I am a senior at Bainbridge High School and have done some of the videography work for the Google Broadband group, also known as the “rich busybodies” Mr. Mark Lacy referred to in his letter (“Broadband service should go elsewhere,” March 26).

In filming these interviews, I got a good sense of what Google is after here. Google’s broadband experiment is just that – an experiment. It is not an act of charity that we are somehow stealing from communities in need.

Those familiar with Google and the way it works have noticed the section on the Google homepage titled, “Labs.” One of Google’s ways of gathering and refining ideas is to put a technology or capability out there and see what people do with it collaboratively. Sometimes, a popular or heavily user-modified app or program will be absorbed back into Google as an official tool. This is exactly what Google is looking for here.

Google is looking for a community with the highest likelihood of developing uses we haven’t even thought of yet, and Bainbridge is a perfect place. We’ve got a high number of technology workers, people with above average income, and more NGOs than any other community our size, all looking to take the next step toward the future. This is the kind of environment that will revolutionize the way we think about Internet.

We’re not talking fast-loading YouTube videos here. We’re talking about a technology that could enable, say, the Lynwood Theatre to download its cinema-sized videos from an online database in perfect quality instead of using film reels, a use that is perfect for independent films and blockbusters alike, allowing for greater variety and exchange of ideas.

Being at the heart of a technological revolution would bolster our economy, provide more jobs, and increase funding for our schools. Google’s looking for someone to invent the future, and Bainbridge is a darn good place to start.

Cameron Stahl

Bainbridge Island