Sunday, March 14, 2010

Kansas City and Google - Think Big to Get a Gig

By now many of you have probably heard about Google's plan to launch high speed Internet access in communities based on applications from communities. For more information check out Google's page: http://bit.ly/bi5NRS

Kansas City, MO and several big and small cities around the United States have entered into this "contest" to try and secure this for their community. This has countless positive implications to any city who is able to secure this opportunity. View more information about Kansas City's appeal here: http://bit.ly/aE5bMN

Immediately people can summon up numerous reasons why their city is the right city. The problem with this is that there are going to be other cities applying who are able to make those same claims. While we like to think of our own city as special, there are many cities with a couple of large employers, lots of small business, hospitals, universities, etc.

So what truly could make Kansas City, MO rise up above other applicants? Well, what is Google and this project all about? It's about connectivity, sharing ideas, working together, and taking things to the next level. How can Kansas City do that? Well, connect with other KC Metro cities, share our resources and ideas, collaborate on the application process, take it to the next level and apply as a region.

The Kansas City I live in is so much more than KC MO (I actually now live in Lake Lotawana). It's Gladstone, Parkville, Liberty, Overland Park, Shawnee, KC KS, and so on. What makes Kansas City great isn't a single city it's the diversity and interactivity of so many great cities across two states. If any of these cities were to win this bid we would all benefit from it, so why compete? Why not join together, I mean how amazing would it be for Google to not just put a dot on Google Maps for where their broadband networks are available, but to encircle the entire Midwest region that is the KC Metropolitan Area (http://bit.ly/b4iAd9).

Let's think big to get a gig.

2 comments:

  1. Found this organization trying to entice Google to use KC as the stomping grounds for this project. http://www.googlekcmo.com/

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  2. Yeah, one of the links above points to that (sometimes I wonder if bit.ly is worth it). That is for KC MO proper, not for the greater KC Metro Area. I think it's great for all of us in the area if KC MO gets it, but I think there's a much better chance and larger impact on the area if there's collaboration between the cities! So, it's great to support that effort, but would be great to get the word out to government leadership on a unified approach.

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