Laptops for Everyone ...Week 4

Democratization concerning the internet is a loaded topic. Social media fuels the race for it. According to McConnell and Huba in chapter three of Citizen Marketers, democratization perpetuates the battle between transparency and control within companies and organizations. To me, one of the most interesting ideas concerning the concept was introduced by Nicholas Negroponte. He is an MIT hotshot who began a project called the One Laptop Per Child project in 2005. For around $135 each, the project sells laptops to children in developing nations. Negroponte is "trying to ride the wave of technological democratization by gentrifying the elitism of computer ownership." Once I broke this statement down into smaller words that I could understand, it made a lot of sense. Negroponte is embracing the concept of democratization and he knows that it is fueled by social media. He is working against the idea that only the privileged and wealthier countries should have social media tools at their fingertips. Negroponte knows that everyone has a voice and the potential to be a citizen marketer, whether they're an American businessman or a Nigerian child. I think the One Laptop Per Child project is genius.