I wonder about the possibilities of the internet for making at least some work to become independent of geography. I’ve read of a tailor in a small village in England who has built his business entirely through the web.

I live in the Pacific Northwest, and many of the small towns within a 3 hour drive of the major cities have become “Colonized” by telecommuters who can do there work while living just about anywhere.

But my sense is that these are mostly highly skilled workers.

But can we imagine other forms of work that could similarly be done from distant places?

I started my teaching career in a rural school in Southern Appalachia. There was no flat land for building factories, no tillable farm land, few choices for those who became educated except to leave.

Does broadband change this? How do we get the resources to schools like West Brocton? Why are we even still asking those questions?

Jane

Where are the solutions for these small communities, which I love? My high speed Internet connection makes it possible for me to survive here. Is there some hope — with the right educational opportunities and investments — of creating a 21st C economic survival strategy beyond “grow up and leave town”?

See the segment subtitled “West Blocton Elementary” in this story I wrote from Alabama…

http://www.abpc21.org/digitaldivide.html

John