Blandin Broadband Conference
The Blandin Foundation broadband conference was a big hit in November. It started with Jim Baller http://tinyurl.com/yh76c3e promoting faster goal broadband speeds for Minnesota. The next day the Broadband Task Force spoke about their recommendations. http://tinyurl.com/ylj33pk They highlighted the goal of ubiquitous broadband in the state and the need for public-private partnerships. Students spoke about their vision for future http://tinyurl.com/yjgb5jl and ARRA grant applicants voiced some frustration with the slow process of federal funding http://tinyurl.com/yf5ajqg. Get reflections from the conference as well as videos and notes from conference sessions online. http://tinyurl.com/yjajyrf

Broadband Task Force Recommendations
In November, after more than a year of work and research, the Minnesota Ultra High-Speed Broadband Task Force unveiled their recommendations for broadband in Minnesota. Highlights include ubiquitous coverage to all parts of Minnesota, a goal to be top five for broadband speed and penetration in the US and the suggested formation of an ongoing entity to support and promote broadband in Minnesota through 2015. http://tinyurl.com/ybyl297 The report made a splash with local press http://tinyurl.com/yzakroo and that splash keeps rippling. http://tinyurl.com/yfzospd

ARRA Funding
The NTIA/RUS report that they plan to announce successful ARRA grants starting in December; the announcements may happen through February 2010 as decisions are made.http://tinyurl.com/yhs39ld

Broadband and Telehealth
At the Blandin Broadband conference the leaders of Eindhoven talked about broadband as a necessary tool to get services to all citizens and that one such application was telehealth. http://tinyurl.com/yc9cfbw New forms of telehealth are emerging each day, such as the Bluetooth wireless protocol that can provide faster and more reliable patient assessment data transfers between mobile devices, improvements to remote doctor visits for seniors http://tinyurl.com/ye4aut4 and a Minnesota-based medical lab portal where healthcare providers can use guides, worksheets and calculators as well as get remote support interpreting lab results. http://tinyurl.com/ye4aut4

Local Broadband News

Anoka County
Anoka County is pursing a public-private partnership to obtain funding for broadband services. http://tinyurl.com/yj6s9vu

Dakota County
Dakota County creates a video to promote broadband in the area. http://tinyurl.com/yb6p99v

Duluth
Duluth hosts a walking tour and conversation on local technology jobs at the Blandin broadband conference. http://tinyurl.com/yfvlzzk

Itasca County
Itasca County plans to leverage its 800 Mhz public safety network investment to improve local broadband services. http://tinyurl.com/ykxvb6n

Lake County
Lake County News-Chronicle champions Minnesota as a possible national leader in rural broadband. http://tinyurl.com/yjxtae3

Savage
Clear Wireless is expanding its wireless network to Savage. http://tinyurl.com/yhagtlu

St Louis & Lake County
Saint Louis County Board approved financial support for the Lake County Fiber Network to expand into the northeastern portions of Saint Louis County. http://tinyurl.com/ylxcqs4

Coleman’s Corner

Success comes easier with good partners. In my mind, good partners are committed to achieving shared goals and are willing to invest time and energy today for long term benefits. The state broadband task force emphasizes community-provider partnerships in market development strategies; this is an approach that the Blandin Foundation’s Get Broadband Program spurred in more than 25 rural communities with documented success.

Provider engagement in these initiatives was uneven. In some communities, providers were actively engaged as partners – serving on steering teams, sponsoring training programs and lending their technology expertise to teams of community leaders. Both community and provider benefitted from the partnership. In other places, despite active invitations from the community, providers were no-shows and the initiatives suffered as a result due to less knowledge of services, missed sales opportunities and fewer resources.

Use the state task force report as leverage to get your providers engaged in your community broadband initiatives. For best results, be specific in your requests to your providers. Ask them to attend a community meeting to discuss what current services are available and about future plans to upgrade services. Ask them to serve on a technology task force. Ask them to sponsor e-commerce training for small and medium size businesses, computer reuse programs for senior citizens or low-income families or an after school program for students interested in IT careers.

We would like to collect stories of the role that your providers play in your community. Which companies are active and helpful in your initiatives? Which companies are no-shows? Send your stories to broadband@blandinfoundation.org

It was great seeing folks at the conference. On my drive home I did some thinking about what we’d heard:
Getting from Here to There turned out to be a powerful theme. Our student guests from Mankato and Morris made it clear that they expect the world they step into to be wired; I think that will happen only if we do the work ourselves. That’s the main message I got from listening to our friends from the “Intelligent Communities” of Eindhoven and Fredericton. And even though the task is daunting, our morning discussions suggested that we’re making some progress.

It was encouraging to hear – from Mike O’Connor and John Stanoch, among others – a new optimism about prospects for deepened cooperation and collaboration, including in places like Grand Rapids and Monticello where they have failed in the past. As a number of community champions pointed out, public-private partnerships are one of the key strategies identified by the Task Force to help Minnesota achieve it’s “among top five” goal. Now we need to turn our attention to creating the regulatory environment and designing the incentives needed to help make more of that happen more easily. The Blandin Community Leadership Program’s adage, that leadership is ‘something you have to do yourself but can’t do alone,’ is truer than ever.

One aspiration everyone seems to share is to be “good ancestors” as Jim Baller said.

John O’Brien’s eye-popping presentation of a future in which my umbrella will change colors with the weather was arresting. And hearing about software that can save me from sending embarrassing emails late at night and teach me typing with the help of vampires was only vaguely reassuring. John’s challenge to see the contradictions in work place policies that simultaneously tolerate personal phone calls but forbid visits to Facebook (especially in the light of one student’s confession that 8 hours without Facebook would be a demotivating hardship for her), made me look long and hard at the face of the woman in his C.A.V.E. slide (Colleagues Against Virtually Everything). Is that me? Is that our organization? Our employers?

In the coming days we’ll be loading up the conference website with as much content as we can harvest from all the presentations. The Blandin Foundation’s Broadband Strategy Board is serious about responding to Mike O’Connor’s exhortation to scour the Task Force recommendations and be alert to ways we can contribute to the work of getting them done. There are lots of possibilities.

We heard about umbrellas that will change colors based on the weather forecast and tools that will help your plants remind you to water them. He also discussed the legitimate role of gaming in education. The observation I loved – students tend not to like classes that are too hard or games that are too easy. It’s seems like an opportunity to mashup some teachable moments. The session ended with a panel of students talking about how they use technology and what are their expectations for the future use – in the workplace especially.

I’m afraid I missed part of the session on the stimulus applications. I’ve read and heard about the various applications before – so what was interesting to me was to see how the initial drive to get broadband remains despite the mounting obstacles. Danna spoke about the referendum in Cook County. (There was a referendum to allow Cook County to provide phone service; it needed a super majority to pass; it got 56% and didn’t pass.) Yet they forge ahead. John Schultz sort of spoke for Windom and Leech Lake – to hear the need for broadband in Leech Lake, which is un/underserved by pretty much any definition was telling.

To hear about how Blandin worked so early on to get community participation across the state. Signs point to that sort of application being the focus of the next round of ARRA grants. Jack Geller pointed out that place and collaboration will mater in future rounds of funding.

What’s Here, What’s Coming? Bleeding Edge Video Technologies; Dustin Artwohl, Video Guidance

Tools, Policies and Practices: Twitter Here, LinkedIn There, Facebook Everywhere! Social Media Policies for Organizations. Steve Boland, Nonprofit Assistance Fund; Barry LaGrave, MN House Public Information Services; Richard Fong, MN Department of Health. Moderated by Ann Treacy, Treacy Information Services.

Better Together. Lessons from the Trenches on Finding the Right Partners and Creating Connections that Last; Pat Medure, Itasca County Sheriff; Matt Grose, Itasca Area Schools Collaborative, Maggie Montgomery, Northern Community Radio, KAXE; Kathy Dodge, Grand Rapids Area Nonprofit Directors Group. Moderated by Bernadine Joselyn, Blandin Foundation.

Here are the presentations, videos and notes:

What’s Here, What’s Coming? Bleeding Edge Video Technologies; Dustin Artwohl, Video Guidance

Tools, Policies and Practices: Twitter Here, LinkedIn There, Facebook Everywhere! Social Media Policies for Organizations. Steve Boland, Nonprofit Assistance Fund; Barry LaGrave, MN House Public Information Services; Richard Fong, MN Department of Health. Moderated by Ann Treacy, Treacy Information Services.

Barry LaGrave: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDtvmdpLJhM

Richard Fong: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hoq6pRUiCQs

Steve Boland: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7eMMLO2LIA

Better Together. Lessons from the Trenches on Finding the Right Partners and Creating Connections that Last; Pat Medure, Itasca County Sherriff; Matt Grose, Itasca Area Schools Collaborative, Maggie Montgomery, Northern Community Radio, KAXE; Kathy Dodge, Grand Rapids Area Nonprofit Director’s Group. Moderated by Bernadine Joselyn, Blandin Foundation.

Video on how the students use broadband today:

Here is the introduction from moderator/task force member/former Blandin strategy board member, Mike O’Connor. In it he addresses Jim Baller’s critique of the Task Force report expressed the previous evening.

Here are comments from the Task Force members:

Chris Swanson – represented rural, small city, small business and started with goal of ubiquitous FTTH. Still stands behind importance of ubiquity. We often looked at Minnesota as a whole, which is different from sum of the parts. Private investment has done a good job but public-private partnerships are needed to reach far corners.

Mary Ellen Wells – represents rural healthcare as CEO of hospitals. Hope that by 2015 we can take broadband for granted. Access and quality are very important, especially in healthcare.

Craig Taylor – IT Director at HealthPartners – as a large business we have the technology/broadband we need but we need more across the state for smaller businesses. The speeds we chose were based on applications that are being used today.

Dan McElroy – Commissioner of DEED to represent economic development issues. Economic development issues have changed; access to the Internet is a utility today. We need reliable access to attract/retain businesses. Need to be specific about where access is in community – even outside a town; those folks 5-10 miles outside town need to know about access. Quality of Place is a big seller for Minnesota – broadband helps to weigh the quality of place more heavily. Check out MNPro,

John Stanoch – President of Qwest in MN & ND. The process of convening and the task force was very valuable – both meeting, and research done by members. Speed factors included need for speed. We need an ongoing dialog to keep this in the mind of Minnesota. We need an ongoing entity. Technology changes and to be successful need to plan too. Universal consensus on universal access was vital. Also we made some good plans for demand too. The equity of supply and demand will carry of forward.

Glenn Wilson – Commissioner from Department of Commerce – around the state we’ve found that manufacturers, doctors, others are using broadband and need broadband. The task force report will help focus the legislature.

From Blandin Broadband Strategy Team

John Linnell – Healthcare background – a big concern in healthcare is that healthcare is driven by connectivity; interoperability is essential with transient patents (including snow birds); we need symmetry; but they are all expensive drive. Healthcare is a cost sharing process and the patient is the one who pays. Sometimes the $2 aspirin is paying for more than the aspirin – sometimes it subsidizes connectivity. We address metro and small community needs – but not necessarily rural needs. We can keep people in their homes with telepresence – we catch things faster with home care. We need high speed, we need symmetric, we need affordable.

Nancy Hoffman – from Benton County, half of the county is well served. Unserved area heard complaints from businesses and schools. Ubiquity is very important. Speed is important too – Jim Baller’s presentation reinforced that. Changes come so quickly with broadband we need to keep up. We always ask businesses about broadband need; we are losing businesses to broadband-rich areas. We need local champions for broadband; we need users in government.

Questions:

What would it take to be 5th or 15th in the world?

Well documented in Task Force report (pg 56).

Did the Task Force deal with cutbacks?

We recognized that in areas that are expensive to serve the government provided incentives. There are some federal incentives too. One problem is the current definition of rural are (more than 50 miles from city).

The stimulus funding is a drop in the bucket; we should look at USF and think about transitioning voice subsidies to filling broadband need.

How do we encourage public-private partnership?

There’s going to have to be more p/p partnership. It’s not necessarily popular, but will be important. Local officials need to understand importance of broadband.

There are some examples of efforts (Monticello, North St Paul…) but it depends on what the local government and the incumbents can do together.

We’re hoping that as the Task Force has agreed maybe we can start a new trend where there’s more consensus, more collaboration. In the short term, we need a better discussion about where the need is – and what are the resources. The incumbents are other providers need to work more closely with economic developers – we can provide service to businesses that want/need it. Minnesota should not lose businesses or jobs due to lack of broadband.

An ongoing entity might help that communication.

Where do you think money will be spent in the future?

Look to page (80), we have a sources of funds list. These will/should serve (in this order) unserved, underserved – the rest. The RUS is a good place to go. It has been and it should be even better as the ARRA funding thins the herd.

I highlighted one statement above because – and this is just my opinion – I think that consensus and collaboration are two important things addressed/demonstrated by the Task Force. They modeled it in their recommendations; they model it in their public appearances.

“I don’t think I could go back to my small hometown after living with the broadband in Mankato.”

“If I don’t have broadband I’m going to die.”

Notes from Eindhoven
Interesting perspective – Eindhoven talks about broadband and technology as a necessity. One that people might not think they want – but they need to receive services. “Think of every customer as the 75 year old who doesn’t think they want a computer/broadband but want who wants the healthcare, entertainment, information services brought via broadband.” Eindhoven stresses the importance of cooperation – and focus. They say not to be restricted by borders. Finally, leadership is very important. They had 4 mayors, education leaders, CEOs of larger and small businesses involved in this project.

Each home has 100Mbps symmetrical connection. Everyone, everything is connected. It’s owned 95% by citizens. You need to offer phone, TV and Internet – but phone first. Not everyone has a computer; everyone has a phone. You need a financeable business plan. Businesses need fast ROI – communities do not. With a long term investment plan, fiber is cheap. $2000 per home stretched over 20 years is not expensive. Connecting schools, churches and other community institutes motivates residents to get and stay connected. We use language that people use – 100Mbps is not that meaningful for most folks. We get local help that can provide customer care. Finally you need high quality, reliable network.

Commercial operators reach rural areas may not be happy – but as citizens we need service and we’re not concerned with the commercial goals. If they want to serve urban areas; you serve rural areas too – it’s solidarity.

Notes from Fredericton
They were too dependent on institutional growth. Started to focus on technology in 1992. They were slow and expensive – so they formed our own telco. They started a co-op that competed with incumbents. They got customers to pay for subscriptions in advance – that was their starting funds. Public WiFi is free. They don’t charge people to walk on the sidewalks, why would they charge to use WiFi. Everyone is now connected; there was initial pushback from incumbents but now they are benefitting with increased use and demand. Collaboration, cooperation, communication – is key to long term project.

They serve every home and we worked with commercial partners to reach rural areas.

People can get free WiFi. The intention is to give people public access. They don’t try to flood/reach residential areas. There are areas where people can get a signal – but the intention is that people would pay for home access through local providers.

Cost for 100 Mbps – in Eindhoven it’s 60 euros; in NB is $150.

Here is a presentation from Eindhoven created for the conference, but not actually given:

If you want to see any video from the conference, please check out our playlist. http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=58A5AB3B9FD14BD7

Below I will post Tweets from the conference. I’m not sure if they will be valuable out of context, but I wanted to at least capture them. (Sometimes my librarian roots show.) In the spirit of mutual leanring I wanted to share a little bit about the Tweets:

This is the first time we’ve made a concerted effort to Tweet during the conference (#mnbb09). We had 140 Tweets over the two days, mostly stemming from 5 Twitter accounts. Two folks Tweeted questions or comments who did not attend the event.

Tweets show up in reverse chronological order:

1. BFBroadband: Students say: “This class is too hard” & “This game is too easy”. Is this the perfect storm for tying engagement and entertainment? #mnbb09 1 day ago from web
2. AnnT: #mnbb09 Bad classes are too hard; bad games are too easy. Hmm – there’s a blind date that needs to happen. 1 day ago from web
3. BFBroadband: OMG – you can get a device to put in your plant that will send you a tweet when it needs water! #mnbb09 1 day ago from web
4. AnnT: #mnbb09 google tagging – going to look into that later 1 day ago from web
5. AnnT: #mnbb09 – http://tinyurl.com/am4apd younger generation happy to sign up; older more interested in privacy 1 day ago from web
6. BFBroadband: Today’s students expect: access, vast resources, autonomy, immediate results, engagement, and entertainment #mnbb09 1 day ago from web
7. AnnT: @geekandi raising the goal from 20Mbps (to 100 or Gig) was the main tenet of #mnbb09 keynote last night – Jim Baller 1 day ago from web
8. geekandi: @AnnT #mnbb09 20Mbps down sucks – raise the bar, don't try to minimize! 1 day ago from Tweetie
9. BFBroadband: You can not make assumptions about age and technology – age does not matter. John O’Brien MN State Colleges #mnbb09 1 day ago from web
10. JohnCShepard: RT @AnnT: #mnbb09 “place matters” Jack Geller talking about collaboration & broadband (UMN Crookston EDA Center director) 1 day ago from TweetDeck
11. AnnT: #mnbb09 “place matters” Jack Geller talking about collaboration & broadband (in terms of ARRA) 1 day ago from web
12. AnnT: #mnbb09 “broadband collaboration stems from spirit of rural/urban connection based in history of ag exchanges” @ UrekaBroadband 1 day ago from web
13. AnnT: @geekandi #mnbb09 MN BB Task Force did a great job of modeling providers/local govs working together led by member moderator @OConnorStP 1 day ago from web
14. AnnT: @geekandi #mnbb09 – the BB Task Force is shooting for 10Mbps up/20mbps down by 2015 – also shooting to have MN rank in top 5 for BB in US 1 day ago from web
15. BFBroadband: Blandin Foundation’s stimulus application – MN Intelligent Rural Communities project – focuses on building a culture of use. #mnbb09 1 day ago from web
16. BFBroadband: Stimulus in MN: Jackie Vanasse’s big hope is to change the whole future of the Leech Lake Reservation, starting with the children #mnbb09 1 day ago from web
17. BFBroadband: Stimulus in MN – Danna MacKenzie on Cook County's grant for federal funds to lay fiber network and lessons learned along the way #mnbb09 1 day ago from web
18. JenniferBevis: Last call: govt use of 800 mHz bandwidth local or statewide? Medure – eventually statewide, 57 of 87 counties signed on now #mnbb09 1 day ago from web
19. BFBroadband: Final word on web 2.0 Tools, Policies, and Practices – “It's Cool Stuff!” Richard Fong. #mnbb09 1 day ago from web
20. JenniferBevis: Medure: It’s about relationships, relationships, relationships! #mnbb09 1 day ago from web
21. JenniferBevis: Q and A Medure: keep searching for the right person in government…if you hit a brick wall, don’t stop! #mnbb09 1 day ago from web
22. BFBroadband: RT @JenniferBevis: Grose: “he people who need BB most are those who live in the outlands” – makes affordability and access key. #mnbb09 1 day ago from web
23. JenniferBevis: Dodge: Orchestra clips on YouTube, too http://bit.ly/3OdT8d Blog, too http://itascaarts.com/ Who knew? (I didn’t…) #mnbb09 1 day ago from web
24. TraciGangl: #mnbb09 Erikson: SOCRATES used video conf to allow students to watch a live autopsy & knee replacement surgery. 1 day ago from Echofon
25. BFBroadband: Common sense needs to be used when making policy decisions around web 2.0. If you do not want it out there, don’t. #mnbb09 1 day ago from web
26. JenniferBevis: Dodge: IO is growing – resonates with value of being out there on the internet. #mnbb09 1 day ago from web
27. JenniferBevis: Dodge: Collaboration resulted in Grand Rapids Arts http://bit.ly/2fo8oI Took off 3 wks ago — REAL time!! #mnbb09 1 day ago from web
28. BFBroadband: What is your process? Who is your audience? How will it be moderated? Who will maintain it? Questions before diving into web 2.0 #mnbb09 1 day ago from web
29. JenniferBevis: Dodge: Itasca County nonprofits banded together for joint advertising, including online #mnbb09 1 day ago from web
30. TraciGangl: RT @JenniferBevis: Grose: “he people who need BB most are those who live in the outlands” – makes affordability and access key. #mnbb09 1 day ago from Echofon
31. JenniferBevis: Last up: Kathy Dodge, Itasca Orchestra http://bit.ly/MrNfj arts needs connection, too. #mnbb09 1 day ago from web
32. BFBroadband: Make policy decisions about us as people of the workplace – for work create a separate account & give only relevant info for work. #mnbb09 1 day ago from web
33. JenniferBevis: Grose: passionate about bringing opportunity to rural! #mnbb09 1 day ago from web
34. JenniferBevis: Grose: “he people who need BB most are those who live in the outlands” – makes affordability and access key. #mnbb09 1 day ago from web
35. JenniferBevis: Grose: learning time on the bus ride? Yes! #mnbb09 1 day ago from web
36. BFBroadband: Making a personal connection to someone who’s already living there makes a potential home more attractive. #mnbb09 1 day ago from web
37. JenniferBevis: Grose: online learning has grown tremendously — brings Mandarin Chinese to Deer River #mnbb09 1 day ago from web
38. JenniferBevis: Grose: landed new teachers this year because of the area &  broadband connections #mnbb09 1 day ago from web
39. TraciGangl: Next up, Dale Erickson from the SOCRTES education consortium. #mnbb09 1 day ago from Echofon
40. JenniferBevis: Grose: IASC keeps in mind National Educational Technology Standards to transform school systms to meet future needs. #mnbb09 1 day ago from web
41. JenniferBevis: Grose: IASC keeps in mind National Educational Technology Standards to transform school systms to meet future needs. #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
42. BFBroadband: Asked folks to use the tools they are already using to say what makes their neighborhood / block a really cool place to live. #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
43. TraciGangl: Video Guidance: Video conf equipment prices will continue to drop. #mnbb09 2 days ago from Echofon
44. JenniferBevis: Grose: IASC started with owning fiber, has expanded to other services. #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
45. BFBroadband: Steve's presenting a case study about Vacant No More; a project in St. Paul to address issue of vacant buildings. #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
46. JenniferBevis: Grose: county's radio system good for bussing students – yay! #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
47. JenniferBevis: Up next: Matt Grose, Supt, Deer River schools: http://bit.ly/ZXXmN talking about IASC http://bit.ly/2feaQd #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
48. BFBroadband: “You're in the water, you'd better learn to swim” Google and Facebook are numbers 1 and 2 as top visited sites – they are “sticky” #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
49. BFBroadband: Steve Boland from Nonprofits Assistance Fund is on deck to talk about how communities use web 2.0 tools for very specific ends. #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
50. BFBroadband: @KAXE Maggie's presenting the Blandin Broadband conference. #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
51. TraciGangl: Video Guidance: When video conferencing gets as easy to use as cellular technology, adoption will increase. #mnbb09 2 days ago from Echofon
52. JohnCShepard: RT @TraciGangl: Dan McElroy, “we consider broadband access a utility.”. #mnbb09 (MN Economic Development head) 2 days ago from TweetDeck
53. JenniferBevis: Montgomery: 18 sites are part of Iron Range Community Internet!! http://bit.ly/2TqHYw #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
54. BFBroadband: RT @JenniferBevis: Next presenter: Maggie Montgomery KAXE Northern Community Radio http://bit.ly/wxSVU #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
55. BFBroadband: How does the Dept of Health deal with the issue of what to do with blog comments? They decided not to allow comments at all. #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
56. JCShepard: RT @JenniferBevis KAXE is 1 of 2 orgs ntlly “commuity information” model. Includes internet: http://bit.ly/wxSVU http://bit.ly/MtWmR #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
57. TraciGangl: Different video conf applications available for different budgets. #mnbb09 2 days ago from Echofon
58. JenniferBevis: Montgomery: they are communication nurturers – great concept for rural use of Web 2.0 #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
59. TraciGangl: How can the home user connect to pro video systems using Skype, etc.?#mnbb09 2 days ago from Echofon
60. JenniferBevis: Montgomery: KAXE is 1 of 2 orgs ntlly “community information” model. Includes internet: http://bit.ly/wxSVU http://bit.ly/MtWmR #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
61. TraciGangl: RT @JenniferBevis: Conf themes heard loud-n-clear “in the trenches” communicate, partners are powerful for progress, future is now! #mnbb09 2 days ago from Echofon
62. BFBroadband: Richard Fong from MN Dept of Health is talking about the legal point of view for using web 2.0 technology. #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
63. JenniferBevis: Conference themes coming thru loud-n-clear “in the trenches” – communicate, partners are powerful for progress, the future is now! #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
64. TraciGangl: Use video conference to create education and healthcare consortiums. #mnbb09 2 days ago from Echofon
65. JenniferBevis: Next presenter: Maggie Montgomery KAXE Northern Community Radio http://bit.ly/wxSVU #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
66. BFBroadband: “To tweet or not to tweet” – House Services decided they'd stick one way communication #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
67. JenniferBevis: Medure: $10 million project that cost $1.9 million direct costs. Rest was “all our money” one way or another. #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
68. TraciGangl: Pine Tech College using video with 13 school districts to provide access to education not available in their districts. #mnbb09 2 days ago from Echofon
69. JenniferBevis: Medure: project has attracted interest from cell providers, power companies, others in the area. It’s a community resource now. #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
70. BFBroadband: They are an original source creating content, and decided not to follow others with their official twitter account. #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
71. JenniferBevis: Medure: started with little project to update public safety, it has grown since then. http://bit.ly/1hnzP9 http://bit.ly/MrlvD #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
72. BFBroadband: Started promoting their twitter account April 14, 2009. At that time they had 23 followers; last week they had 667 followers. #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
73. JenniferBevis: Pat Medure Itasca County MN sheriff: enhanced emergency response system required partnerships, fiber-to-tower pjct still in play #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
74. BFBroadband: Who should post tweets? They limit to four staff – assistant editor, publications coordinator, director and assistant editor #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
75. BFBroadband: Their site is @MNHouseInfo – MN House Services tweets their content only. #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
76. BFBroadband: MN House Public Information Services first did a “soft launch” of their twitter account. #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
77. BFBroadband: Barry LaGrave MN House Public Information Services is talking about the many ways they communicate with their public #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
78. TraciGangl: #mnbb09 Bleeding Edge Video Tech session. Video is becoming main stream and is becoming a reality for more. 2 days ago from Echofon
79. JenniferBevis: Tweeting from the Blandin Foundation broadband conference: #mnbb09: http://tinyurl.com/yfkxu64 2 days ago from web
80. Ouch_: Props to u of m morris students for their broadband in rural mn presentation… #mnbb09 2 days ago from TwitterBerry
81. BFBroadband: Thank you Senator Klobuchar for your support of high-speed braodband and sending your greetings to conference participants! #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
82. geekandi: @AnnT #mnbb09 define adequate speeds please. I work from home, 2Mbps sucks (I pay extra for that) for moving documents to my office 2 days ago from Tweetie
83. geekandi: @AnnT #mnbb09 needs to get their act together and stop the fleecing by the 'broadband' providers to consumers. 2 days ago from Tweetie
84. AnnT: “Students want to stay in their rural area – why are we pushing them out with poor technology and broadband?” Morris student #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
85. TraciGangl: Mary M is an expert microphone fixer! #mnbb09 2 days ago from Echofon
86. AnnT: #mnbb09 Minnesota should not lose businesses or jobs due to lack of broadband. 2 days ago from web
87. AnnT: #mnbb09 what's important? Symmetric or adequate speeds up and down. BB Task Force went with adequate speeds over symmetry 2 days ago from web
88. TraciGangl: John Stanoch-every Minnesotan should have access to B-band. I agree! Would love to have it at home-something better than satellite. #mnbb09 2 days ago from Echofon
89. TraciGangl: Dan McElroy, “we consider broadband access a utility.”. #mnbb09 2 days ago from Echofon
90. AnnT: #mnbb09 “Economic develop issues have changed; access to the Internet is a utility today” Dan McElroy 2 days ago from web
91. AnnT: “Hope that by 2015 we can take broadband for granted” from Mary Ellen Wells – I like that! #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
92. AnnT: #mnbb09 – so far TF members seem to appreciate need for ubiquity. It’s a goal that everyone seems proud of. 2 days ago from web
93. AnnT: @Ouch_ look forward to seeing you at #mnbb09 Have a fun/safe drive 2 days ago from web
94. AnnT: #mnbb09 @OConnorStP addresses Jim Baller's comments – MN task force got to speed goal via consensus & included rank goal 2 days ago from web
95. Ouch_: Nice drive to Duluth for Blandin Foundation Conference. Will talk about social media tools and policy. #mnbb09 2 days ago from TwitterBerry
96. BFBroadband: Students from Mankato are presenting. New Ulm uses technology to increase their quality of life in health care and education. #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
97. AnnT: I don’t think I could go back to my small hometown after living with the broadband in Mankato – quote from student at #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
98. BFBroadband: Fredricton’s free wifi “Freddy Zone” service does not extend into their neighborhoods so as not to compete with the private sector #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
99. eastnary: “We don’t charge people to walk on our sidewalks; why would we charge them to be connected to essential infrastructure?”(broadband) #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
100. BFBroadband: When one sector succeeds, all succeed, and cooperation increases. #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
101. BFBroadband: Agreement between Fredricton and Eindhoven – cooperation among all stakeholders, from all sectors, is key to their success. #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
102. AnnT: Fredericton says Collaboration, cooperation, communication – is key to long term project. #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
103. AnnT: Cost for 100 Mbps – in Eindhoven it’s 60 euros; in NB is $150. #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
104. BFBroadband: Fredericton had the first high-speed free wireless in Canada #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
105. JohnCShepard: RT @BFBroadband: Getting from hre 2 thr means: develop a comprehensive plan of 5 -10 years, dnt let borders B a restriction. #mnbb09 2 days ago from TweetDeck
106. BFBroadband: Moving on to Fredricton, New Brunswick and Mayor Woodside for their story #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
107. BFBroadband: Pillar: 6 Need a high quality, always on network #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
108. AnnT: Connecting schools, churches and other community institutes motivates residents to get and stay connected. #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
109. BFBroadband: Pillar 5: Communicate! Use words that people can understand, not technical jargon #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
110. BFBroadband: Pillar 4: connect to churches, hospitals, and city hall #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
111. AnnT: Bus need fast ROI – communities don't w/ a long term investment plan, fiber is cheap. $2000 per home over 20 years is not expensive. #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
112. TraciGangl: RT @BFBroadband: 90% of population in the Netherlands has a fiber to the home connection #mnbb09 2 days ago from Echofon
113. BFBroadband: 7 pillars of success number 2: offer 3 services of TV, Internet, and phone #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
114. TraciGangl: RT @AnnT: Cooperation, focus, no borders, leadership, strategy, implementation – tips from Eindhoven on becoming a smart community. #mnbb09 2 days ago from Echofon
115. BFBroadband: 7 success pillars; pillar 1: create an “us” feeling to create the netword #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
116. eastnary: to follow Ann Treacy's fabulous tweets from the Blandin Broadband Conference today: #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
117. BFBroadband: 90% of population in the Netherlands has a fiber to the home connection #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
118. BFBroadband: Kees Rover: Google “Minnesota” and “Dutch” and you get “Dutch Elm Disease” #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
119. AnnT: Cooperation, focus, no borders, leadership, strategy, implementation – tips from Eindhoven on becoming a smart community. #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
120. BFBroadband: Via video confernece, we have Elies Lemkes-Straver, Brainport Operations and Kees Rovers, Close the Gap, Eindhoven, the Netherlands #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
121. TraciGangl: Check out @fredecity. A green smart city. #mnbb09 2 days ago from Echofon
122. AnnT: #mnbb09 ennovations – new word for me from Fredericton NB – one ICF community talking at the conference www.intelligentcommunity.org 2 days ago from web
123. TraciGangl: Watching videos about 2 of the top 10 intelligent communities in the world. #mnbb09 2 days ago from Echofon
124. BFBroadband: Bill Coleman's kicking off the first session – a video hookup with reps from Intelligent Communities in Eindhoven and Frederickton #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
125. TraciGangl: At #mnbb09. Broadband access is a NEED, not a want. 2 days ago from Echofon
126. BFBroadband: Our greatest task is to be good ansestors. Jonas Salk, MD #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
127. AnnT: our greatest task is to be good ancestors – and build the broadband we and they need. #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
128. BFBroadband: RT @AnnT: US broadband is slower & more expensive than world leaders; 46% of rural households use broadband #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
129. AnnT: US broadband is slower & more expensive than world leaders; 46% of rural households use broadband #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
130. AnnT: broadbaand use fosters community involvement! #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
131. AnnT: the futue is here just not widely distributed – opening remarks at #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
132. JCShepard: RT @AnnT Liberal Arts degrees are important! You need to be able to learn the next technology. Creativity is important. #mnbb09 2 days ago from web
133. AnnT: Liberal Arts degrees are important! You need to be able to learn the next technology. Creativity is important. #mnbb09 3 days ago from web
134. AnnT: For business relocation, lifestyle is great, but it's not enough to get bus or people to Duluth. It’s a business decision first. #mnbb09 3 days ago from web
135. AnnT: Why live in Duluth? Biking, arts, outdoors, great people … and technology makes jobs possible. #mnbb09 3 days ago from web
136. AnnT: Coopetition or Co-opetition is a neologism coined to describe cooperative competition. Hmmm. #mnbb09 3 days ago from web
137. AnnT: Are communities prepared to handle Boomer retirement? Have the next generation been taught well enough to lead? #mnbb09 3 days ago from web
138. AnnT: True Ride skateboard morphs into Epicurean cutting boards http://www.epicureancs.com/#about.php – one fun story from #mnbb09 3 days ago from web
139. AnnT: great tour of http://zeitgeistarts.com/ as part of #mnbb09 – what a great art boon to Duluth, the artsy shipping town 3 days ago from web
140. JohnCShepard: Wish I was in Duluth for MN Broadband Conference #mnbb09 3 days ago from LinkedIn Status