquired the rights to the series, but what you may not know is that they paid the production company $100 million for a two-year commitment for he series, rather than buying a single pilot episode.

Why did they do this? Because they knew exactly what were the viewing habits of their customers. They created multiple trailers to promote the series:

• one for Kevin Spacey fans,
• one for customers that liked “strong female lead actors,” as they characterize those types of movies
• one for fans of David Fincher’s movies,
• and another for the people who had rented the original BBC series on DVDs.

It knew exactly the people who would want to watch the series, because it had all the data about their viewing habits. And we all know what happened: Cards became a hit, and is filming its next season.

The authors question the generally held belief that delaying the release of a movie via DVD rental or online stream hurts sales, or that selling a paperback or ebook hurts hardcover sales. What they found is that there are two separate audiences for content: those that have “crossed over” to the digital world aren’t coming back to the analog world. Delaying an ebook resulted in almost no change in hardcover book sales. Delaying a digital movie release after the physical DVD date could cut digital sales by half. Digital and analog are different products, and operate in different universes. “When digital customers couldn’t find the product they wanted to buy when they wanted to buy it, many of them simply left, and didn’t come back. They are either pirating their content or consuming other types of content on Netflix et al.”

The digital world grew out of a “perfect storm” coincidence of three megatrends: the Internet and better broadband, the rise of digital content such as MP3s and downloadable apps and movies, and lower-cost PCs that were usable and affordable. This created so much turmoil that the existing entertainment industries couldn’t cope.

Take women’s erotica, and other specialty genres in the book-publishing world. These books used to be difficult to find, with only a few stores carrying more than a couple of titles, often hidden on selected shelves. But with Kindles and other ereaders, people can buy what they want without having to show the world their tastes. When the first 50 Shades book was written, it was self-published. Fans through online communities promoted it before it became a blockbuster hit.

What about You Tube Spaces? These are video production facilities that anyone who has a sufficiently large audience can book and use. Think of it as WeWork with a soundstage and digital editing bay, but for free. There are classes on all sorts of production techniques. They are located in major cities around the globe: all with the goal of improving the quality of You Tube videos. (Here is a tour that The Next Web took a few years ago of their LA studio.) Such a thing wouldn’t be conceivable just five or ten years ago.

And then there is Moneyball and the pitcher Chad Bradford. He had a quirky pitching style but incredible power as a pitcher. However, the stats normally used by most baseball scouts didn’t capture his performance, and he was overlooked by most of the teams. Eventually, he was signed by Oakland and delivered for a couple of years. Eventually though the other baseball teams got their Big Data act together and Oakland’s advantage evaporated.

Moneyball illustrates another issue: the culture in tech firms differs from those of the entertainment firms such as major studios or book publishers. “Companies such as Google, Amazon and Apple don’t make gut feel decisions – they make quantitative decisions based on what their data tells them.” Once the digital platforms have learned their customers’ preferences, they can market products directly to them, based on what they watch, read, and listen to. They can design specific promotional campaigns to speak to specific groups, and even target new customers.

One final example is of Harrah’s casinos. Back in 2000, the company was doing well. It operated in more markets, and was very profitable. But the gambling landscape was changing: more casinos were being built across the country, often as destination resorts that included show rooms, luxury-themed shopping malls and five-star restaurants. Harrah’s had to pivot from operating independent casinos to integrating them in a single business that looked closely at its customers’ data and who did what where on its properties. It had to focus on extracting value from that data, and in a way that built customer loyalty countrywide. And contrary to its provincial assumptions of the local property managers, using this central data repository and analytics they were able to increase revenues, promote cross-market players, and design new loyalty programs to increase its overall customer base.

The overall moral of this book: entertainment companies are going to have to take control over the customer interface and their customers’ data if they are going to be successful. It should be required reading for any digital marketer.

What would it be like if you had access to just about any kind of metal or wood cutting and shaping tool right in your neighborhood, with the ability to learn how to use the more advanced equipment from the most patient teachers? That is somewhat what the new TechShop facility is like.

In this story for Nicki’s Central West End Guide, I wrote about my experience with visiting the Detroit area Techshop. The St. Louis facility has moved to a nearby location on Delmar in what is now called “The Maker District.”