Ghost of Midnight

50 million U.S. adults don’t use the internet!

How about your #VT town?  From Greg Sterling today…

I was alerted to this intriguing data point by ValPak’s Twitter feed: according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 21% of US adults do not use the Internet. That works out to about 50 million people (figuring the US adult population is about 240M).

Interesting data to keep in mind… 79% is a huge proportion… but it’s not 100%.  It makes Front Porch Forum‘s high take rates all the more remarkable… greater than 40% of households subscribe in dozens of neighborhoods and towns in our pilot region.

And it makes projects like e-Vermont that much more important.  Check out e-Vermont’s new website and, if you live in Vermont, get your community to apply for the second round of grants by Nov. 17, 2010!  From e-Vermont…

e-Vermont’s new web site, www.e4vt.org, is the central spot to keep updated on the e-Vermont Community Broadband Project. This two-year initiative is helping rural Vermont towns take full advantage of the Internet to create jobs, drive school innovation, provide social services, and increase civic involvement. e-Vermont is not stringing cable or fiber, but is working to make better use of broadband where it is available.

The new e-Vermont Partnership, led by the Vermont Council on Rural Development,  is already working together with selected communities statewide to provide digital tools and in-depth training.  Twelve more towns will be selected by the end of 2010 to be part of this project. The new website has details on how to apply prior to the November 17 deadline.  It also carries updates on the exciting work in the first 12 e-communities, and includes a calendar of upcoming workshops and conferences that will share what is being learned in these pilot towns with communities around Vermont.

For further info, you can also reach e-Vermont at 802 225-6091, or Helen_at_vtrural_dot_org.