Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Grand Rapids buys "Lack of Red Tape" and other features in fight for Google Fiber

Games for Democracy partnered with Ryan Peel's group in Grand Rapids, MI to produce an online Innovation Games® Buy A Feature game to support GR's bid to be a Google Fiber city. You can read his entire blog post here, and here is an excerpt:

On 3/23, the entire Google Fiber for Grand Rapids Facebook fan base was invited to play in an online Innovation Game® called "Buy a Feature". At least two games were played. Here are some of the thoughts people had after the game was over.

  • "...an interesting way to negotiate."
  • "...it is quite an enjoyable game."
  • "...we all collaborated in an innovative fashion and it was fun!"
  • "...this was kinda fun."

...

In this case, what the players "purchased" in the Buy a Feature game outlined for Google what the community thought were the top characteristics of Grand Rapids that Google should consider. Hopefully these characteristics match Google's goals.

The online game is going to continue through Thursday, March 25th. To play, you only have to click on the game link and then wait for 4 other people to show up in the lobby. If you have friends, send them a link to the game so you can see what all the buzz is about.

Congratulations, Ryan and Grand Rapids!