Yesterday was spent walking the walk with our “Community Emergency Response Team” classes (CERT). I also did a lot of talking the talk, but it was face-to-face with committed community volunteers interested in making their neighborhoods safer and better prepared in the case of an extreme disaster such as a flood, earthquake or wild fire. During the discussion with the emergency communications group, I went back to the year 2000. Back then, many of the collaborative projects currently being promoted by PetalumaNet and the Petaluma CyberCitry Roundtable were “incubated” and shared on a regional level. It was also during this same period of time, 2000-2001, that Sonoma County Economic Development Board surveys and studies reported on the status of local connectivity and the other information and communication technology uses in the area.
For example: the Connectivity: Sonoma County’s 21st Century Challenge (August 2000) made several recommendations that “got the ball rolling” and presented a plan of action that would help foster the expansion of quality high-speed access to the greatest number of people possible in Sonoma County. Using a needs assessment instrument (The CSPP Readiness Guide), a snapshot of Sonoma County was taken that captured its state of Internet connectivity. Approximately, 150 local business people, educators, government officials, healthcare administrators, and non-profit organizations participated in workshops that also made recommendations as to next steps. The intent was to establish a connectivity benchmark and return at some future time and repeat the assessment process in order to determine progress.
One suggestion that this blogger proud was the recommendation that “Every City in Sonoma County should consider forming a CyberCity Roundtable, as well as other locally based community networks that support connectivity initiatives.” Eventually, a total of five such roundtables were created and functioned until the telecom bubble burst, a few years later. It was also about this same time that the first symposium sponsored by the North bay CyberCity Consortium was held at Sonoma State University. John Eger, the Van Deerlin Professor of Communication at San Diego State University, and President of the World Foundation for Smart Communities was the keynote speaker. He presented his Smart Communities of Tomorrow vision to about 100 people from a three county area “that were making a conscious effort to use information technology to transform life and work within its region in significant and fundamental, rather than incremental ways.”
That was then. As we learned from the theory know as “Moore’s Law,” the power and scope of computer chips doubled every 18 months. (Although there is much more background information about this law, the bottom line is these improvements resulted in greater performance at a lower cost.) It has also been claimed that changes in the world of telecommunications occur three times as fast. (So, let’s see, 6×3=18 years in cyberspace.) Obviously, much still needs to be done in our local Cyberplaces. Unfortunately, our nation hasn’t kept pace with some other regions of the world and our information highway systems (including the on and off ramps) need to be upgraded, repaired and/or constructed according to modern standards.
Many of the challenges from 1995-2000 haven’t been completely met. In the meantime, many new information and communication technological applications have been developed. Perhaps it’s time to “step up to the plate,” once again, take another snapshot or two and mobilize those local resources necessary to achieve our desired connectivity goals and objectives. As we have often quoted in our various blogs, the fundamental purpose of PetalumaNet is to build a stronger community through greater use of telecommunication and technology. Our Petaluma CyberCity Roundtable has always tried to “Think globally about Cyberspace, but act locally in our Cyberplace.” And finally, “The greatest resource of any community is the collective wisdom, intellect, and creativity of its citizens.”
OK, it’s time to stop the talking, and get back to walking the walk..
On Our Radar Screen
You may join the walk by participating in the next meeting of the Petaluma CyberCity Roundtable, which has been scheduled for Tuesday, July 25, 10:30-noon, at the Petaluma Senior Center. If you missed reading Hammerhead #5, go back and look it up. We’re trying to create new ways of serving our community. It has been estimated that $20 million dollars is spent in the greater Petaluma area supporting and supplying telecommunication services. If that’s so, can these dollars be better spent in other ways that will provide the citizens and the businesses of Petaluma with greater bandwidth and a more efficient, effective and economical level of service? That’s “food for thought.” Stay tuned.