FYI -- From O'Reilly Radar:<br><br><p style="margin: 1em 0pt 3px; line-height: 115%;">
<a style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 18px;" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/%7Er/oreilly/radar/atom/%7E3/QE9EPjWk178/local-forums-to-implement-high.html" name="1217299faafeffcb_1" target="_blank">Local forums to implement high-speed networks (broadband); proposal open for votes</a>
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<span>Posted:</span> 24 May 2009 05:12 AM PDT</p>
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<p>
</p><p>I've posted a proposal titled<br>
<a href="http://ideascale.com/r/2932-4049" target="_blank"><br>
Local forums to implement high-speed networks (broadband)</a><br>
to a forum on open government put up by the White House.<br>
I ask this blog's readers to tell other people who might be<br>
interested, and vote up the proposal if you like it.</p>
<p>
</p><p>The<br>
<a href="http://opengov.ideascale.com/" target="_blank">Open Government Dialog site</a><br>
where this proposal appears is part of the White House's<br>
implementation of the Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government<br>
that Obama signed on his first day in office. Hundreds of ideas have<br>
already been posted. Many are very specific and some look quite<br>
worthy, but I think mine stands out for the reasons listed in my<br>
justification:</p>
<blockquote><p>
</p><p>First, one of the Administration's major goals is to bring high-speed<br>
networking to every resident of the country.</p>
<p>Second, this goal is fundamental to the other goals in the Memorandum<br>
on Transparency and Open Government. Members of the public need<br>
continuous access to the Internet and the ability to handle video and<br>
sophisticated graphical displays in order to make full use of the<br>
resources provided in open government efforts.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>
</p><p>The <em>local</em> community aspect is also crucial, for reasons I<br>
list in my justification.</p>
<p>
</p><p>Many readers will note that the people who need my proposal the most<br>
the ones who have the most trouble participating in the forums--people<br>
who can't afford computers, who have access only to intermittent<br>
dial-up Internet access, etc. I deal with this ironic problem in the<br>
proposal in several ways (public terminals, face-to-face meetings,<br>
partnering with newspapers and television).</p>
<p>
</p><p>Because the formatting came out a mess, I'm reprinting the proposal<br>
below.</p>
<hr>
<h3>Local forums to implement high-speed networks (broadband)</h3>
<p>
</p><p>Municipalities and regions undertaking projects in high-speed<br>
networking be encouraged to create online forums that:</p>
<ul><li><br>
<p>Post regional maps showing the demographic features, geographical<br>
features, patterns of network use, and technological facilities<br>
relevant to the project</p>
</li><li><br>
<p>Accept proposals, provide comment and rating systems, and run polls</p>
</li><li><br>
<p>Provide public terminals and low-bandwidth versions of data, so that<br>
people who are currently on the disadvantaged side of the digital<br>
divide can offer input to help cross that divide</p>
</li><li><br>
<p>Are supplemented by face-to-face gatherings</p>
</li><li><br>
<p>Collaborate with newspapers and with television and radio news<br>
programs to publicize proposals, meetings, and opportunities for<br>
public comment</p>
</li><li><br>
<p>Create visitor accounts, perhaps with validation procedures for<br>
determining local residence, and allow visitors to identify their<br>
expertise and credentials</p>
</li><li><br>
<p>Provide tools for mapping proposed facilities and for calculating the<br>
reach, bandwidth, and costs of proposed facilities</p>
</li><li><br>
<p>Provide data about ongoing deployments in standardized, open formats<br>
on maps and in downloadable form</p>
</li></ul>
<p>
</p><p>The federal-level initiative can support these efforts by:</p>
<ul><li><br>
<p>Mandating the types of information that participating municipalities<br>
and companies should provide, such as the capabilities of current<br>
facilities, statistics on current usage, demographic information such<br>
as income and connectivity on a neighborhood basis, and detailed<br>
implementation plans with measurable milestones</p>
</li><li><br>
<p>Funding the development of software tools, such as programs that can<br>
estimate the quality of wireless coverage for different terrains, or<br>
the time period required to recoup the costs of building out networks</p>
</li><li><br>
<p>Providing formats and quality standards for the data provided</p>
</li><li><br>
<p>Publicizing successful initiatives, the tools they used, and their<br>
best practices</p>
</li></ul>
<h3>Why Is This Idea Important</h3>
<p>
</p><p>High-speed digital networking (also known as "broadband") should<br>
concern open government advocates in two ways.</p>
<p>
</p><p>First, one of the Administration's major goals is to bring high-speed<br>
networking to every resident of the country.</p>
<p>
</p><p>Second, this goal is fundamental to the other goals in the Memorandum<br>
on Transparency and Open Government. Members of the public need<br>
continuous access to the Internet and the ability to handle video and<br>
sophisticated graphical displays in order to make full use of the<br>
resources provided in open government efforts.<br>
</p>
<h3>Why do I stress the local nature of these forums?</h3>
<p>
</p><p>All networking is (on one level) local. Given the limited resources<br>
available for any network deployment, and the trade-offs that must be<br>
made during plans, decision-makers need to take into account local<br>
demographics, geography, topology, social and economic priorities, and<br>
existing facilities. Here are just a few examples the many local<br>
issues typically considered:</p>
<ul><li><br>
<p>Which neighborhoods are already relatively well-served or poorly<br>
served</p>
</li><li><br>
<p>Where it's cost-effective to string fiber, versus serving a<br>
neighborhood through a high-bandwidth wireless solution</p>
</li><li><br>
<p>Whether there are existing facilities and lines that could be<br>
repurposed or upgraded for high-speed networking</p>
</li><li><br>
<p>How many public funds to invest and which private firms to contract<br>
with to provide infrastructure or Internet service</p>
</li><li><br>
<p>Whether a non-essential service, such as wireless for spots where<br>
tourists or businesspeople congregate, could generate enough new jobs<br>
or revenue to be worth an investment</p>
</li><li><br>
<p>What public and private partners and sources of investment are<br>
available</p>
</li><li><br>
<p>Whether people in potential new markets have the desire and education<br>
to use new network services, and how to create the conditions under<br>
which the populations would use the services</p>
</li></ul>
<p>
</p><p>Innumerable issues like these require local knowledge and judgment.<br>
That is why many innovative and successful initiatives to provide<br>
digital networks have been launched by local governments or local<br>
private service providers.</p>
<p>
</p><p>Local collaboration to promote network penetration can also build<br>
bonds that support local communities in other ways. The global reach<br>
of the Internet has long been stressed, but the role of digital<br>
networks in connecting people within geographical communities and<br>
improving their way of life may be even more important and is<br>
beginning to be recognized.</p>
<p>
</p><p>Although complex, the issues are no more complex than many other<br>
issues being considered for implementation of the open government<br>
directive. With proper organization and support, community members<br>
could make these decisions and monitor their implementation.</p>
<p>
</p><p>Local community forums also attract participants more easily than<br>
geographically distributed "communities of interest." People are<br>
likely to respond to the invitations of friends and neighbors, and to<br>
be more loyal to the forums when they know the participants<br>
personally. So local forums are good ways to initiate the general<br>
public to the notion of transparent and participatory governance.</p>
<h3>A note on current federal broadband initiatives</h3>
<p>
</p><p>The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) includes a Broadband<br>
Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP), operated through the NTIA,<br>
that creates a 4.7-billion-dollar program to promote broadband,<br>
particularly for unserved areas and populations.</p>
<p>
</p><p>The implementation does not involve any of the innovative aspects of<br>
the open government directive, such as collaborative online forums and<br>
data exposed through open formats and APIs. Like other programs in<br>
ARRA, the focus on providing a fast economic stimulus led to a<br>
schedule that does not accommodate time to set up and accept comments<br>
in this manner. A public comment period was held from March 12 to<br>
April 13, 2009, and proposals must be submitted by September 2009.</p>
<p>
</p><p>The FCC adopted the goal of expanding broadband access many years ago,<br>
and cites this goal in many opinions concerning competition. The FCC<br>
also continues to offer funds for broadband under the Universal<br>
Service Fund (USF), which was expanded by the 1996 Telecommunications Act to<br>
include Internet access. The USF does not involve public online forums<br>
or open data access.</p>
<p>
</p><p>The FCC also plans to publish a national broadband plan by February<br>
2010. Because the funds from BTOP will probably be disbursed by then,<br>
this plan could be a locus for the kinds of forums describes in this<br>
proposal.</p>
<blockquote><p>
</p><p><em>Quick disclaimer</em>: broadband adoption is hard to measure--it<br>
depends on such fuzz factors as the minimum speed defined as<br>
"broadband," the difference between potential and usual speeds, and<br>
uncertainties about actual availability versus official penetration<br>
rates--but recent estimates suggest that half of the United States<br>
population has always-on, high-speed network access. Although this<br>
reflects a substantial increase in recent years, it still leaves the<br>
US behind many other developed nations. Further improvements will<br>
require more intensive planning and careful resource allocation, as we<br>
try to extend adoption to populations with fewer resources or<br>
geographical challenges.</p>
</blockquote>
<h3>Summary of benefits</h3>
<ul><li><br>
<p>When the public can evaluate the options available to their community<br>
and the trade-offs required, they can reach agreement on a digital<br>
networking policy that reflects the values of many constituents and<br>
communities.</p>
</li><li><br>
<p>Tools for measuring the impacts of different proposals can help<br>
everyone in the community agree on what trade-offs exist, and provide<br>
a factual basis for decision-making.</p>
</li><li><br>
<p>Technically trained members of the community can use the measurement<br>
and visualization tools on the forum to educate those who are less<br>
technically sophisticated and ensure that everyone has the opportunity<br>
to make valid and appropriate input.</p>
</li><li><br>
<p>Progress in implementation can be followed by the public, who can<br>
demand accountability in spending and results.</p>
</li><li>
<p>
</p><p>Collaboration in building local networks can lead to continued<br>
collaboration in using those networks to improve economic,<br>
educational, and policy initiatives in the communities. They can also<br>
give visitors the skills and interests to join larger, national<br>
efforts in fulfillment of the Memorandum on Transparency and Open<br>
Government,</p>
</li><li><br>
<p>Standardization and information sharing between communities can help<br>
later communities reach successful conclusions more quickly and with<br>
less wasted effort.</p>
</li><li><br>
<p>Finally, the public participation fostered by local forums can educate<br>
the public about telecommunications issues that have a national or<br>
even international scope, such as expanding major access points,<br>
fostering technological innovation, and changing national policies and<br>
laws.</p>
</li></ul>
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<a style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 18px;" href="http://feedproxy.google.com/%7Er/oreilly/radar/atom/%7E3/Rx3q21V833Y/welcoming-eric-ries-to-the-rad.html" name="1217299faafeffcb_2" target="_blank">Welcoming Eric Ries to the Radar Team</a>
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<span>Posted:</span> 23 May 2009 09:17 AM PDT</p>
<p>The Radar blog is a <a href="http://radar.oreilly.com/about/radar-team.html" target="_blank">community of thinkers</a>
organized around the O’Reilly mission to change the world by spreading
the knowledge of innovators. Some of the folks with posting privileges
on Radar are O'Reilly employees: Brady Forrest organizes the <a href="http://conferences.oreilly.com/etech" target="_blank">ETech</a>, <a href="http://conferences.oreilly.com/where" target="_blank">Where 2.0</a> and <a href="http://web2expo.com/" target="_blank">Web 2.0 Expo</a>
events, Mike Loukides, Andy Oram, Brett McLaughlin, and Mike
Hendrickson are editors of many of the books you know and love, Ben
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</p><p><br>
Others work part-time with us, such as our open source maven Alison Randal, who co-chairs the <a href="http://conferences.oreilly.com/oscon" target="_blank">Open Source Convention</a>, and “Master of Disaster” Jesse Robbins, who co-chairs the <a href="http://conferences.oreilly.com/velocity" target="_blank">Velocity</a>
conference on large scale web operations. Some are alumni such as Nat
Torkington and Marc Hedlund, who have gone on to other jobs but remain
very much part of the O'Reilly family. <br>
</p><p><br>
But others are interesting people we have met along the journey like
Artur Bergman, Jim Stogdill, and Nick Bilton. These are people who've
stimulated our thinking and helped us reflect on areas we want to learn
about. In each case the goal is the same - talk about <a href="http://radar.oreilly.com/2009/01/work-on-stuff-that-matters-fir.html" target="_blank">"Stuff That Matters" </a> and generate meaningful conversation. With that in mind, I wanted to welcome Eric Ries to the Radar community.<br>
</p><p><br>
I met Eric a few months ago, and immediately realized that he was
someone I could learn a lot from, and whose ideas I wanted to spread as
widely as possible.<br>
Eric has been championing the concept of The Lean Startup; a
methodology that helps startups learn and adapt faster than the
competition. Startups get lean through a mixture of agile development,
leveraged product development and implementing direct, tight customer
feedback loops. The result is a new type of company - one that uses
operational excellence to drive down costs and accelerate learning.<br>
</p><p><br>
Eric’s methodology has been honed by running successful startups (and
learning from running unsuccessful ones) along with experience gathered
through consulting, mentoring, and advising entrepreneurs. The Lean
Startup is deeply prescriptive and practical; it is a vision for a new
way to start, build and grow your company—starting on day one.<br>
</p><p><br>
One of the things that excites me about the Lean Startup is that it
doesn’t just apply to the traditional “two guys in a garage.” The
questions that I have seen technology startups face time and again are
increasingly relevant to institutions of all kinds: Who exactly is my
customer? What exactly do they want? How do I deliver my product
quickly and effectively at lower cost? Lessons learned in the crucible
of entrepreneurship are applicable to enterprise and to government as
both struggle to do more with less, to grow to reach new markets, and
to innovate.<br>
</p><br>
You will find Eric here occasionally on Radar as well as on his <a href="http://startuplessonslearned.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">blog</a>. Additionally, Eric has partnered with O’Reilly to produce a series of <a href="http://training.oreilly.com/theleanstartup/" target="_blank">upcoming workshops</a> intended to help people master the concepts of The Lean Startup.<br clear="all">
<br>-- <br>==========================================<br>J. T. Johnson<br>Institute for Analytic Journalism -- Santa Fe, NM USA<br><a href="http://www.analyticjournalism.com">www.analyticjournalism.com</a><br>505.577.6482(c) 505.473.9646(h)<br>
<a href="http://www.jtjohnson.com">http://www.jtjohnson.com</a> <a href="mailto:tom@jtjohnson.com">tom@jtjohnson.com</a><br><br>"Quantitative and Digital Skills of International<br>Journalism and Communications Educators"<br>
<a href="http://journosurvey.notlong.com">http://journosurvey.notlong.com</a><br>==========================================<br>