Re: [Mesh] Let's get real

Hi Kevin, Have you found any example mesh or community networks that might parallel the context of Puerto Rico? Also, I'm curious, do you know of any good sources on the access and distribution of internet connections as well as broadband or high-speed service currently available there? Thanks, Matt On Saturday, February 3, 2018, Kevin Shockey <shockeyk(a)gmail.com> wrote: place I've ever lived, even good ol'e Kokomo. I've visited back to the states as often as I can, but living on a retired veterans income places it's own limitations on mobility. So this is all I really know. I know other places share similar behaviors and traits. My frustrations are the same as the FUD resistance for any community. Oh yeah, please don't judge me if my observations are harsh. Sometimes science can be cruel. will follow at the beginning of this. The post-Maria disaster presented some very significant findings and they must be documented to move things forward. answer. Lately I've been trying to look at my observations from some very open places, so that I may gain some perspective. So this is the first forum where I'm trying share this new view. only a few are what we might call technology communities. Let's take car enthusiasts as an example, the coherence within these groups is high, they meet regularly and openly share tech, ideas, values, etc. They are active online and connect regularly. Coming from the Midwest, racing and cars are common. Enthusiasts pursue a strong community for the love of racing and cars. Some can make a career and/or profit off of the base, most do it because, as we say here they are "fiebru." Translated it basically means they have a fever for the topic of their obsession. I believe that these groups are the future of community in Puerto Rico. of "open" communities. One is the social media arena, but they don't have a core group, more like a core group of people from varying orgs. Some groups have come and gone, but none has withstood the inherent pressures of being the "lead" group. there some quazi-tech groups which are parts of other purpose groups, like a local sales and marketing association. operating for about 6 years now. They are a talented group and I'm sure they will help. I know the founders so, I hope that we're good (more on them later). In the 23 years I've been here groups come and go, but most (all?) fell prey to market forces. My new theory is that these types of communities fail because of the intersection between business/career interests and the welfare of the community. recently. Only 3.5 million peeps, and dropping quickly, live on the main island. Maybe 1.5 million households. We are just too small to have any technology niche. have? With low high-school graduation rates, it probably at the low end of any national norms. contiguous states, you just can't drive to relocate here. Most immigration we have is from the Dominican Republic. drain. Yes the hurricane has accelerated the process but we retain very few of the most talented of our new graduates. They are heavily recruited on campus. Outside the scope (or is it?) of this research is the brain drain within the medical community. We face an uncertain public health issue with the very real lack of doctors. Many have not reopened after the hurricane and have relocated. It is unknown if they will return to their practices in personal advancement. No different than most places, but bear with me. driven for the love of it, and not merely to advance the community, then what happens when the leaders of the organizations, which are meant to address deep social problems (literacy, media literacy, a free and open Internet, the digital divide, etc) siphon off the energy from their communities for personal reasons? Happens everywhere right, but what if this behavior was systemic. population of technology enthusiasts who are just not enough to keep a community alive (the negative forces grind them down until they move on to something else). It is not unheard of someone coming into a community to spread FUD within the ranks, especially when the advancements of the community would have threatened an established player. network, it will come from a community of communities (collective of collectives). I further believe that public safety might be the in for this rich tapestry of fiebrus across the island. Sorry if this was too long, but there are no easy answers when it comes to community in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico economy at a glance. https://data.bls.gov/ pdq/SurveyOutputServlet It goes back to 1990. If you will notice, the size of out IT industry has been in sharp decline for a while. Without effective leadership we will have nearly erased all of the job growth back to when I first came in 1995. Meaning, there are no more IT jobs today than there were back in the mid 90's I'm still doing research so I don't know enough yet, but I've heard of ham radio based tcp/ip, which sounds very promising. YKUu-qd5N6X2NIhOMJ9_SQs5vJ-xVDckrZwOqvyR1tB5SJZA88Rfnye_ C6zaD78L2VzvZrBWCg_MUTfWBVrBDDuKJXrewvqv0=s0-d-e1-ft#https://ipmcdn.avast. com/images/icons/icon-envelope-tick-green-avg-v1.png> Virus-free. www.avg.com