I had one of those wonderful moments this morning as I sat reading the Statesman. That ‘aha!’ feeling when you read a trend or national story that is intriguing on its own, and you realize it also has a local tie - to a client of course.
It just illustrates the simple yet enduring concept that ‘every story is local’. I remember this from my TV news days when we were constantly striving to bring the news down to the local level where it could have greater impact. One striking example, 9-11. I was running the newsroom that day (I’m sure everyone remembers where they were and what they were doing). It was one of the longest days of my professional career – 15+ hours. When I told my family they asked – ‘Why so long, that didn’t happen here… what could you possibly have been busy with?’ But as you know, no matter what town or city you lived in – that story was local. And that is the case more often than not.
In the particular instance from today, it’s the national alarm bell being sounded about the rapidly growing broadband needs nationwide. As the Associated Press story noted, we have all this great technology, but traditional home wiring can’t and won’t be able to handle it. It will impact not only entertainment needs, but telecommuting and news consumption. The way we are consuming information and communicating is changing at a rapid pace. But the access to the technology needed may not be keeping up.
The local tie? I’m working with a tech company in the Treasure Valley that is addressing the very issue – future proofing (don’t you love that word) communities against the projected needs and those not even known yet by providing fiber-to-the-home in new communities in the Valley. Zial Networks is the first company building dedicated point-to-point FTTH networks in the Western US – right here in the Treasure Valley.
Just another feather in the Valley’s cap – with forward thinking companies keeping an eye on future needs and ensuring we are ready.
-Jessi
