IBM Powered Communities

An archival connected-home demonstration with David Goswick and a television camera crew. — From the archives · Bringing connected-home technology into view.

Innovation people could experience

Before smart homes
became familiar.

The opportunity was to make a new generation of home technology understandable—and connect it to the promise of an entire community.

The Goswick Team helped connect technology partners, developers, and the story buyers could understand.

The assignment / At a glance

Challenge

Make connected-home technology relevant to community buyers.

GO’s Role

The Goswick Team helped connect IBM, Land Tejas, developers, and the buyer-facing story.

Idea

A connected home within a connected community.

Execution

Community positioning, partner coordination, news coverage, and Home Director media.

Results & Evidence

Original newspaper articles, IBM’s Home Director release, and television features document the technology and the initiative.

Relevance Today

Explain technology through its practical value in everyday life.

The opportunity

A connected home.
A connected community.

In the late 1990s, the Goswick Team helped bring IBM and Land Tejas together around a new approach to community development. Stone Gate and Canyon Gate in the Houston area became settings for intelligent homes, home networking, and a digital community masterplan.

The idea joined everyday benefits—connectivity, home security, lighting, and temperature control—with the larger experience of living in a community. GO’s role connected technology partners, developers, and the story buyers could understand.

01 / The home

Technology with a purpose.

Connectivity, security, lighting, and temperature control were presented through their relevance to daily life.

02 / The community

A shared vision.

Developers and technology partners brought the connected-home idea into the larger community experience.

03 / The introduction

Make it tangible.

Demonstrations, news coverage, and Home Director media helped people see what the technology could do.

The thinking behind the work

“They realize the value and benefits when the technology is saving them money and allowing them to spend more quality time in the comfort of their home.”

David Goswick · From the original newspaper excerpt

View the original excerpt

From the archives

Making news.
Changing expectations.

IBM’s original release introduces Home Director and its home-networking approach. — **IBM Home Director / September 24, 1998**View original material

The original excerpt connects technology with savings, comfort, and time at home. — **Everyday value / Newspaper excerpt**View original material

Community of the Future — Stone Gate team and David Goswick · View full-size article

IBM intelligent homes will debut in Houston — archival newspaper coverage · View full-size article

Stone Gate and Canyon Gate — IBM, Land Tejas, and Goswick & Associates · View full-size article

Open Sesame — building in the digital age · View full-size article

Original television archive