Daily Archives: November 6, 2007

Blandin Pre-Conference Event

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I was talking to someone about the Blandin Conference and they didn’t realize that the invitation to the conference included an invitation to the pre-conference event:

As part of the Minnesota Sesquicentennial celebration, the Sesquicentennial commission is sponsoring conversations on Minnesota’s future. The Blandin Foundation has joined the Sesquicentennial in supporting a conversation on Minnesota’s Broadband Future.

I think this is going to be a fun event – a chance to be a big decision maker in a simulated community – or for some folks maybe it’s a chance to relinquish the big decision maker’s hat in return for the hat of a business owner, educator, or other community member.

If you’re coming to the conference – I hope you’ll consider attending the pre-conference event, which begins tomorrow at 1:00.

I’ll see you there!

Broadband Conference: Speaker Intro: Tobey Johnson

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Another fun bio to share from the Broadband conference coming up on Wednesday:

Tobey Johnson

Tobey Johnson is one of the original members to form PacketFront, Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of PacketFront AB, with over 10 years experience in telecommunications networks. His accomplishments include developing converged voice, video, and data management solutions throughout the United States, Canada, and Western Europe. Tobey also has a strong economic background, having worked in the capital markets at Merrill Lynch. Within PacketFront, Tobey created and manages the Collaborative solutions strategy, ensuring that PacketFront develops an array of strategic alliances which include service providers, construction and engineering firms, financing partners and independent consultants. It is Tobey’s belief that the collaboration of all these intricate relationships, responsibilities, and services, need to be comingled to mutually support the success of a broadband network. Tobey, his wife, and son, currently reside in the Denver, Colorado area.

Farm Wives Training

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An article in the newspaper caught my eye yesterday (Women get more tools to make most out of farms). It’s not necessarily about broadband but it is about a program for farm wives that teaches them skill such as “about managing information systems, tracking production and financial records, risk management, handling human resources and networking.”

The article talks about the very hard job of being a arm wife and how the job (and farming) has changed so much in the last decade with the globalization of the market.

The article doesn’t mention the Internet or broadband but I think it must be assumed. What also is assumed then is that the access needs to be there, which is not always the case but in fairness at least most folks have some kind of Internet access. I love the idea of training people to use the tools. And I love the idea of focusing on training the women.

I’m not a farm wife – but I know that somehow it falls to me pay bills, make flight arrangements, research financial options, find directions to anywhere we’re going, teach the kids computer stuff (OK that’s because of my job). SO I think the impact will be more acute when providing training for women – but also I think the skills will be handed down to the next generation (and in the case of computer probably handed back to the earlier generation) quicker when you work through the moms.