While I was reading the Pew report on the states’ roles in broadband last week I kept thinking that with broadband expansion – especially with adoption – we need more local involvement, starting at the state and drilling down because at the end of the day adoption is a each-one-teach-one game, especially with the slower adaptors.

Those of us who were going to learn on our own have done it. And it turns out that’s been about 95 percent of the US – but the other 5 percent is going to need some handholding. So I was kind of thrilled to read about what the Geek Squad is doing at Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota. According to USA Today…

On a pro-bono basis, Best Buy helped equip a dedicated space at the hospital, dubbed “the tech precinct,” and dispatched Geek Squad agents to standby to guide and trouble shoot.

“The Geek Squad agents eliminate the stress that comes from technology that’s not working, allowing patients and their families to concentrate on getting better,” says Goldbloom.

Patients can use Skype to chat with friends and relatives and play Xbox 360 games. Their parents can use web conferencing software to stay plugged in at work or grab a digital camera to post photos online and report on their child’s progress to loved ones.

Genius! Obviously a huge help for keeping kids entertained and parents connected – but also a great way to introduce technology to a crowd that may or maybe not have had good experience with it before. Now if you could just adopt a Geek to take home it would be perfect. The Pew report noted yesterday that of the 5 percent of us who aren’t online – not seeing a value – was a key reason. Actually I think if the Geek could get you through the initial start up phase you would build the skills to troubleshoot and the motivation to do what it takes to continue to use technology.