Tuesdays@REI June 21, 2004
Lev Gonick, Vice President of Information Technology, Case Western Reserve University
One Cleveland
Using technology to align the networks.
Lev just participated in IBM's Institute for Digital Government, Washington Meeting. This is just one of many opportunities to talk about NEO in other parts of the country...Typically more famous outside of your region than inside.
The new concept of a digital city is a social, economic, political and ecosystem that is just emerging. This is informed by many of the same sensitivities as somehow imaginging transporting goods without roads... a transforming ecosystem. In every way as profound as the smokestakes of Cleveland, Tokyo...what is the symbol that is otherwise invisible? People's experiences have largely been constrained by the net. Very limiting for human beings to what we have "dumbed it down to". We cannot imagine really maturing into that until we imagine the digital infrastructure.
There were alot of 19th Century cities who were all above reinventing themselves. The interesting thing that is in common, is that they all have institutions of higher education.
How to take of in a 21st C with a 19th C infrastructure. Cleveland has the densist fiber network in the world. One Cleveland has basically started from University Circle and looked out. Have now the broad band infrastructure lit enabling K to 12 communty, public library, regional transit authority, museums and the public radio and public television. We are also now interested in free, public wireless services which we can offer to entrepreneurs to build business. There are several hundred cities working on this but only a few leading cities. Cleveland is one.
One Cleveland is building out the analog to the airport, the port, etc...many users day that we need to take this not only wide but deep. Applications are very quickly following. This is not a priority now of One Cleveland....why doesn't One Cleveland develop a portfolio of content?
There is no leadership taking this on right now. Easy to put on a grid but who is going to take this on and provide leadership. Lev turns to entrepreneurs to develop the infrastructure.
What is the analog for the Fund for the Future? Elevate the conversation to celebrate technology. Let's celebrate 75 jobs in OT on the same level as what is celebrated with 3 jobs created in industry.
Enough facilitation by REI, NorTech?. We need an agenda be crafted for the region. It is urgent to identify the requirements.
We have gigabit not T1 infrastructure - the opportunities are here in Cleveland - the difference between one lane and we have 1000 lanes. Google has been optimized for a T1 environment. What is the next big bet and position ourselves for what the future holds.
We need a Vision Leadership Team commited to putting together a Fund for the Future. The major organizations need to look ahead and not backward at the old models. The private sector needs to build this out. There has never been an infrastructure built out by the private sector. What if a new company came up and stated they wanted to leveraging the private sector.
It makes sense for One Cleveland to drive the requirements and for the private sector to buld it out.
The leadership of this region needs to take leadership to build the portfolio out by leading, evangelizing the effort. How about a consolidated help desk?
WAG Wireless Athens Georgia
The network is the DNA of the connections. The core business strategy is a gigabit infrastructure at 50% off.
Audience Comments: there is not a culture in suppport of this.
With the pervasive, ubiquitiuos nature of the new infrastructure in Cleveland now we have the chance to re-design. The number one need is not to create a leadership piece but to create a space where the collaboration can take place.
People need to think about how to leverage the opportunities by imagining the possibilities.
Lev's idea is to provide the air to build out - content producers. An idea: create a private City Network model. Put a heart channel together. Wind generators. High School sports - customize. A visitor channel needs to be developed. On the broadcast side spoke with Rock Hall, Veteran's & Visitor's Bureau, etc. How to use broadband and wireless.
There are 1400 wireless points on Case campus. The student's experience has increased 5 fold since last year. YMax? is coming! We really need to think about how this is going to affect us.
How can I build out identity in the YMax? city? Federated identity. There are companys in town working on identity. In a connected city we want to use this far more than send email to each other? Who is going to catalyze the first 50 opportunities? What is meaningful in this application? What are the 5 good ideas that are going to be transformative to catalyze people's imagination?
What can be done? What can we (the audience) do?
Think about the tomorrow opportunities on how to mobilize the community - figure out a way to articulate the demands for the region. Do we believe we can be responsible for our ouwn invention? There is a core issue of structure and how can we make change?
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