What to do now? (was "Lots of Competition")

[Mark Gibbs]

I doubt very much whether keeping the noise up will benefit Google's impression of Ventura as much as it could serve as a community focus. 

This distinction is important because if you're trying to impress Google you'll be doing things that serve to publicize Ventura's interests and values to the outside world which assumes they are paying attention; with 600 cities in the running, I think we'd have to do something involving thermonuclear reactions or declaring Ventura an independent country to get above the noise threshold. 

On the other hand, if you focus on communicating with the community then you'll do things that will engage the citizenry. In an organization it would be the difference between public relations and building a strong internal spirit. If you focus solely on PR then when times are bad morale drops like a stone. Foster a strong internal spirit and when the going gets tough there's still juice in the tank to move on and do other things.

So, say Ventura doesn't get chosen ... what could we create if we've spent our energies engaging the populace rather than trying to impress Google?

I'd suggest we need to figure out what we can do to get Venturans interested and engaged online to foster transparent government, enhance security, discourage vandalism, encourage community service, support education, and so on ... it's a pretty big list of possibilities.

How about neighborhood nets? Get people to join groups that cover one or two streets and then link the groups to exchange news with adjacent groups, the idea being to foster not just ultra-local but nano-localized community? How about a Ventura News Network driven by locals? There have to be all sorts of useful services and programs that we have the opportunity to start now that we have some momentum ...

[m]

On Mon, Mar 29, 2010 at 4:43 PM, Daniel Richman <richmana...@gmail.com> wrote:

Anthony, I am sure everyone agrees with you. What is your opinion of the best way to "keep the noise up."?

Daniel Richman

On Sun, Mar 28, 2010 at 10:52 AM, Anthony Andre <ant...@venturahighspeed.com> wrote:

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-27/google-says-600-communities-seek-broadband-project-update2-.html

 

We need to keep the noise level high.  I don’t think lobbying is going to do it.  I am willing to be that the story would be much bigger for us being that we have no money to lobby them with and everything is all a civic effort with all dollars invested contributed by the people that care the most…The Ventura City community!

 

I know it is hard work and takes a lot of time that we all have little of because of other current events in our lives, but if we want this bad enough for our city, then we can find the time to keep the noise up.  Thank you all for your collaboration on this!

 

Thank you,

 

Anthony Andre

Ventura Highspeed Internet/MiTec Solutions

2110 E. Thompson Blvd.

Ventura, CA 93001

805-643-4375

Ant...@venturahighspeed.com

 

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Daniel Richman
www.RichmanandRichman.com
Ventura, CA 93003

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[N. R. Machiraju]

Agree.  Some suggestions:

1. What is the URL for the Ventura Google Fiber proposal?  All of us ought to read it.

2. Then, could we imagine what can be done to achieve the ideas in the proposal in

a prototype manner and keep building the message that we are going to scale it

Ventura wide with google fiber?

3. If #2 made sense, City form a Task Force to implement pilots.  Some of the pilots

might already be underway.  

4. Come up with a sticker that says "google Fiber ready" that can be tagged on to the

pilots that are underway and generate stories via blogs and press. 

5. Basically,  I am talking about an A, B and C comparison.  With A being what it is now.

B being how we are preparing by being "google Fiber ready" and C being a bit of 

imagineering what it would be when google Fiber comes to Ventura. 

N. Rao Machiraju

http://www.reqall.com/

Phone: 1 408  538-0413

[Mark Gibbs]

Good ideas. We'd need to get the City behind this which would require a concrete proposal being presented to the City Council and resources getting allocated with all the interesting questions about funding that would entail.

I wonder who might head up such an effort? Ideally it would be a very senior City employee (naming no names).

[m]

[Daniel Richman]

I agree with both of you, and judging by the response at the St. Paddy's parade, I believe it could be done. Good luck in your efforts! 

[Daniel Richman]

Also Mark, from the first email in this blurb, I like the idea of "neighborhood nets", we as a team ought to really figure out what we're doing. Like you said, even if Google chooses some other town, we still have our lively little community, and we could do marvelous things.