12
July
2009
|
23:53 PM
America/Los_Angeles

UK Diary: Monday - A Meeting With Intel's Government Guy

Monday morning the Traveling Geeks are off to the Reboot Britain conference organized by NESTA (National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts).

But first we have breakfast with Tristan Wilkinson, Intel's Director for Public Sector for EMEA.

Renee Blodgett:


He tells us about a program called One Goal which will be launched in August and piggyback off the South African World Cup. The goal is to get 30 million online signatures in an effort to help make poverty history. Take note: 75 million children still don't have access to primary school education in the world.


down the avenue: Redefining Digital Inclusion


Mr Wilkinson said he wasn't much interested in technology but what technology could do for people and for countries in terms of improving the quality of life through better economic opportunities.


Tom Foremski:


He posed an interesting question: Do the people that enjoy the benefits of the digital economy have an obligation to help those that don't have the same access and skill sets?


UK: Digital Inclusion And The Moral Obligations Towards Tech Education - SiliconValleyWatcher


We discussed the technology divide or was that the wrong divide to consider these days?

Ayelet Noff:


Scoble, part of the TG party, also reiterated the idea which he calls the "Friend Divide" - this is to say that even if you have a computer and are able to get online, you're still at a major disadvantage to people who have already built a rich network of friends which they can use to get and spread information.


Blonde 2.0 » Blog Archive » Traveling Geeks - On the road in the UK


Interestingly, Mr Wilkinson doesn't think much about social networks. He says he'd rather be climbing trees with his kids. The TGers gang up on him about this and by the end of the meeting he says he will rejoin Twitter. You can find him @IntelTristran.

He later posts on Twitter: "Reflecting on the day, deciding social networks can't be ignored any longer." And he's kept it up, tweeting 6 times on July 9th. Our work is done.

JD Lasica conducts a quick interview with Mr Wilkinson:







Intel exec on social media literacy from JD Lasica on Vimeo.