SMCKC and Brainzooming Announce Give Us a Gig! and the Google Fiber Roadmap

A lot came out of yesterday's second session of Building the Gigabit City, hosted by the Kansas City Public Library and put on by the Social Media Club of Kansas City and Brainzooming.  And when I say a lot, I mean A LOT.  

How about a 119-page document that outlines ideas from the community about what to create with Google Fiber?

Or a brand new initiative spearheaded by the Social Media Club of Kansas City that will unite neighborhoods with their technological community?

Or breaking news from KCSourceLink, the Kauffman Foundation and Think Big Partners?

All three came out of the hour-long session that brought together influential thought leaders from the Kansas City community.  The meeting started off with an introduction from Joe Cox, the President of SMCKC, who asked a very important question: "Sure, Google Fiber has given us a voice, but what do we want to say?"

The Google Fiber Roadmap 

Mike Brown, Founder of Brainzooming, was next to take the mic, where he introduced the crowd to the 119-page document which has become known as Building the Gigabit City: Brainzooming a Google Fiber Roadmap.  The document, which can be downloaded here, is made up of hundreds of ideas, opportunities, challenges and concepts for Kansas City to use with Google Fiber.  Mike made note of some of the highlights:

• A culture cache time capsule so that we can see what our loved ones did and thought when they visited the same Kansas City landmarks and historical sites when we do
• Microloans for the urban core
• Libraries as a data and entertainment center
• A Kansas City Master School District that offers online and night learning options
• A program that offers "sample" courses for students who want to learn a little more about the classes they take before they sign up for them 
• A Facebook-like functionality to enable sharing (with privacy settings) for doctors and patients 

Give Us a Gig! Initiative

SMCKC has created the Give Us a Gig! initiative to help the Gigabit City ideas excite the imagination of communities and neighborhoods throughout the Kansas Cities.  The initiative will educate area residents about how emerging technologies like social media and Google Fiber can help transform their communities.  According to Silicon Prairie News, Give Us a Gig! will also provide resources, including a "virtual toolkit," to empower neighborhoods throughout the metro to tell the story about how gigabit speed can benefit them.

Other Announcements

Announcements from KCSourceLink, the Kauffman Foundation and Think Big Partners centered around the topic of entrepreneurship and job creation from Google Fiber. Many entrepreneur resources are collaborating in order to enhance startup companies on the Google Fiber network, from the development of GoogleConnectsKC.com to KCGigIdeas.com to The Gigabit Challenge.  All initiatives are hoping to generate more ideas and produce more companies on the Google Fiber network.

Google Fiber is coming, Kansas City.  So what's your "gig" idea?

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