Tuesday SMBS had their BBC Strut Your Stuff celebration of broadband expansion events in the area. It was nice to meet the people behind the curtain and to hear about the success they had. You can learn more from the PPT and my notes below. We also got an update from the MN Public Broadband Alliance – I will post that video tomorrow.

Online presence for everyone – a chance to teach and/or work with local businesses to help them get online with business profiles on social media channels. They brought 28 businesses to Facebook, 10 to Twitter, and 21 to LinkedIn.

Social Media Breakfasts to help community focus on regional-based promotion.

PCs for People – A series of events giving computers to people in the communities.

iPads & eReaders in the Library – plan to include classes and to loan out the devices to places like senior center and preschools. They worked with others to find a good way to set up the devices safely, securely and in a way that is manageable.

Centrally managed community Hotspot – hotspots generate foot traffic for hosts and have been well received by users. Interested in going to new places – like maybe senior centers.

Ride the Wave – a region-wide promotional tool that encourages new people and businesses.

Update on SMBS – they are currently cash flowing and the board recently approved a network upgrade from 1 Gig to 10 Gig – because they need it!