2011: The Year of Black Digital Domination
Was 2011 the year of Black digital domination? From “Black Twitter” to black tech entrepreneurship, 2011 was the year that black influence on all things digital blew into the mainstream.
Digital events like the fight to prevent Troy Davis’ execution and CNN’sBlack in America also confirmed that the black “digital divide” could no longer be ignored. President Barack Obama began the year with a broadband initiative to close the digital divide and the inequality between groups in their access to technology. By the end of the year, however, it was evident that the “digital divide,” would be closed quicker through African-Americans themselves rather than through government intervention.
According to digital entrepreneur and social media advocate Wayne Sutton, 2011 was the year that African-American use of social networks went mainstream. Not only did African-Americans use social networks more but their usage seeped into mainstream America. Sutton attributes this to black media outlets’ adoption of social media and to the proliferation of social networking on mobile phones by African-Americans.
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Category: Featured, Trends | Tags: 2011, African Americans, Entrepreneurship, Loop 21, social media, Technology, Trends
