Director's Report for 02 May 2007 KillerApps Expo

Report from the KillerApps Expo, attended on May 2, 2007

Morning Session:

10:30 – 11:15pm - Online Video Communication – Calling, Conferencing, and Collaborating
Geoff Daily, Asst. Editor, KillerApp.com – Moderator
Scott Lomond, President & COO, SightSpeed
Peter Ryce, Technology Evangelist, Adobe
Jon Boyd, Product Specialist, Cisco

From ultra-high-end telepresence to webcams on desktops, the term “videoconferencing” can mean many things to many people. During this session, you’ll gain exposure to three distinct solutions – inexpensive video calling, subscription-based persistent meeting rooms, and top-of-the-line setups with dedicated hardware – that are ushering in a new era of video collaboration. Find out how each holds the potential to transform your business operation no matter why kind of industry you’re in or how big your company is.

Jane's Take:

Very interesting software that reduces the barries to entry for video teleconferencing. Locally I can see this being useful for job training, education, government instruction, etc. The Adobe Connect product is very exciting and very configurable for small to large applications. Especially exciting though was the SightSpeed product which offers a free version that could allow not-for-profits and small business to make use of this new technology. One example he gave was to do a video teleconference, one of their customers had sent a low cost ($35) video camera to their interviewee and using the free software, was able to have a face-to-face interview.

11:15 – 12:00pm - Hosted Applications for Business and Government
Geoff Daily, Asst Editor, KillerApp.com – Moderator
Dan Dal Degan, Vice President – Central US, Salesforce.com
Joel Book, Director of eMarketing Education, Exact Target
Kevin Knuth, Business Development Manager, rBAK
Stan Adams, Founder & Owner, Indiana Data Center

A new generation of applications is being designed to run securely over the Internet rather than over closed enterprise networks or through a locally installed application. Corporations are discovering that using hosted applications allows them to reduce capital and operating expenses, increase their data’s security, and gain access to regularly updated cutting-edge technology, while keeping in-house staff focused on core functions. This session explores several of the more popular hosting service models and application types, and provides demonstrations of how these services work.

Jane's Take:

Salesforce.com is very much a business app, but local not-for-profit and government agencies may be interested in the permission-based e-mailing communication and marketing opportunities being offered by ExactTarget - a growing Indianapolis company. Any local organization that depends on electronic records would be interested in the services of rBAK or the Indiana Data Center, both local to Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Afternoon Session:

3:00 – 3:45pm – Broadcasting Online for Government
Clifford Clarke, CIO, City of Fort Wayne – Moderator
Alan Shark, Executive Director, PTI
Tom Spengler, CEO, Granicus

There’s arguably no better tool for enabling a 21st-century government that engages citizens in public affairs than the use of online video. Whether it’s streaming local meetings live or distributing important information on-demand, online video offers one of the best possible ways to communicate with your citizens. In this session, two leading providers of local government–centric online broadcasting solutions discuss the use of Internet video to in improving and expanding government services.

Jane's Take:

Alan Shark with PTI discussed on-demand video and their new creation GoGovTV. The true "KillerApp" in this session was the product by Granicus that offered on-demand government video that could be indexed, searched (so you only need to watch the 3 minutes that are of interest - not the 3 hours of boring government procedural process). This product assists city clerks in creating quick, detailed minutes of meetings that are also indexed. It appears that the City of Indianapolis uses this product. This is one I will share with both the Richmond City Clerk and the WCTV folks as it would be a great way to increase the distribution of these meetings to the public.

4:15 – 5:00pm –Engaging Your Community with Broadband
Don Samuelsson, Lawyer & Economic Development Consultant – Moderator
Nicol Turner-Lee, Vice President, One Economy
Joe Mefford, Executive Director, Connect Kentucky
Don Kent, President, Net Literacy Corporation

Putting an advanced broadband network in place is only the first step. Now the question is, how can you get your community equipped to more fully engage with the use of broadband in their every day lives. In this session, you’ll be treated to the stories of three programs that have found great success in Fort Wayne, Kentucky, and across the country. Come and gain actionable insight on how you can apply the lessons they learned to your own community.

Jane's Take:

Very interesting programs. One Economy has taken the idea of a community network nationally - offering programs that cross city, county & state borders. They get a lot of national funding but are very interested in low-income areas. I will be following up to see if we can take advantage of some of their programs.

Connect Kentucky is exciting on a state level. They went from being 48th in the nation in 2004 for those who had access to broadband to 1st in 2007. They claim to have 92% availability.

Net Literacy is a program that could be replicated locally. They use students to refurbish old computers, use those computers to outfit computer labs in public areas and those students then train seniors and other adults in the use of computers and the Internet. This offers training not only for the adults, but increases adult presence in the lives of the students.

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