[Advisors] Thought I'd share

Tue Mar 4 13:41:05 PST 2014

There is new money for establishing an initiative along these lines (CIRA, ISOC and others). 

If we designed a strong communication program for leveraging digital and conventional media on a Canadian footprint, we could attract a lot of private sector sponsorship.

The likes of Ciena, Calix, and a host of other vendors or service providers... no need to go to Telus, Bell, Shaw or any other incumbents... they would be coming to us. 

With sponsorship commitments from the above sources, it becomes far easier to leverage $$ out of senior governments. 

The people behind Broadband Communities magazine in the U.S. have expressed interest in staging one of their upcoming BB EcDev conferences in a Canadian city, and I now have a conversation going on with them along these lines.

I have already spoken with some folks at the City of Coquitlam, and they might be interested to help host the event somewhere in Vancouver. 

This would create the opportunity to showcase QNet as one of North America's most successful community broadband initiatives. 

I will be attending the Broadband Communities Summit in Austin TX next month:

www.bbcmag.com/2014s

I will take up the conversation with the BBC mag folks while I'm there. 

If there were a Canadian 'enterprise' whose interests aligned with those of BBC magazine, and who could help to coordinate the event I've described above, it might make all the difference.

There would be no better place in Canada to host such an event than Vancouver, because of the density of related initiatives that can be showcased there. 

In addition to QNet there is BCNET and of course FNTC, PCNA, BCBA and everyone else related to broadband development in the rest of the province. 

The folks behind BBC magazine would bring a pile of sponsors and advertisers with them.  

By the time I get to Austin, it would be great if TC/BC3/PCNA et al had crafted an initial vision and plan for promoting and advancing

I realize the timeline is absurdly tight, but I'm thinking on the fly here... I think there may be a huge opportunity staring us in the face. 

Comments, concerns?

JvL

On Mar 4, 2014, at 2:17 PM, cleader at mb.e-association.ca wrote:

> I like it we could also grow the base that was put together in the book that Darlene 's project produced. All of the stories are on her website in Pdf. Could also create short digital stories with pics and video and showcase them.
> 
> Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone.
> From: James Van Leeuwen
> Sent: Tuesday, March 4, 2014 3:05 PM
> To: Bev Collins
> Cc: advisors at tc.ca
> Subject: Re: [Advisors] Thought I'd share
> 
> That's a compelling idea Bev.
> 
> I own the domain bestofbroadband.com.
> 
> BOBB is the acronym for Best of Broadband, and I own bobb.ca as well.
> 
> I would be happy to hand over both domains to TC or any other 'social' enterprise that took on an initiative like this.
> 
> Could be a great idea for showcasing broadband-related initiatives across Canada. 
> 
> Could also be a monthly or semi-monthy newsletter (call it BOBB's Your Uncle), and who knows what else. 
> 
> Oh wait... imagine two core programs called Best of Broadband and Digital User Guide (BOBB & DUG). 
> 
> (stop me before I slay again)
> 
> 
> These ideas align with the idea discussed in the last AGM of shifting the TC mandate to community capacity building.
> 
> More food for thought...
> 
> 
> James
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On Mar 4, 2014, at 1:47 PM, Bev Collins <bev at pcna.ca> wrote:
> 
>> Take the John Webb Community Champions Award and make it National.   So happy Gary Shearman was the last recipient J
>>  
>> Bev
>>  
>> From: James Van Leeuwen [mailto:jvl at ventus.ca] 
>> Sent: March 4, 2014 12:45 PM
>> To: Bev Collins
>> Cc: advisors at tc.ca
>> Subject: Re: [Advisors] Thought I'd share
>>  
>> I wish we could celebrate all the other Bev Collins out there. 
>>  
>> It occurs to me that this might be another worthwhile thing for TC to take on under a revised mandate.
>>  
>> Celebrate the success of community broadband initiatives and the people behind them.
>>  
>>  
>> Here's another great success story (see the comments that follow the article):
>>  
>> http://wordsbynowak.com/2014/03/04/digital-divide/
>>  
>>  
>> James
>>  
>>  
>>  
>>  
>> On Mar 4, 2014, at 1:40 PM, Bev Collins <bev at pcna.ca> wrote:
>> 
>> 
>> Wow – thanks James.   This kind of thing reminds me of why we do all this and brings back that “feels good” feeling!!
>>  
>> Bev
>>  
>> From: James Van Leeuwen [mailto:jvl at ventus.ca] 
>> Sent: March 4, 2014 12:38 PM
>> To: Bev Collins
>> Cc: advisors at tc.ca
>> Subject: Re: [Advisors] Thought I'd share
>>  
>> From my FaceBook page.
>>  
>> Good luck to your son, Bev... great story.
>>  
>> JvL
>>  
>>  
>> --------------------------------
>> I am pleased to be a backer of this Kickstarter campaign from Barry Collins of Powell River BC, who has become a world-class game developer. 
>> 
>> Barry and his brother started developing computer games at home in their bedrooms when they were only 6 and 8 years old.
>> 
>> An important contributor to their success was the Powell River Community Network, a wireless network that leaders in their community built to bring better Internet access to the whole community. 
>> 
>> Barry's mother Bev Collins was a driving force behind the PRCN as well as the Pacific Community Network Association.
>> 
>> This is what community broadband is all about, and it's people like Bev Collins who make it possible.
>>  
>> <link to campaign>
>>  
>> -------------------
>>  
>>  
>>  
>>  
>>  
>> On Mar 4, 2014, at 12:06 PM, Bev Collins <bev at pcna.ca> wrote:
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Hi everyone,
>>  
>> https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1763303301/ashen-rift-a-man-and-his-dog?ref=live
>>  
>>  
>> Some of you may know that way back when the Powell River Community Network was started and my two sons were 6 and 8 years old they started designing video games.  This pursuit has taken them to Malaysia to present their community project at the GK3 a few years ago.  We considered them a success story, and Michael Gurstein wrote about them in a HRSDC report 13 plus years ago.  They’ve worked on some of the world’s top games as contractors and now Barry is finally taking the time to work on his own.   I have always considered them a community networking success story because they are self-taught and worked out of their bedrooms.  So it was our idea to enable youth to do the same thing from where-ever they were in the world. 
>>  
>> Anyway – take a look at Barry’s kickstarter campaign  - feel free to support!
>>  
>> Bev
>>  
>> https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1763303301/ashen-rift-a-man-and-his-dog?ref=live
>>  
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