What Will Google Say on Thursday?

We are just as excited as the next person about Google Fiber's launch in Kansas City.  And we're even more excited that Google has announced that the launch will happen on Thursday. But is the launch really happening, or should we just expect another ambiguous announcement from the search engine giant?

According to The Kansas City Star, Google plans to fill in some blanks on July 26th.  The video (above), which was released last Wednesday, unveils what might be part of the marketing rhetoric for its coming service: 100 times faster Internet, 100 times the possibilities. 

The video also proclaims that the service "arrives on July 26th."  Will it really?  According to The Star and Google spokeswoman Jenna Wandres, "We haven't elaborated on what arriving means." 

So what can we expect on Thursday?  If Google has anything to do with it, we will have to simply wait to find out.  

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Social Media Club Takes Google Fiber by Storm with Give Us a Gig! Campaign

WRITTEN BY ALLISON WAY, SENIOR COPYWRITER & CHIEF EDITOR 

If there has been one standout leader on the Google Fiber initiative in Kansas City, it may (a bit surprisingly) be The Social Media Club of Kansas City.  The organization has already thrown Building the Gigabit City brainstorming sessions with Brainzooming and has helped to create the 60 Business Concepts for Building the Gigabit City with Google Fiber Report.  But SMCKC's efforts don't stop there.

Yesterday, the Social Media Club launched the Google Fiber education campaign known as "Give Us a Gig!"  This campaign has been created in order to educate citizens about Google's plans in Kansas City and to generate ideas about how to best put the faster Internet to good use in neighborhoods.

In the recent Kansas City Star article, Social Media Club of Kansas City organizer Aaron Deacon said, "It was intended to be a recognition of the fact that there's a demand for more information on the project.  (Google officials) acknowledge that there are things that they can't or won't answer."

According to Deacon, the meetings that SMCKC will hold next month will give people a better understanding of the possibilities of far faster Internet connections.  He also said organizers hope to generate ideas about how poorer neighborhoods can find ways to pay for the service.  Now that's how you think big...with a gig!

The first meeting will be held on December 13, 2011 at 5:30pm at the Plaza Branch of the Kansas City Public Library.  Another meeting will be held at 5:30pm at the main branch of Kansas City, Kansas Public Library.

Read the full Kansas City Star article here.

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The Gigabit Challenge Announces a $200,000 Prize for Entrepreneurs and Startups

The Gigabit Challenge is creating some major buzz in Kansas City.  With coverage from Silicon Prairie News, The Kansas City Star, and multiple other media outlets, it’s easy to see that the Gigabit Challenge is making a splash.  And for good reason.  This global business plan competition is designed to find and support startup entrepreneurs, early-stage businesses and existing growth companies that will make use of Google’s first-in-the-nation 1-gigabit fiber network.  
And just recently, Think Big Partners announced a few rules and details for the challenge, including an inside-scoop at the grand prize.  Below are a few details that may be of use to those applying for The Gigabit Challenge:

·        Applications will be accepted starting October 3, 2011.  Applications should be accompanied by a 3-5 page executive summary.

·        Applications must be submitted by October 31.

·        The top 25 finalists will be announced by November 15.

·        The 25 finalists then have until December 15 to submit a short form (10 page) business plan with 5 extra pages of supporting documentation. 

·        Winners will be announced at a public event in Kansas City in mid- to late January of 2012.

But let’s cut to the chase.  How much is the Gigabit Challenge actually rewarding to the winning entrepreneur?  Think Big Partners has announced that it will award more than $200,000 in cash and services, with the Grand Prize valued at $100,000.  Seems like a competition worth entering...

“As the first city chosen by Google to implement the fiber network, Kansas City has taken on a supporting role in Google’s worldwide initiative,” said Herb Sih, Managing Partner and co-founder of Think Big Partners. “In the past few years, Kansas City has received significant national recognition as a vibrant community for entrepreneurs, marshalling resources to take ideas and make them into viable businesses. Now, companies have the opportunity to innovate using technology like Google fiber so that they can create more new, technology-based to the challenges facing our world.”

For more information about The Gigabit Challenge or to express interest in becoming a sponsor or judge, please visit The Gigabit Challenge website or contact Ann DeAngelo at (816) 842-5244.

Written by Allison Way

@AllisonThinkBig

Snow & Company: Bringing the Beach to Kansas City

Imagine it: You’re lounging on the beach, eyes closed, skin tingling from the blazing sun.  The crashing of the waves and breeze in your hair lulls you into an afternoon doze.  Then you wake and look to your left to find a strawberry margarita, complete with a little pink umbrella just waiting to be slurped down.  You grab it; the glass’s condensation stinging your fingers.  You take a big gulp.  That’s when you realize: this is paradise.

But then you wake up.  You find yourself sitting at your desk, in front of your computer, surrounded by your coworkers.  Your swim suit is now a business suit.  Your lounge chair is now a rolling one.  The fantasy is over.  And more than anything, you want to be on that beach slurping down that strawberry margarita.

The truth of the matter is, we can’t bring everybody in Kansas City to the beach.  But we can bring a little of the beach to Kansas City.  And it all starts with one of Kansas City’s newest downtown establishments, Snow & Company.

In September of 2011, Andy Talbert and his team of ultra-entrepreneurs are launching Snow & Company, an artful frozen cocktail bar in the Crossroads District of downtown Kansas City.  With a snowy theme, yet a “warm and comfortable” atmosphere, Andy hopes that Snow & Company will become the place for friends to hang out and enjoy specialty frozen cocktails both in the heat of the summer and in the frigid winter.

“Kansas City is growing and evolving into a cocktail town,” says Andy. “The cocktail space is a huge opportunity.  We want to continue the growth of the clever, creative cocktail experience in Kansas City.”

Andy and his business partner, Jerry Nevins, recently graduated from the UMKC Bloch Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.  Once they found the “time” to follow their true passion, they collaborated with two other entrepreneurs and wrote the Snow & Company business plan.  And from then on, the company...well...snowballed.  With interest from many different media outlets such as the Kansas City Star, Snow and Company is truly taking off.

“Kansas City is a great place to take this risk,” says Andy.  “This probably wouldn’t be possible in other cities.  Kansas City provides great resources like the Kauffman Foundation, Think Big Partners and the Bloch School to help entrepreneurs like us.”

Snow & Company is opening at 1815 Wyandotte Street in the Crossroads District of Kansas City.  Complete with lounge furniture, a frozen cocktail counter, and merchandise displays, Snow & Company will be accented with wintery colors and bright hues of purple, maroon and orange.  The overall ambiance of the frozen cocktail lounge will be high-end and modern, yet relaxed.

But it isn’t the location that makes Snow & Company what it is.  Obviously, it’s the cocktails.

“We want to introduce people to things that they would never try otherwise,” says Andy.

So what will it be?  The classic margarita?  A refreshing mohito?  A surprising frozen PB&J? Or perhaps the unique Jalapeño Lemonade?  Snow & Company plans on serving it all—it’s all part of bringing a bit of the beach to downtown Kansas City.   

Be sure to check out Snow & Company on Facebook and follow the company on Twitter for more updates about the company and its grand opening! 

Written by Allison Way

@AllisonThinkBig