Now that 68% of Blacks, relative to 72% of whites, are online and regular internet users, what does the coming waves of technology bode for African-Americans and other communities of color? Do comparable levels of internet penetration (the telecom industry’s term, not my own) mean that we are post-Digital Divide? If we are now beyond the 20th Century concept of a ‘digital divide’, are we better off thinking in terms of technology justice and equity in technology?

The Obama campaign’s harnessing of the web has already made its presence felt in Denver. There’s more campaign-affiliated sub-groups, like the cohort of women crossing a downtown street with their ‘Asian-American and Pacific Islanders for Obama’ placard, who have self-organized and decided to visit, whether they have 'credentials' or not. Futhermore, there are a cornucopia of entities unaffiliated with the Democratic Party – from Tent State, Recreate68, and BigTent among them – hustling online in order to translate online readers to flehs-and-blood partyers offline during this last week in August. As one visitor stated, the DNC in Boston in “2004 wasn’t nothin’ like this. There was one Rock the Vote party, and that was it.”

What this is is the Big Tent, co-hosted by the New Organizing Institute, Progress Now and Alliance for a Sustainable Colorado – along with corporate sponsors Digg.com, YouTube and Google. Lunchtime burritos courtesy of Chipotle, and a beer garden under red-and-yellow tents from the Fort Collins-based New Belgium Brewery, makers of nationally-known Fat Tire.

For those walking around downtown Denver the vast majority are not formal delegates. Yet, without ‘credentials’ to enter the official Convention in Pepsi Center (stadium of the Denver professional sports teams of the Nuggets and hockey’s Avalanche) people are engaged unlike in recent years.

From text messaging and Facebook groups to YouTube and Twitter, these elements of Web 2.0 are changing the way that people use the internet and are politically. Plans are underway to use text messaging for voter protection efforts in the general election. Should any voter encounter problems or difficulties at the polling place, they can speak with a lawyer or legal advocate, like the hotlines set up by labor unions, civic engagement and civil rights groups in 2004.

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