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Blacksburg Electronic Village
Aired November 1 and 2, 1997
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This is Internet On The Air. I'm Todd Mundt. Who is the typical Internet
user? And given the chance...would everyone use the Internet? Details in a moment.
Funding Credit: Internet On The Air is a production of the University of Michigan
School of Information and Michigan radio, made possible by a grant from the W.K. Kellogg
Foundation.
Blacksburg, Virginia...in many ways, it's like any other small town nestled in the
tree-topped foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. So why has Blacksburg attracted the
attention of The New York Times, The Discovery Channel, and USA Today?
In Blacksburg, four out of five people are connected to the Internet. That's well above
the national average. The project is known as the Blacksburg Electronic Village, and it's
sponsored by Virginia Tech University, Bell Atlantic, and the Town of Blacksburg. The goal
is to document the effects of Internet use on a whole community.
While Blacksburg has not changed in a radical way...citizens say they enjoy a greater
sense of what they call "civic connectivity". Senior citzens have developed
their own Website, public and private schools are connected, and there is a monthly Town
meeting held over the Internet. On a more individual level, citizens of the Blacksburg
Electronic Village say the most useful Internet application is electronic mail.
While all citizens of Blacksburg, Virginia have not become accomplished cyber-surfers,
they definitely have entered the wired age. The Town of Blacksburg may have proven that
technology can enhance humane interaction, not replace it. In Blacksburg, communication,
interactivity and connectivity seem to be the operative words.
You can visit Blacksburg, Virginia on the Internet through our Web site at www.iota.org.
For Internet On The Air, I'm Todd Mundt.
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Last Updated January 26, 2000
