www.cTechnology.org presented last year on the state of the online world in communities outside the urban areas of Tennessee. This year we want to provide a glimpse into how the new media/digital economy is being introduced as a driver for economic development and education in these communities and how we can participate.

The new media/digital economy has the potential to change the economic dynamics of rural communities and to open up new doors of opportunity for kids who have had far less exposure to the online the world than their urban counterparts. It is incumbent on the “Digital-Haves” to be aware that a significant portion of the U.S. rural population can be classified as “Digital Have-Nots”. There is a wide door opening to make the digital economy a major factor in driving rural economic development in the U.S.

In this session we seek to awaken the new media community to help make Tennessee a model of how the urban “Digital-Haves” can create the catalyst for the “Digital Have-Nots” in the rural communities of Tennessee by building digital communities of interest.