Mike Brown, strategic innovation expert at The Brainzooming Group, presents ideas for how the Google Fiber gigabit broadband Internet service can be used to benefit Kansas City on Thursday, November 10, 2011, at 10 a.m. at the Central Library, 14 W. 10th St.

Earlier this year, Google announced that it would debut its new fiber-optic network in Kansas City, KS, and Kansas City, MO. Google Fiber would provide Internet access at unprecedented speeds –  up to 100 times faster than normal broadband – and Kansas City would get it first. However, the announcement came with no set of instructions. It would be up to citizen innovators in Kansas City to determine how to best take advantage of the new network.

Buzz around Fiber steadily grew, and on October 3, 2011, a group of local business and nonprofit thought leaders took the initiative. Shepherded by the Social Media Club of Kansas City, these experts gathered at the Kansas City Public Library to take part in a massive brainstorming session led by The Brainzooming Group called Building the Gigabit City: Brainstorming a Google Fiber Roadmap.

Their task was to come up with as many ideas as possible for how Google Fiber could be leveraged in areas such as schools, medicine, libraries, the urban core, suburban living, and culture. Gigabit City generated more than 1,000 ideas, touching on everything from elementary schools to elder care. That night, a sampling of the concepts originating in the session was presented to a standing–room-only audience in a public forum at the Central Library.

Now the whole community is invited to review the results from the Gigabit City brainstorming session. On Thursday, November 10, 2011, at 10 a.m. at the Central Library, Brown, along with leaders from the Social Media Club of Kansas City, will present an overview of the Gigabit City results in conjunction with the release of the first Gigabit City recap document to the public. The hope is that by releasing all the results from the first brainstorming session, all Kansas Citians can take part in shaping how Google Fiber will impact their lives and their communities.