Last week ProBlogger announced they are partnering with Tourism Queensland to give away 10 trips to bring bloggers Queensland. This is a pretty awesome giveaway – who wouldn’t want to win a trip to check out Queensland.  I really like how Darren writes about his love of the place and how much he wants to show it off to other bloggers and have the bloggers share their experience with their readers.

The Great Barrier Reef, as seen from a helicopter (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As I was writing my entry to the contest – I was reading through the amazing itinerary they have put together to show the winning bloggers the country in 5 days.

If ProBlogger were to give away a trip to Pittsburgh, what would that itinerary look like.  What is the one thing, or three things you would want to make sure you showed someone in Pittsburgh?  Where would you take a group of bloggers for the day?  What is the Pittsburgh equivalent of the Great Barrier Reef?

Please share your itinerary ideas in the comments.

Related articles

• 24 Hours Left to Win a Trip to The Great Barrier Reef in Queensland Australia #QldBlog (problogger.net)
• Win 1 of 10 Trips to The Great Barrier Reef in Queensland Australia (problogger.net)

Check out some other local coverage of this event, like PittGirl Virginia Montanez’  interview with Jim Shearer or this article in the PittNews.

ps.  I’ll admit that right after I moved here in 2002 my roommate and I didn’t have cable but got MTV2.  So I started crushing on Jim Shearer the same time I started falling for Pittsburgh.

I have know Ben for a few years now and I think we have shared some of his videos here on the blog.  I just received an email update from him about his summer residency in Iceland.  I thought it might be interesting to show off Ben and some other Pittsburghers who are visiting interesting places this summer.  If you know of a Pittsburgher who is traveling or living somewhere interesting for the summer – please share a link to their blog.  Maybe we can make this a regular series.

Ben Hernstrom is from Pittsburgh.  He runs a video production company called Ambulantic which has put together lots of interesting videos about people and events here in Pittsburgh – you can check out all some of his videos here – http://www.youtube.com/ambulantic.

For the month of July, Ben has a residency at at the Icelandic Association of Artists Residency (SIMRES).  He has set up a new blog for the project – check out his photos from Reykjavik here – http://anunspeakablelanguage.posterous.com/

You can purchase some of the photographs in the Ambulantic Etsy Shop here http://www.etsy.com/shop/ambulantic.

Very excited that we get to add a post to Iceland on our map too.

A community of connected individuals, young professionals, investors, and concerned citizens who have the power to make things happen just by the click of a mouse is a revolution; and it’s happening in Pittsburgh.

Why not take it to the next level?

Google is searching for the best place in the nation to test their new ultra-high speed broadband network and Pittsburgh is “ready, willing & able.”

Google will create a one-gigabit per second Internet service network, which will be 100 times faster than what is currently offered by companies like Comcast and Verizon. What’s even more remarkable about this project is that Google promises to offer competitive rates so that up to 500,000 people in the chosen community would be able to afford and enjoy the service in their homes, offices, and public places.

Steve Klabnik, Chief Technical Officer of local startup CloudFab, is enthusiastic at the prospect of Google choosing Pittsburgh. “It’s like when the first cars couldn’t go very fast; only short trips were possible. Once engines got better, they enabled longer trips.” Steve is also interested in the prospect of Google becoming a competitor to Verizon and Comcast. “Right now, there isn’t much competition for Internet services around here. Google would make Verizon and Comcast improve their service and drop their prices, which is good for everyone.”

From now until March 26th, citizens and local officials can submit their suggestions to Google as to why their city or community should be chosen for the trial. It has also been noted that the Google Fiber trial will not cost the chosen community a penny- Google will take care of all of the expenses related to the testing.

The City of Pittsburgh firmly believes that Pittsburgh is the best choice for the Google Fiber experiment; they’ve set up a website with more information and a link to contact Google directly. The site also includes a comments section to share thoughts and questions along with representation from a slew of community supporters including the Pittsburgh Technology Council, UPMC and Carnegie Mellon University.

In speaking to KDKA this week, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl was quoted as saying: “Google has said it will pick a city that proves that citizens and businesses are excited as its government. We are excited, we are ready, we are able, but we need your support.”

Mike Woycheck, Technology Analyst at Innovation Works, believes that the Google Fiber initiative would have far-reaching benefits: “The Pittsburgh tech startup community across all sectors such as web/software, entertainment, medical applications, networking, and others would gain a significant competitive advantage by getting an early opportunity to understand where the world will be in a few years.”

Adam Jette, a computer programmer, put it bluntly: “More tech means more work, and more work means more competitive salaries.”

Regarding industry leadership and efficiency, Woycheck added, “Companies that are developing significant content offerings such as video, rich media, and gaming/entertainment could leverage gigabit speeds to position themselves as industry leaders in their respective field(s). More and more startups moving to cloud computing offerings such as Amazon’s Web Services and Google’s App Engine could deploy their web/internet based applications much more efficiently while maintaining flexibility to host whatever resources they need on-site cost effectively.”

Do you think Pittsburgh is a great location for the Google Fiber tests? If you’re interested in adding your voice to the cause, make sure to let Google know your thoughts by March 26th.

Photo credit: Brian Cohen

Related articles by Zemanta

• Pittsburgh, Seattle Announce Interest In Google’s Fiber Trial (tech.slashdot.org)

First, I want to start by linking to this post on BikePGH – R.I.P. William Thomas, kid’s bike mechanic extraordinaire – this is a really nice post about a really nice Pittsburgher who donated his time to fixing bikes for kids.

Just Vote to Help a Greenburg Family win a $10,000 Family Room Makeover

I have posted about this on twitter but I wanted to give one last link for this one. Today, July 31 is the last day to vote for Megan B. at the Nestle Family Dream Room Makeover Contest. One great family from Greensburg has made it to the final round!! So take a moment to visit and vote for Megan B. Greensburg PA.

Kiva Fellowship: From Pittsburgh to the Phillipines (with a few stops in between)

One of the blogs that I have recently stumbled across from an email exchange about the upcoming Netroot Nation is The Causemopolitain – which is a great blog about Sloane’s Kiva fellowship in the Phillipines. Yes, that Kiva, the micro lending site that Oprah has talked about where you can support small businesses from around the globe. Sloane is originally from Pittsburgh – and we actually went to grade school together way back when.  If you have any interest in social entrepreneurship and the Kiva process – you should definitely check out The Causemopolitain.

You can help with Sloane’s Kiva Fellowship by making a contribution

Mexico Mission Trip

I have been following the blog With love from Pittsburgh for awhile now – with a name like that how could I not follow along.   Laura wrote a nice post last week about her boyfriends mission trip to Mexico – I was about to head back and make a donation but it looks like he has successfully completed his fundraising for the trip.  Laura – please leave a comment if there are other things people can do to help!

WYBMND = Would You Be My Neighbor Days

When: March 15 – 20, 2008
Where: All over Pittsburgh

March 20 – Mr. Roger’s 80th Birthday

Click Here for a Complete List of Events

Some Important Events:

• March 20 – Wear your Favorite Sweater Day
  • Over 1200 people have signed up to wear a sweater on the Sweater Day Facebook Page.
• March 20 – Free Admission
  • Children’s Museum
  • National Aviary
  • Mattress Factory
  • Westmoreland Museum of Art

Click here to view the embedded video.

PopCity Media has published 100 issues of their weekly newsletter.  That is 100 issues of interesting stories, links to great articles and awesome pictures of Pittsburgh.  If you haven’t visited their site yet – what are you waiting for – check out PopCityMedia.com.

I really like that they highlight different neighborhoods around Pittsburgh and each week the provide a nice summary of articles about Pittsburgh in the sidebar.

Chapter 2 “The Fear of US” is a follow up to the first documentary that opened last year.  Part 1 has recieved much attention and was screened in London in May of 2007.

Watch the tailer for East of Liberty Part 2 here.

East of Liberty Website:  EastofLiberty.com
Chris Ivey’s Website:  hyperboymedia.com

Read the Pittsburgh Dish’s  post on “East of Liberty” here.

7:30 pm: doors open

8 pm: fashion show… followed by a performance by Jazzercize Troop Radical Pittsburgh

9 pm- midnight: DJ J. Malls of The Big Throwback

Craft demos and I Made It! Market throughout the evening. $5 at the door.

Must be over 21 to drink.

Partners include:
Penn Brewery, Sugar Boutique, Jupe Boutique, Jet Boy Jet Girl, Phillip Pelusi of South Hills Village Mall, DJ J. Malls of The Big Throw Back, Jazzercize Troop Radical Pittsburgh and the Brew House Association.

Visit www.myspace.com/imadeitpgh for more info. or to join the I Made It! mailing list.

Check out their latest podcast – Love Stinks – where they review the following beers – Rogue’s Brutal Bitter, Erie Brewing Misery Bay IPA, Bells Two Hearted Ale

If you haven’t had a chance to visit & listen to Should I Drink That – you should – Sick Puppy and Father Spoon (who are really great people – don’t let the serious names deter you) have an award winning podcast about all things beer and they live right here in Pittsburgh so they visit many local watering holes.

Click here to see my other post about SIDT and see a rare photo of me and Sick Puppy.