COIN Notes Available Online
The Community of Interest Networks (COIN) are special interest groups that meet via technology (conference calls, videoconferences, web collaboration) on a quarterly basis. Notes from the COIN sessions held on June 19-20 are available online. Speakers and topics include:

• Economic Development COIN featured Kirk Bustrom from the Itasca Technology Exchange and Laura Jaecks and Ron Johnston-Rodridguez of the Confluence Technology Center in Chelan County, Washington
• E-Commerce COIN featured Jane Hepola from Minnesota Technology Inc
• Health Care COIN featured Mark Schoenbaum from the Minnesota Department of Health, Office of Rural Health and Primary Care
• Education COIN is off for the summer

National Broadband Bill is One Step Closer
By a 15-7 vote on June 28, 2006, the Senate Commerce Committee voted to send a broad telecommunications bill -- the Communications, Consumer's Choice, and Broadband Deployment Act -- to the full Senate for a vote. The bill streamlines the video-franchising process, similar to a bill already passed in the House but with more local oversight than the House's more national version. The bill does not mandate network neutrality, which may hinder the bill's progress. For more information on this and other legislative updates visit the Benton Foundation web site.

Wisconsin Creates Broadband Deployment Law
Wisconsin’s Senate Bill 483, otherwise known as the Broadband Deployment Act, was signed into law in May, 2006. The bill will provide tax incentives to qualified companies who expand broadband Internet services to areas of the state where it is most needed. Read more on the Public CIO web site.

Minneapolis Heats Up
The two vendors vying for the Wireless Minneapolis contract have built pilot hotspots and are testing them in two Minneapolis neighborhoods.  Broadband access via these networks will be free and open to the public during the 60 day trial period this summer. For more information visit the Wireless Minneapolis web site.

Get Broadband Resources Online
The Get Broadband web site has a section of tools for communities to use to promote broadband in their area. Included are original articles (Hot Web Sites on specific topics) that community coordinators are encouraged to customize and send to local media outlets. Also included are various ads, articles, and flyers submitted by Get Broadband community coordinators.

Hiring a Web Developer
Jan Hepola, MTI eBusiness Specialist, follows up her COIN discussion with some tips for hiring a web developer:

Do Your Homework

• Take time to research what you want by looking at sites both in and out of your industry.
• Note which sites show up on the top of organic search results – those companies are likely to be working with a designer or e-marketing person that understands SEO (search engine optimization).
• Note what you like and don't like in terms of the look and functionality of other sites.
• If a designer is noted on the sites, check them out. If they aren't noted, email the site contact and ask them if they would feel comfortable referring you to the person they used.

Know Your Industry

• If your industry niche is specialized, consider looking for someone who has worked with companies with similar products, services or market reach.
• A good designer will ask lots of questions about your business before they start your site. Define your business in a couple of solid sentences and be ready to walk through the details of your work.
• Think about how your business will translate to the web - what type of behavior do you expect from your customers? Explain this to the designer by using stories or short customer profiles.
• Look at your competition to see what they're doing online.

Network to Get Recommendations

• Work with someone you trust and like - a good rapport is critical.
• Assess your designer's experience - they should bring a mix of creative, technical and project management skills to the table. A general understanding of business is important too.
• Select someone who communicates in a way that makes you feel comfortable.
• Call their references and ask about how the designer did with meeting timelines, maintaining communication, training your staff along the way, and warning you about items that would cost more than was budgeted. What did the designer do well and not so well? Did the designer stick to the plan?
• Look for someone whose personality reflects the type of site you'd like to present.
  
  

Welcome Mankato and Rushford
The Blandin Foundation welcomes Mankato and Rushford as the latest additions to the Get Broadband project. For a full list (and map!) of Get Broadband participants, please visit the Get Broadband web site.

Benton County
Get Connected in Benton County has created project goals, formed sector specific committees to plan for events, and helped the elementary school write a grant for technology. (Learn more)

Cohasset - Cohasset is awaiting their first year survey results to help in their second year planning. Anecdotally, people seem to be talking more about technology. (Learn more)

Edge of the Wilderness - Edge of the Wilderness’ marketing campaign to increase awareness and availability of Broadband is underway. They are busy planning a technology fair and the second round of community computer classes for Fall 2006.

Five Small Towns
Five Small Towns has published and distributed many technology-related articles in the community. They have provided e-commerce and web development training, and are connecting students to work on local business web sites. (Learn more)

Fosston
Fosston is promoting itself to alumni as a tech-savvy place to relocate, live and work. They are also improving the city web site with e-commerce and GIS. (Learn more)

Grand Rapids - With a partnership with the City of Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids is lighting up the riverfront from the KAXE radio studio over to the Grand Rapids Public Library (inside and out) this summer with WI-FI!  

Hibbing
Fairview University Medical Center-Mesabi is donating 100-200 computers to the community in the next year. Plans are being made for distribution and training for the recipients. (Learn more)

International Falls
International Falls set up wireless connections at the convention and visitors bureau, the airport, the library and an area of the college. They have created two television ads to promote the new wireless hotspots. The ads feature a “dialup canoe” on Rainy Lake being passed by a high speed “broadband boat”.

Rushford
Rushford is excited to join the Get Broadband project and hopes that it will help them become fully compliant as an "e-commerce ready" community. They are seeking a project coordinator who will help them take full advantage of the benefits that Get Broadband program can bring to the community. 

Featuring… DonnaRae Jacobson from Five Small Towns

(Editor’s note: We hope to feature more Get Broadband community leaders, coordinators, and stakeholders at various stages in their projects in upcoming eNews issues.)

DonnaRae Jacobson has been working on the Get Broadband project with the Five Small Towns (Winger, Eskine, McIntosh, Fertile, and Mentor) for almost five months. Joining the project after they received funding DonnaRae finds coordinating the Get Broadband project is a substantial part of her job.

Although the Five Small Towns project is young, they have had 34 articles published in three of the local newspapers; held training on e-Commerce and Dreamweaver 8 (web development software); talked with the five towns to help them develop web sites; and started working with the local schools to promote a project that helps students build web sites for local businesses. How does she do it? “With baby steps,” says DonnaRae.

The Five Small Towns has enjoyed great support from the five small towns, local Internet service provider, from three banks and a terrific web development team. They have partnered with others in the area to expand existing programs. For example their work with the schools (students developing web sites) builds upon a program from the high school in Fertile-Beltrami, which now is being replicated at the Win E Mac school.  The five small towns broadband project is partnering with the Northwest Regional Development Center to build web sites in each of the five small towns.

DonnaRae’s focus right now is building capacity to support broadband initiatives for the long term. Her background is in education, community development and program coordination. Although DonnaRae has used computer technology for more than 25 years including the use of email to communicate with others since 1985; website development and the use of broadband technology has been new to her. She has learned through self-study and by sharing office space with fellow Get Broadband coordinator Michelle Landsverk, who does have a background in technology.

DonnaRae celebrates each success with the Get Broadband project and looks at it as a positive (baby) step toward the end goal. Success has come more easily when the project has started where each community was in their usage of technology – and with some communities that has been at the very beginning with introductory tools and training. Each community is unique but all benefit from capacity building and meeting the needs of the community.

July 13 (St. Paul, MN) – Telecommunications & Information Policy Roundtable (TIPR) hosts cable guru Cor Wilson, Executive Director of the North Suburban Cable Commission and immediate past-president of the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA). Contact Mary Treacy (mtreacy@onvoymail.com) for details.

Jul 17 – 18 (Duluth, MN) Smart Health 2006: Focus on Technology: Creating Connections and Strengthening Minnesota's Rural Communities – focusing on community, state and federal health information exchange. Get Broadband leader, Bernadine Joselyn, will be speaking at the conference.

July 17-18 (Chicago, IL) Community/Muni Broadband Solutions Summit – a conference for community and city members interested in broadband issues.

July 28-29 (San Jose, CA) Blogher - a look at how blogs are changing the world; designed for bloggers.

August 16 (Virtual) Emerging Technologies: Innovating for Growth - Experts talk about hot technologies and the business opportunities in Minnesota.

October 18-19 – Save the date for the Get Broadband State-wide Broadband Conference.

I recently enjoyed a great concert featuring Elvis Costello, a New Yorker by way of London, and Allen Toussaint of New Orleans.  This collaboration blended the talents of two great songwriters and musicians into something special.  The show got me thinking about the impact of broadband on collaboration and the arts, especially in rural communities.

Collaboration between people and organizations generally improves the end product.  Your broadband teams are working together on broadband promotion activities and engaged in shared efforts to improve technology awareness, skills and adoption with involvement from Internet service providers, educators, and chambers of commerce. The result is that more people are using broadband in many ways.

It might be an interesting exercise to map the collaborative efforts of different people, businesses and organizations within your community. This might include sister cities, business relationships, genealogy or cultural connections, online bridge partners. There is no question that broadband has dramatically enabled collaboration across large geographic areas. You might be surprised at how internationally connected and collaborative your community is!  If your community is lacking international linkages, you might think about how to encourage some more activity in this area.  Isolation is a poor strategy choice in a global economy!

Arts and music have a tremendous influence on a community’s image, economy and vitality. Many people seek these amenities when they are considering a location for their home or vacation, but in many rural communities, the arts are likely to be a hidden asset, tucked away in schools, small galleries or backwoods studios. The Internet has also significantly changed the business of arts and music. Publishing and distributing was once concentrated in a few hands.  Now, anyone can produce, sell and distribute their creations.

Consider showcasing local artists, musicians and cultural events on your community’s web site with links, pictures and streaming video.  Help your local artists and musicians understand and take advantage of these new technologies that will increase the cash flow into their businesses and your community.

If you are looking for more ideas on these strategies, call me on my web cam!

MN Online is a guide to online education opportunities offered by the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. Visit it if you are a student looking to learn or a company needing to provide training to staff. For a sample curriculum online, visit Get Body Smart.