Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/298737
CONNECT 2 COMPETE 54 l MACON MAGAZINE DECEMBER/JANUARY 2013 Lynn Murphey and Beverly Blake frequently brainstormed ways to bring low-cost Internet service and computers to Bibb County residents. Murphey, who is vice president of public affairs for Cox Communications, and Blake, who is program director of the Knight Foundation, were concerned with the growing digital divide between those with access to the Internet and those without. "We all know that today you can only apply for a job online, teachers want to communicate with parents and students online, grades are sent online," Blake said. "If you don't have access to the Internet and know how to use digital tools, then you are considered a second-class citizen in the 21st century." The two had not been able to find a local solution when they heard about Connect2Compete, a national nonprofit that pulled together public and private resources to make high-speed Internet access, computers and digital literacy training more accessible to Americans. "It really was the answer to what we were looking for," Blake said. In October, Macon learned it had been chosen as a site for an expanded Connect2Compete pilot that runs through mid-December. There was an initial pilot of the program in San Diego, Calif., over the summer. "I have to believe that one of the major reasons we were picked was because we already had some of the local partners at the table who were advocating very strongly on behalf of the Bibb County community," Murphey said. BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE "IF YOU DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO THE INTERNET AND KNOW HOW TO USE DIGITAL TOOLS, THEN YOU ARE CONSIDERED A SECOND-CLASS CITIZEN IN THE 21ST CENTURY." by debbie blankenship