Disqus - Latest Comments for Andrew

Re: Charlotte v. Roanoke and New River Valley

Andrew — Fri, 06 Jan 2006 07:24:38 -0000

You have put your finger on a problem common to all of southwest Virginia--there is much worry about "young people moving away," but a simultaneous reluctance to make the changes necessary to attract them (or keep them here).

If you look at the demographics of southwest Virginia, many counties have below average numbers of young people and above average numbers of people over fifty, meaning the region is slowly being depopulated for lack of jobs and opportunity.

The Blacksburg-Christiansburg area is one of the few exceptions.

Re: Charlotte v. Roanoke and New River Valley

Andrew — Fri, 06 Jan 2006 07:25:48 -0000

Re: One Site

Andrew — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 15:28:07 -0000

"Community" sites sponsored by a single institution rarely do well over the long term without a very enlightened board and a light hand. A highly successful community portal that is "owned" by a single institution will often end up being co-opted by the institution itself, which wants to capitalize on the site's success--understandable from the perspective of the institution, but usually not a good thing for community the site is trying to serve.

If possible, I'd recommend an indpendent site that accepts sponsorship from a variety of interested organizations. That way, sponsors get credit for their help, but the site is able to chart it's own course.

Of course, there is no free lunch. The advantage of a single sponsor is that you may get better support and continuity than with an all volunteer effort.

Either approach can work, but it helps to know what the downsides of each one are before you get started.

Andrew
(thirteen years of community portal experience)

Re: Nickelback Came to Roanoke?

Andrew — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 07:00:36 -0000

We have only just barely begun to use the technology we have to improve communications. There are two problems to solve: Having access to the right information, and then getting that information at the right time. I think the last ten years can be characterized as the Model T era of the Internet: we have had to use a hand crank to start the car every time we want to use it. More recently, we have been offered cars with electric starters.

Keep in mind that the cars of the 1920s with electric starters were still quite primitive. We have a long way to go. But we finally have better tools--the electric starter really got a lot more people using automobiles.

Re: Young Adults Don’t Understand Networking

Andrew — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 17:52:20 -0000

I call this the iPod Gap, and it works both ways. Older people are not utilizing online tools, technology, and resources as effectively as the could. Gen X and Millenials are just the opposite--relying too much on online Web sites, tuning out of the physical world via iPods and other gadgets, and neglecting face to face human relationships.

The resulting mis-match has become a serious problem, especially since most decisionmakers and leaders seem reluctant to try to learn new skills, and don't take Gen X/Millenial technology skills and expertise seriously.

Re: Round One Broadband Stimulus is Done

Andrew — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 15:02:57 -0000

The 100 megabit target as the lowest acceptable capacity is exactly right. Anything less puts communities at a severe jobs and economic development disadvantage. We talked recently to a major employer interested in placing some of their workforce at home to cut commuting costs and enable more work flexibility, and they want a 50 megabit symmetric connection between the worker's home and the corporate network to keep latency to a minimum, ensure data security (no local data storage), and enable HD videoconferencing.