Twenty or so people attended last nights public meeting (Fox 8 coverage) about Google’s ultra-high speed broadband network.
I attended the meeting and tossed out the idea of creating a municipal Wi-Fi network that would provide revenue for community based projects. My reasoning for suggesting an idea of this nature was to highlight the need to come up with a point of differentiation – something that will help Greensboro stand out from the crowd.
I don’t know about others in attendance, but I left the meeting wanting more and desiring to know what’s next. The City has a hand in the project, but so do various others (and collaboration is great!) and there’s no one clearly leading the charge, or a collective list of what’s been done and what needs to be done.
Several people (myself included) envisioned last nights meeting as being a big brainstorming session, but it ended up simply being a public comment session. There were engaged minds in attendance, but everyone left without any type of charge or an idea of what is next to come.
Current Progress
Here’s what Greensboro has thus far:
- A box
- Facebook group
- Google4GSO.com, a Web site that aggregates conversations about the Google project
Of those, the only thing that is currently owned by the city is… the box.
A Plan is Needed
This isn’t meant to be a dig towards the City (Action has been quite swift thus far), but for a project of this nature they need to develop a quick action “Google for Greensboro” marketing plan… and I just don’t know that they’ve ever had to do something like that before. Or maybe I should be clearer and define it as a Web 2.0 era marketing plan. If the City were fully prepared for this type of deal, yesterday’s post (video specifically) about Wilson, NC would have seemed like old news, but it wasn’t.
In addition, I think the City needs to have ownership of the Facebook group and develop an official Web site for the project. This would bring it all “in house” and make it a bit more official. At that point the City could possibly do a collective promotion through the various channels at their disposal (details would be worked out in the previously mentioned plan) and get mass community support.
Official Web site
And let me circle back on the Web site really quick. Apparently this site was in the works, but then certain folks griped about who was leading the charge (a non profit) and it has since haulted (or so I’m told). To those that griped - unless you’re planning to develop it yourself or provide funding… do the project a favor and put your energy towards something that will help things move forward.
Leadership
Denise Turner with the City is involved. Various Greensboro bloggers and other citizens are actively engaged. the Mayor Councilmembers Robbie Perkins, Danny Thompson and Nancy Vaughan were in attendance last night. But there still isn’t anyone clearly leading the charge.
Speaking of the Mayor, where is he on this deal?
Practice Makes Perfect
No matter if you are a tech person or not, this shouldn’t simply be about Google. This process should be about uniting and challenging various resources to compete with other cities and learn what it takes to highlight Greensboro as being “the best.”
Hopefully in the coming days some of what has been mentioned in this post will be addressed and Greensboro will be on track to clearly illustrate it’s uniqueness and creativity.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
“To those that griped – unless you’re planning to develop it yourself…”
I “griped.” I wasn’t alone. I griped because what was underway, as I came to understand it, was a behind the scenes effort by an organization that has demonstrated no enthusiasm for participating in the local online community to hire a PR firm, also absent from the local online community, with invitation-only input to selected individuals, to “manage” the social media aspects of this endeavor. So, I took your advice.
Yes, the city needs a web page on their site. It should do three things:
1. Update citizens.
2. Solicit citizens’ input.
3. Link out to online places where people are talking about this.
They also need to participate in social media. But they do not need to, indeed cannot genuinely, take control of it. To that end, they must start a blog, join the Facebook group already begun (2,300+ members), start Twittering and offer a widget that distributes their news to blogs and web pages on which it is installed.
Oh, and the mayor? He was at a North Carolina mayor’s conference — an excused absence. But I agree with you, he needs to start talking this up. And thanks for the link to Google4GSO.com
Is there something you are leaving out?
Roch, it just seems like the City and the org were trying to provide a jumping off point. You created a site as well – who provided input or was it behind closed doors? And the PR firm has a web presence, you might just not be part of it. But the effort has stopped (so I’m told), and we don’t have a site… Also, that PR firm has done a great job with other social media efforts – I think you, and others jumped the gun, but that’s just me.
I think we agree on some things, but disagree on others, which is fine.
If you think I’m leaving something out, please do inform me.
I don’t think I jumped the gun, Ryan. I think AG and the firm that shall not be named* jumped the gun — and behind closed doors. Instead, they might have considered using the meeting last night as an opportunity to explain their proposals, perhaps inviting public participation; or they might have focused on some other way to contribute if their online offer was take-it-or-leave all-or-nothing. But to simply vanish instead, to not even come to the meeting, that’s really weird.
* If I were writing about a firm I used to work for, I would probably mention it.
Actually, no, I don’t feel the need to state that I worked for a firm that has not been mentioned. Even if they had been, I don’t see a huge need to say I worked there for a year as there is no conflict – and I’m not going to go back and forth with you about that.
I look forward to seeing your continued support for this effort.
greensboro will never support anything in the county except, sports moves away , residenst move away and here we are left with the planet of the apes. council members suck up to who ever has the biggest undertable funds and so here we are back to the beggining. nothing solved and everyone happy. and for the mayor of greensboro, who the hell is it? does anyone know whos incharge anymore?