Technovelopment Tools

During the Napoleonic Wars - or so the story goes - the British were terrified that the French Emperor Napoleon was poised to assemble an invasion fleet, sail across the English Channel, and march on London.  To prevent this from happening, the British government created an early warning system, which - given the technology of the day - consisted entirely of one man standing on the south coast of England with a very large bell.

If this damp and lonely watchman happened to spy a French fleet on the horizon, he was to ring the bell as loudly as he could manage, rousing the inhabitants of nearby villages who would in turn rush to their local church bells to engage in further ringing...  As those in other villages up and down the coast heard these bells, they too would rush to their own bell towers, and the ringing would spread, village to village, in all directions, giving plenty of advance warning, and providing time to assemble an army to meet the French fleet on the beaches.

The best part of this story, however, is the notion that the British government only did away with the bellringing sentry's job in 1947, more than a century after Napoleon had died.

This blog was created as a way of addressing the Napoleon Factor.  Like the British government and its bellringers, we all have a way of hanging onto tools and tactics long past their sell-by dates.  And in an era where Moore's Law has come to symbolize the way in which technology can change almost overnight, we are not always well-served by employing these traditional tools and tactics in our efforts to spur economic and community development at the local level.

Case in Point?  In 1946, a three-minute phone call from New York City to London would have cost about US$650.  Today, that same call costs less than $1.  And if you use Skype or some other VOIP system, it's virtually free...  Now imagine trying to anchor effective development programs on a 1946 telephone system, when everyone around you has moved into the era of instantaneous and inexpensive data transmission.

The notion behind this new blog is simple - let's create a space where, together, we can start to explore some of the innovative and exciting ways that new and emerging technologies can be used to strengthen local development efforts.  In short, let's figure out how to break through the Napoleon Factor, and kick start some exciting new tactics and techniques for growing local economies, and leapfrogging traditional barriers.

If you're looking for the latest technical specs on software or instructions on how to hack your hardware, this isn't the spot for you... But if you're curious about how emerging technologies can make a difference in hands-on, practical kinds of ways, this is the spot for you.  So let's get the ball rolling...

Coming Next: So who are you, and what do you know about this stuff anyway?