Digital Literacy Legend and Rural Telecommunications Congress Board Member Gene Crick Dies

Gene Crick, a longtime broadband evangelist, died of a heart attack at home in Bastrop, Texas, on August 15.

Gene spent more than four decades advocating for broadband in the United States and around the world. He set up the first free public internet facilities in Texas, designed grant programs for community networking, developed pilot programs for community networking and telehealth, and advised state and federal agencies, foreign governments and nonprofit organizations on broadband issues.

Gene presented his rural internet road show for rural leaders and citizens across Texas as part of the launch of the $1.5 billion Texas Infrastructure Fund in the mid-1990s. His message was that locals could do great things for themselves and others once they were online. He was also on the founding boards of the Association for Community Networking in 1993 and the Rural Telecom Congress in 1997.  (See more details here.)

A Global Win-Win

This list barely hints at the range of his impact. More important than any single accomplishment was his commitment to the internet as a force for good. As a vocal leader of the community networking movement since before the free-nets emerged in the 1980s, he articulated the vision – shared by most early adopters of online community capacity building – of a global “win-win” in which all members of the human family could participate in the global internet economy and achieve the peace and prosperity that broadband makes possible. In other words, he thought globally and acted locally.

Gene raised awareness among rural and vulnerable populations about how broadband could empower them to seek equity of opportunity and promote life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all. He was always humorous and generous, and he had a heart as big as Texas. He was chagrined at the destruction of policies that promoted equal opportunity, including net neutrality and citizens’ rights to privacy and control over their own information.

One of those good folks who worked for the benefit of all, Gene tried to discover best practices, amid evolving technologies, politics and public perceptions, for teaching people to use the internet to help themselves and others.

Meeting Today’s Challenges

During the 1990s, Gene presented at Apple-sponsored community networking conferences with Steve Snow of Charlotte’s Web and Pat Finn of La Plaza Telecommunity Learning Center, founders of the first two World Wide Web–based community networks. But as ISPs proliferated, technology corporations lost their interest in community networking.

In 2019, good people are challenged to have a voice on the internet and stand up for what they believe in. Civil discourse online has been overwhelmed by trolls and bad actors. Meaningful, measurable “broadband best practices” are badly needed.

Perhaps the tide is turning. Founders of the internet and the WWW, such as Tim Berners-Lee and several tech billionaires, are becoming increasingly vocal about corporate and governmental abuses that diminish the internet’s economic and social potential. There is a new movement to return to the original vision – Gene’s original vision – of using the internet to bring people together for the good of all, instead of driving them apart for the political or economic benefit of a few. Let’s hope Big Tech can give us new hope for a positive, connected future in partnership with all members of the human family.

Gene was always humble and was never negative, despite witnessing the dwindling of his vision for a connected world of good folks working together for the global common good. He was a good man and will be sorely missed.

Frank Odasz, president of Lone Eagle Consulting, knew Gene Crick for more than 25 years and was a fellow board member of the Rural Telecom Congress until Gene’s untimely end. Contact him at Frank@lone-eagles.com.

This article originally appeared in the August-September 2019 edition of Broadband Communities magazine, and is reprinted with permission.