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Tech Tips Articles » The Benefits of Broadband |
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The Benefits of Broadband (Mar 13, 2006)
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In last week’s Tech Tips I mentioned the Connect Kentucky initiative and thought that this week I’d delve a little deeper into what exactly that is and what Governor Fletcher’s Prescription for Innovation might mean for those of us here in the beautiful hills of Eastern Kentucky.
Essentially, this initiative is an effort to get high-speed internet access to the entire state by 2007, a very bold undertaking. The folks at Connect Kentucky have been doing quite a lot of research to see exactly where Kentucky stands in terms of technology adoption, and the numbers aren’t very impressive. According to the ConnectKentucky.org website, Kentucky ranks 44th in the proportion of high-tech companies and 45th in residential computer use. To get more information and to see where Breathitt County stands, go to ConnectKentucky.org and click on the ‘Info for Kentucky Communities’ link, then click on ‘Breathitt’.
There was a time not too terribly long ago when you could work on a farm or in a manufacturing plant and not really care much about technology. For better or worse, I think we can all agree that those days are behind us. Further, the US economy is really moving to be more service-oriented rather than focusing primarily on manufacturing. Whether we like it or not, technology is here to stay. And if you read the report on Breathitt County on the page I mentioned above you’ll notice exactly how reliable and readily available high-speed internet can help bring good-paying jobs to our area. It’s a big ol’ world out there and it is teeming with limitless possibilities. As the saying goes, ‘The world is your oyster’. In this case, let’s make the world our customer.
Now for the Site of the Week… This week’s site is actually not a site. It is a book. The book is The World is Flat by a fellow named Tom Friedman and discusses pretty much the point I am trying to make this week: that the potential for jobs and commerce is no longer limited by geographic or time constraints. As the perpetual entrepreneur that I am, I just can’t help but to think of all the potential business opportunities that a solid technological infrastructure could bring to our area, not to mention the advances in education and health care.
As always, if you have any comments or suggestions please email me at mike@MikeBryant.com.
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