GRAND RAPIDS -- A grassroots online effort to lure Google to build a high-speed data network here is hoping to make a real-world splash March 19 with a "flash mob" on Calder Plaza downtown.

The 4 p.m. event is designed as a community-wide rally to show Google how widespread support of its Google Fiber initiative is in the community.

Part of the event is expected to include a "human fiber" chain during which people will join hands in what organizers hope will be a huge show of support. Entertainment also is being planned, though no acts have been announced.
IF YOU GO
Rally to help bring Google Fiber to Grand Rapids

When: 4 p.m. March 19

Where: Calder Plaza, downtown Grand Rapids

Why: To show Google widespread community interest in becoming a test site for its high-speed data network

Cost: Free
Convincing Google to bring the effort to Grand Rapids will further help it diversify its economy and open new opportunities for the community, said Pete Brand, co-founder of Mindscape at Hanon McKendry and a member of the GF4GR steering committee.

"We're really excited about what this is going to do to Grand Rapids," Brand said.

The event was announced Wednesday at a press conference organized by a group that helped muster more than 20,000 fans to join a Facebook fan page in support of Google Fiber.

"By installing a fiber line of this capacity in Grand Rapids we will see opportunities that we've never had before," said Tommy Allen, a community activist and columnist for Rapid Growth Media.

In February, Google announced plans to build experimental fiber optic networks in select American cities that would offer Internet access hundreds of times faster than most current broadband internet providers.

The initiative set off a frenzy among hundreds of U.S. cities that plan to apply to be a test site. Holland, Ann Arbor, Kalamazoo and Muskegon are among the communities hoping to make a bid. Applications are due March 26.

Allen said having Google's high-speed, high-capacity fiber network linking the community would help "transform Grand Rapids in to the next great American city."

Todd Ernst, a local DJ and real estate entrepreneur, said he sees the all-volunteer effort to attract Google as a project that the community will someday look back upon and take pride.

He said he's spoken with school official and hopes the 4 p.m. start time will enable parents or school groups to come down to the event while also enticing workers to skip out of work a bit early to show support.

"We want this to be a call to action," Ernst said at the press conference. "We want to see everybody down here."

More information about the event will be posted at the group's Web site, Goog616.com and on the Facebook group.

The group is one of at least three trying to draw Google's attention. Another, which created the Website inthe616.com announced a contest offering four $100 gift certificates to area restaurants to people who submit photos or videos showcasing Grand Rapids for Google Fiber.

There are at least three Google Fiber for Grand Rapids groups on Facebook, though the smaller two groups have fewer than 1,000 members.

E-mail Chris Knape: cknape@grpress.com
Reposted from mLive.com 3/10/10