As originally posted on the Blandin on Broadband blog…

Stirring the Pot

Words count!  I heard that message again and again at the Border to Border Broadband Conference.  What do providers want to hear to entice their interest in partnerships?  What do county commissioners need to hear to spur their commitment of funds?  And what do the digitally excluded and non-adopters need to hear to get them to attend training and learn new skills?   Messaging is both hard work and time consuming.

Equal to the task of finding the right message is identifying the most effective messenger and determining the best timing for your message delivery.  Our BBCs learned some specific messaging strategies at the end of the conference as Blandin staff Alie Mcinerney led them through a “Planning to Win” campaign planning session.   Ali is a great instructor, but we learned that not even the Best of our BBCs could take in any more information by Friday afternoon!  People need to be ready to receive a message for it to sink in.  It’s a good thing that you can find the campaign planning tools at www.planningtowin.org.

 

One very positive trend for broadband messaging is the growing list of successful broadband partnerships.  These provide clear examples and provide quick confidence of the path to success.  You can shape your message by using quality examples.  You can find convincing messengers by asking project leaders to share their stories.  You cannot communicate too much or too often and you need to realize the long-term approach required for success.

 

If you are interested in “planning to win” your local broadband campaign, let us know.  We will be working with local teams to help them move their conversation forward.

As originally posted in Blandin eNews…

The new broadband maps published by the DEED Office of Broadband Development are like a step back in time.  More of Minnesota is considered “unserved” now than previously, breaking a trend that consistently had more Minnesotans covered by adequate broadband over time.  Providers certainly did not shut down services, so what happened?

The FCC defines broadband as 25 MBPS download and 3 MBPS upload, way up from the previous 4/1 standard.  Years ago, the original MN broadband task force set a standard of 10/5.  At the time, that standard was considered reasonable, but challenging.  It is interesting that the FCC standard is 2.5 times the state standard for download, but the state upload standard is almost double the FCC upload standard.

The state broadband task force will be reviewing the state standard this year.  Should the adopt the FCC standard?  Is a step back from the download speed the right direction?  What would be the impact of a 25/10 standard?  What are the cost implications for providers to reach the standard?

Finally, what is going to happen with the CAF2 funding?  Providers will be required to meet a 10/1 standard with those funds.  I hope that someone at the FCC sees the inconsistency of providing funding that does not meet their own broadband standard.

Standards and policies matter!  Let the decision makers and task force members know  how you feel about these standards.

As originally posted on Blandin on Broadband eNews…

Stirring the Pot

I’m a big MN Gopher football fan, suffering through some pretty bad teams over the years. But this year, the team has played better and has won some big games. Four years into his stay, Coach Kill has emphasized building a program “Brick by Brick” and it seems that they are doing just that. The bricks are skill, strength and determination. Progress comes fast or slow, or in bursts. Sometimes there are setbacks.

Community broadband initiatives are similar long-term initiatives requiring a strong foundation. The bricks are leadership, educated consumers, feasible alternatives and trusted partnerships. A community cannot just purchase these items off the shelf. Like the Gophers, progress is achieved only through hard work led by smart leaders and guided by a plan. If your community wants to start building your broadband initiative, consider seeking assistance through Blandin Foundation’s Community Broadband Resources program. Click here for more information: http://broadband.blandinfoundation.org/programs/community-broadband-resources-program

I have been a fan of the Intelligent Community forum for quite a while now. I have attended their annual conference many times and led Dakota County’s Intelligent Communities’ initiative that led to three consecutive years recognition as a Smart 21 Intelligent Community. I also brought the Intelligent Community concept to the Blandin Foundation to serve as the framework for their Minnesota Intelligent Rural Community project. Most recently, I worked with ICF co-founder Robert Bell on a project with three rural Louisiana communities. I provide all of this background to let readers know that I have a favorable bias towards the ICF concept and team.

I recently read Brain Gain: How Innovative cities create job growth in an age of disruption. The authors, ICF co-founders Robert Bell, John Jung and Louis Zacharilla, provide numerous interesting stories about communities creating their own positive future. The stories are quite varied, but share common threads woven together into the quilt of the Intelligent Community elements – broadband, innovation, knowledge work, digital inclusion and marketing/advocacy.

The stories are from great urban centers, suburbs and rural regional center communities. The common element is smart and sometimes heroic leadership, often shared across business, government and education sectors. Shared vision, collaborative strategy, long-term commitment-these are at the heart of the all of these success stories. All involve creating an environment that can support business development and entrepreneurship. The themes are similar to those expressed in the book “The Rain Forest” by Hwang and Horrowitt.

With a visit today to the FDR and MLK memorials, it reminded me that the ICF founders have always had a strong commitment to social equity as expressed through the Digital Inclusion ICF element. In fact, this book makes the case that creating and supporting an inclusive, innovative, well-skilled and well-connected workforce may be the most important strategy that any community, large or small, should prioritize.

I recommend this book for a number of audiences- for community leaders wanting to learn about success stories; for community economic developers who want to know how broadband and digital inclusion fit with more traditional economic development elements of innovation, workforce and marketing; and for community broadband advocates who know that broadband is important, but not sure how the full benefits of current and prospective fiber networks can be realized.

Applying the Intelligent Community framework established by the Intelligent Community Forum (www.intelligentcommunity.org) to rural communities is a specialty of Community Technology Advisors.  Bill Coleman brought the Intelligent Community framework to the design and implementation of the Minnesota Intelligent Rural Community (MIRC) initiative of the Blandin Foundation.   based on his experience leading Dakota County to three straight years of recognition as a “Smart 21” global Intelligent Community.  During MIRC, eleven rural Minnesota communities used the ICF framework to drive broadband-based community development efforts.  MIRC was recognized by the Minnesota High Technology Association with the state’s Innovative Collaboration award.  The Intelligent Community framework includes five elements: broadband, knowledge workforce, innovation, digital inclusion and marketing/advocacy.

Bill recently collaborated with the Intelligent Community Forum in rural Louisiana.  After ICF staff delivered workshops and the communities gathered benchmarking data, Bill traveled to Louisiana to work with the communities of Natchitoches, Washington Parish and Vidalia.  Each community had a unique set of assets and circumstances around broadband access and adoption.  Bill conducted community workshops with key stakeholders in each community to help them develop priority projects and develop partnerships.  It was an interesting and challenging project as Bill worked to understand each community’s characters, culture and priorities.  After the workshops, Bill prepared meeting summaries, provided recommendations and maintained a mentor relationship with each community.

It was great to see the various ecosystems of rural Louisiana and experience the Louisiana lifestyle outside of the standard New Orleans tourist sites.  Great food and excellent hospitality made the trip and work enjoyable and memorable.  It is fun to see the communities keep the momentum going forward, particularly on network improvements and digital inclusion efforts.  It was a great experience to continue CTAC’s relationship with the Intelligent Community Forum.  Thanks to them for the great opportunity to partner!  You can learn more about ICF at www.intelligentcommunity.org.

As first posted in the Blandin Foundation eNews…

In the community broadband world, I enjoy my work with the broadband evangelists who work very hard to promote access and use of technology in their communities and regions.  Over the years, I have seen the great results that these champions have brought to their communities.

On occasion, however, I hear the tone of frustration in their voices and emails.  “No one listens!”  “I can’t get people to participate!”  “No one is showing up!”

My advice for these champions is to take a step back and change the conversation with the following approach…

• Instead of inviting people to your meetings, ask them if you can attend their meetings.
• Instead of promoting your technology ideas, ask them for their technology plan.
• Instead of asking them for help with your project, offer assistance on theirs.
• Move your project and team members from the center of universe and start orbiting the other universes in your community and region.
• Rather than start something new, support and influence existing organizations and initiatives.

With this approach, the path may not always seem so straight-forward, but it will be forward and in the right direction.  And it may turn out better than you had ever imagined!

Registration is now open for the annual Blandin Broadband conference, Connected Communities: Making the Net Work for Minnesota. The Blandin Broadband Conference has a reputation as the place for those interested in community broadband, especially from rural Minnesota, to network and learn from their peers. Connect with the knowledge, strategies and opportunities to maximize broadband initiatives in your community.

The keynote speaker is Robert Bell, Executive Director of Intelligent Community Forum. He will explain how Intelligent Communities – whether through crisis or foresight – come to understand the enormous challenges of the Broadband Economy and create an economy capable of prospering in it. Robert Bell shares stories from around the world relevant to our communities right here in rural Minnesota.
CTAC Founder Bill Coleman is on the conference planning committee.