Yeah… after posting the reply I realize I had, as I always do, fixated towards the “tech”… the monetary inequalities are still more than relevant… so… in terms or leveling the tech playing field things are progressing. but the larger issue of more equitable financial situations is still frozen in place.

-Devin

devin! thanks for stopping by.

that’s a great question, about the veracity of the internet figure. it did seem a bit low to me as well. you’re far more informed than me on this matter. i merely took the number from the Miniature Earth website. i didn’t check their sources.

if i can speculate on the things you listed, i would say that those factors probably don’t have a major impact on the total global number.

estonia’s small population probably doesn’t make a dent in that 3%. what a great idea though.

i also love the trend toward city-wide wi-fi. but i would guess that most of the population served already has access to the internet. now it’s just more available to them.

in both cases (aside from libraries), the person still needs a laptop. then you have to pay for the service, unless you live in portland or some other cool city.

it would be cool to have this kind of access in india or cambodia, but then they’d still need a computer, a reliable source of electricity, and a good ISP.

love the OLPC project. hopefully projects like that will bump that 3% up or whatever the true number is.

the village of 100 is just a percentage of the world, rounded up to represent individuals. it’s as relevant as any other statistic.

cheers,
wind

This is an interesting exercise, but how do you account for;

1) Government subsidy of Internet connections -vs- private/market based connection (Estonia -vs- USA)
2) Publicly available connections/hardware (free WiFi in many cities and access to computers at public libraries/NGOs)
3) OLPC/The SugarOS project… creating cheap hardware, open license software, and P2P style network connections in rural communities. (http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/23/olpc-toting-rwandan-students-flock-to-airport-for-free-wifi/)

The “village of 100″ analogy is a great medium with which to start the conversation, but it is becoming less and less relevant.

-Devin