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320 Lisa J. Servon and Randal D. PinkettUndoubtedly. IT affects how we work and what we work toward, how weconnect with each other and with whom we connect, and how we make decisionsand with what information. Living on the wrong side of the digitaldivide, as do the persistent poor, means being cut off from these changes anddisconnected from the information society.This chapter makes two arguments. First, that in order to narrow the digitaldivide we must redefine it. And, second, that we must look to community technologycenters (CTCs) as key innovators. In the process of making these twoarguments, we will discuss the importance of technology literacy and lay outthe context in which CTCs work. This chapter is based on a literature reviewof the community technology field, a 1999 survey of the 336 affiliates of theCommunity Technology Centers Network (CTCNet), and extensive fieldworkat CTCs in East Palo Alto, Seattle, Austin, Pittsburgh, and New York City.WHY TECHNOLOGY?When community technology activists talk about the need to narrow the digitaldivide, they are often met with skepticism. Is IT something people reallyneed, or is it more accurate to think of it as a luxury? Why would people onlow incomes use computers to contact elected officials? They can write lettersnow, but they seldom do. They can vote now, but the poor are one of thegroups with the lowest voter turnout rates. Was the cable access movement notsupposed to give people a voice? Why has it not made the kind of impact manyhoped that it would make? Perhaps the Internet, the IT medium of communication,is just the next in a long succession of over-hyped media.These questions and doubts are legitimate. However, the Internet possesseskey attributes that make it differ from these other media in significant ways.First, the Internet is an open medium that allows broad participation: the shorthandfor this characteristic is “many to many.” Unlike other media used todeliver information – television and newspapers, for example – the Internetallows users both to respond to what exists and to produce their own materialrelatively inexpensively if they possess the skills and access necessary to doso. This “many-to-many” aspect of the Internet is one of its key culturalfeatures. The Internet’s interactive nature creates the conditions necessary “forlearning, confidence-building, and self-empowerment” (Sanyal, 2000: 146). Inshort, the Internet provides “the capacity for anyone to find his/her own destinationin the net, and if not found, to create and post his/her own information”(Castells, 2001: 19).Second, the Internet enables the creation and support of networks. Thesenetworks are organized and maintained for social and economic purposes. Thevalue of networks increases as the number of people who belong to and