Recommended: “Does the Silicon Valley Economy Drive a Luxury Bus?”

Cyndy Aleo-Carreira’s post on Silicon Valley’s wealth disparities is a reminder to all of us relatively privileged geeks that we are not necessarily our audience.

When people complain about a Web 2.0 app or service, the response is often “build it yourself.” The problem is that most of us in the world can’t afford to start up a company, because the jobs that pay the bills take up too much time. There’s a luxury in having enough money put away that you can start a company, and a luxury in being able to start one while you keep a day job that doesn’t take up too much time and energy on top of family.

I was reminded of this Christmas day when showing my cousin a camera phone photo that I captured and uploaded from a beach in Anguilla on my brand new iPod Touch. I wasn’t trying to show off as much as I was trying to share a beautiful photo.

Her comment — something about “rich people” and I ain’t rich — stung. But it reminded me just how well-off I actually am compared to most Americans in general, and most Black Americans in particular.

How does this translate to tech? Part of creating relevant tools is understanding the context in which they will be used and the ways in which people may bend them to suit their circumstances. Money is a big factor in most peoples’ circumstances. It’s the difference between the free phone and a quad-band GSM smartphone with a camera, and WiFi capabilities. It’s the difference between an entry-level Windows machine and anything Apple. It’s having the internet on your phone and not. In other words, it’s everything. And we need to be careful not to lose sight of this.