Digital City MechanicsJune, 2009

Engage and Learn

• Only by doing something• Can someone really learn• We’re using social media to help produce

on-line content, services and live events• Training workers in tech and health jobs,

along the way• A new model for ‘Workforce Development’

Digital City Mechanics is building a

Digital City Project

• Technology – offer a free dashboard• System Integration – setup bureaus, produce

events, manage services• Content – produce compelling multimedia on-

line content and services

Digital City project

• Focused on developing Tech Jobs that work in conjunction with software infrastructure

• Video Help available at all times in dashboard, live operators standing by

• Digital bureaus house training, video call center and web site production facilities

• Existing NEO on-line sites & content highlighted• Local organizations and businesses supported

Using Tech job skills for Health and

Local Foods• Once the trainees are comfortable using

computers and our environment• We’ll show them how the tech can be used for:– Health oriented jobs and services– Local Foods projects

• Much of the work will be in producing compelling on-line tutorials, knowledge bases.• Content to TEACH others about Health and

Local foods

2 entities

• Digital City Foundation:– 501c3– Solicits funding from government and foundations

• Digital City Mechanics:– System integrator– Develops unique I.P. and processes– Builds and runs the system– Coordinates with DCF– Works with BBM (see next slide)

Builds on PeopleAggregator

• Broadband Mechanics social networking platform

• 4 years old, mature, stable• Used by:– U.S. Army ROTC program– Nvidia– Mondadori (Italy)– theTimesofIndia (India)– Bell Canada (Canada)

Distributed Regional alliance

• Pilot program = Northern Ohio region• Each city has it’s own bureau(s)• Shared services across all cities• Highlight unique characteristics of each city• Unique populace, history, content of each city

Citizen Dashboards – for all

• Integrate• Aggregate• Customize

Dashboards offer an Integrated environment

• Live Video Help built in• Social Networking• Blogging• Media gallery• Import friends from Facebook and MySpace• Points system• Tied into the Digital City Content and Services

Dashboard aggregates all the info you’re interested in

• RSS, Activity feeds, any accessible data• Updates automatically flow into the

dashboard• Aggregate your friends – from different social

networks• Aggregate your photos or video – from all

around the web• Aggregate your existing web accounts

Dashboard is highly customizable

• Design it to suit your needs:– People, Services and Content– Look and Feel, Designs– Colors, background images, etc.

• Appropriate usage level – matched to what kind of ‘user’ you are

• Choose from pre-built templates to start, and then customize to your fancy

Our secret sauce

• A process of getting trainees to utilize social media software

• To alleviate their fears, build comfort level• Help them identify which kind of job they’ll

excel in, what they’re interested in learning• Train skills which will be relevant for ALL jobs• Make work - fun

Many elements to a Digital City

• Internet connects the Digital Cities together• Dashboard is a common interface• Digital City ID system connects other

institutions into our world• Our software infrastructure can be used by all

A Day in the life of a Digital City

Digital City Content

• Seniors project (video interviews)• History of the Region (via shared timeline)• Lead Poisoning education• Urban farm and greenhouse construction• Polymers construction simulations (and games)• Green Jobs knowledge base (‘how to guides’)

Digital City services

• Type2 Diabetes video conf sessions• Medical digitizing historical research• Business Directory promotions with partners• Help build Urban farms• Help produce local live events

Webcams and Location pages• See top 16 webcams, editorially selected

– Rotate throughout the day

• Click on webcam, go to a location page• Location pages:

– Who lives by– Photos, videos– Other webcams– Leave comments,Reviews, Media, Links

• On shared servers

Business and Services directory

• Listings of local storefronts, businesses• Independent contractors, professional services• Tied into sponsor’s promotional campaigns• Match local businesses to movie launch contest• Reviews, Ratings, Comments• Tied into Video Help services

Digital City ID system

• Connect different ID systems together• Single sign-on with all participating members– Use your same username/password – everywhere!

• SAML based federation• Build data portability and interoperability

solutions

Software as infrastructure• Dashboard is persistent, throughout the region• Dashboard adapts itself to the city it’s in• An ‘operating system’, that knows it’s context• Features and services available to all

Hardware, Bandwidth, Servers, Access

Applications and Services

Solutions, Compelling Experiences

Municipal Apps & Services• Webcams, club cams, traffic cams, security cams• Maps, GPS, mobile social networking• Bus and Train schedule• School, Hospital, Fire, Police services• Fresh food market prices• Weather, Tides, Sunset cams• Federal, State, County, Municipality info• Laws, regulations, forms, small biz info• Pay taxes, fines• Vote

Shared Constructs for all to use

• Digital City ID system• Jobs• Events• Locations (webcam pages)• Businesses and Services Directory• Timeline of Local History• Points

Open Digital City platform

• Any vendor can provide their own compatible ‘Citizen Dashboard’

• Many institutions, agencies and corporations will support the Digital ID system

• Based upon Open Stack standards• Shared resources, servers and constructs can be

used by any software platform• Reusable applications and services provided to

empower solutions

Future experiencesWe’ll watch TV shows or Movies together

What makes a GREAT Digital City?

• When services and content are persistent• There all the time• Available 24/7/365 – wherever you are• As assessable as water, gas and electricity

Connecting humans together

• All software is about people• So conceivably wherever you are – is which

‘digital city’ you are in• The physical place connected to a virtual place• Each person is a member of their own

‘distributed architecture’, the own ‘virtual city’

• Connecting cyberspace to meatspace in their own context, relevant to THEM

A Digital City is the combination of:

• People – the citizens• Access – Wifi, Wimax, Gigabit bandwidth• Cloud services (storage, computing, distribution)• Businesses and Services (local)• Live Web (Twittter, IM, activity streams, video)• Live Events, Recommendations, Opinions• Creativity, Expression, Socializing• Content + Applications• Solutions = relevant for each citizen

Focusing on Solutions

• Build Apps and Services on top of Infrastructure• Build Solutions on top of both• Help change people’s lives• Help feed people• Help connect people together

Solutions

• Put technology to use• Make it relevant• If they build it – will they come?• You can lead a horse to water, but will he

drink?• What’s the point of offering the software if no

one uses it!

Learning by Doing

• By building great on-line content projects• By putting on live events which connect

meatspace to cyberspace• By getting over their fears of technology• We create a new model for workforce training

People• All software is about people• Loosely coupled relationships• User’s identities must be controlled by THEM!

The Open Stack

• Open standards for an Open Web

Finding things in common

• When everyone is doing it, make it a standard!• Find common constructs and elements• And at LEAST agree on common notions

Open Digital City Standards• Multi-vendor solution• Shared servers and resources • Open schemas and protocols