eState Discussion Groups
More live blogging from the eState Symposium:
Small group discussions are a big part of this day-long conference on Vermont connectivity. We just finished our second session. There are 9 of us in my group. It's a pretty diverse crowd. The youngest is in high school, the oldest is 76. We represent business, academia, the media and nonprofits.
During the first session, we talked about our communities — the ones we were part of growing up, and the ones we're part of now. We talked about how they're organized. Most of us said our communities focused around churches, schools or jobs.
In the second session, we brainstormed the opportunities and the challenges facing Vermont as it becomes a fully connected eState. We listed both, then voted on which we felt were most important.
Some of the most popular opportunities in our group were
• access to better information
• economic development/job creation
• the opportunity to participate in one's community
Some of the most popular challenges:
• MONEY
• the vulnerabilities of our online networks
• lack of uniform coverage
• regulatory and market challenges
I've really enjoyed these discussions today, and I'm curious how it'll all end up. What are the solutions?
Also, my group rocks.
