Access: An Idea

Photo: Agence France-Presse -- Getty Images

"By 7 a.m. Tuesday, few Cubans had heard the news, which was published in the online version of the Communist Party newspaper Granma....Cubans are not allowed to have internet in the home. So word of mouth will spread rapidly as people start to wakeup and head to work..." - NPR, February 19, 2008

"..now allowed to have internet..." and "...so word of mouth will spread rapidly..."

These are the phrases that caught my attention this morning and have stuck with me as I've casually skimmed online news media sites throughout the day.

Word of mouth. In the age of technology, the primary method of sharing news of the end of Fidel Castro's presidency is being shared in the most rudimentary method that any historical story has been shared - from person to person, voice to voice.

And then tonight, just as I was closing the various windows and checking the papers one last time, I noticed this - the BBC has ended its English shortwave radio service in Europe after 75 years of transmission.

How is it that in the same day, one society can end its most basic communication services in favor of higher technology, while another society continues to stretch the limits of its most basic - and far less efficient - method of communication to spread what is possibly the most important news in its history.

The juxtapositions are endless. The comparisons. The stories within the stories.

I am amazed that more has not been written yet about how Cubans found out that Castro resigned (though I have admittedly not done that much research on it today). Media outlets mention that the news was released online, but at most skim over the fact that Cuban families are not allowed to have internet in their homes. However, a simple Google search for "Cuba, internet access" confirms that Cubans are forced to wait hours in line for access to a computer and that internet service to individual homes has been shut off since January 2004.

Yet, as one BBC article notes "It is true that whenever a new law comes into effect here, Cubans - who are famed for their inventiveness - tend to find a way around it. "

This has sparked incredible interest and curiosity in me. It touches on all of my areas of interest - technology, access, storytelling. Not to mention it adds to my long desire to visit Cuba and adds just another item to the list of reasons to go.

hmmmm...ideas percolating.