As some of you know, I was in New Orleans last week attending the Nonprofit Technology Conference. It was my first NTEN conference and I’m already looking forward to the next one.

The first day here was a “day of service.” Basically, folks have an opportunity to give back to New Orleans for hosting us all week. I didn’t know about it until Monday evening when Beth Kanter mentioned being a part of a team that was launching a wireless network (equipment provided by Cisco) at St. Bernard’s Community Center. St. Bernard’s was hit hard by Hurricane Katrina and they are still recovering. Accordingly, I jumped on the chance to join this effort.

Beth had two teams. The first team consisted of the tech gurus who installed all of the gear and got the whole network running. The second team would train members of the community on office applications or utilizing different internet tools.

The center was very busy and I got paired with Ruth who is a local small business owner. Ruth was not actually interested in the internet but wanted to master the functionality of her new DELL computer. Accordingly, we set up an excel spreadsheet so that she could manage her books. We also went over Microsoft Works.

With regard to policy, one point she made really made an impact on me. She stated that she really was not interested in signing up for the internet until she learned how to use her computer.

Here in DC, we get caught up in many debates that really don’t matter. On the Capitol Hill, it is always the service providers fault for not having America wired. However, in many instances, the town has broadband but the take rate is poor. Blaming the carriers is the easy way out.

Perhaps, if we spent less time debating the tubes and instead come together and figure out how we can spur training programs so that folks can master necessary skills to run a business — maybe the take rate would go up.

The NTEN conference was fulfilling in many ways. I made new friends and met some amazing people who are utilizing wireless to help their non-profit organizations. However, my conference experience was made on the first day. Where I was able to be a part of something really special and something that matters…

Here’s some video from St. Bernard’s…