Multi-Generational Interview

I interviewed a small group (5) teens (one 10^th, two 11^th, and one 12^th graders) for the multi-generational interview project.  All of the students currently use and have been using Facebook for a range of ½ years to 5 years.  Three of the five had used MySpace but became bored with it and moved on to Facebook.    Three had used Twitter in the past but no longer use this media, all knew the difference between Twitter and Facebook.  One currently uses Skype and one also use ODVO.  When asked how much time the students spend on social sites, they all responded “the whole time they are up”.  The students did not know what “blogging” was.  Each respondent indicated that they go on social sites to keep up with their friends and find out what’s going on.  Each of the student stated that they did not pay attention to the ads on the sites, but when asked for detailed information about the ads, each was able to give very specific information about ads that pop up on their sites (One girl was offended that pregnancy ads always pop up on her site). 

I believe that my generation chooses different social networking sites, which they perceive to be more professional, i.e., LinkedIn, blogging.  I personally, am not a good representative of use of social media as I have resisted it use and still do not see its benefit to me.  I have become more active in social media due to this class; however, I don’t feel that I will significantly change my position.  I believe I will go back to email as my primary source of communication.  Whereas my spouse has been a blogger before MySpace and Facebook existed, his use of social media limited to blogging on subject sites of interest i.e., technology, investing.

I feel the social networking industry has done an outstanding job creating specific niches targeted at its intended market.  If you ask most people in my generation, they would not dare have a MySpace, Twitter or Facebook account, but finds LinkedIn and blogging acceptable.  The specific sites also allow marketing at its intended audience.

I personally spend a lot of time on the computer to accomplish my everyday task, Word, Excel, and other technological tools.  I try to designate a specific time to check and respond to email.  Strictly from a time management point of view, in my opinion, social networking does not lend itself to optimum utilization of time.  As I write (used to be as I speak), I am perched at my computer across the table from my spouse who is perched at his computer.  As we spend more time on computers and less time communicating face to face or by phone, social networking should be termed anti-social networking.   If either or the other speak or ask a question you get silence or “wait let me finish this thought”.  While we are in one another’s physical presence, our thoughts and attention is devoted to others, people we don’t even know.  Is this social networking?

Online-Offline Media Integration

The purpose of the SeaWorld campaign was to build relationships, awareness, and promote driving visitation to the park.  This campaign was event specific and used a blog site to solicit comments related only to that event.  Because the blog was really event specific, it did not appear to be successful as there were basically less than 10 posts to the blog. 

The purpose of the Charleston Park Blog seems to be to educate the community to a more sustainable way of gardening.   This site appears to be more consumer oriented and less market focused.  I find this site very useful and customer friendly

The purpose of the Random Buzzer is clearly designed to promote the specific books and nothing more than a Barnes and Noble site with only the select books.  Clever marketing tool but very transparent.  The only purpose is clearly to sell books. 

All of these sites utilize blogs to solicit comments from their followers; however Random Buzzer goes a step further and create a mini social networking site within its website with about 63,700 followers.  With as many followers, Random Buzzers’ strategy appears to be effective.  Nevertheless, I personally feel the Charleston Park method is more useful and helpful.

Social Media Elements Case Study

The case studies of Best Buy and Zappo used two completely different social media elements to develop their message and reach customers/employers.  Zappo was primarily geared toward their employees, and was very effective in creating what appears to be a very desirable workplace.  Not much focused on how that translated into customer sales, however the numbers speak for themselves.  Who wouldn’t want to do business with a company who treats their employees that well?

Best Buy, on the other hand, did concentrate on customers.  Their 24/7 availability to customers via tweeter must be a gold mine for building a huge customer base.  Whereas Microsoft and Apple currently have the availability via social networking, it is for their customers only.  I can envision more companies expanding this service to non-customer in an effort to gain new customers.

Is Social Networking The Best Method of Communicating for Children?

My short and simple answer is no.

Surely, social networking will survive in some manner, but certainly not in its current state.  There are too many social networking medias, it is much too distracting, and greatly contributes to lower productivity in the workplace.  (http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/dallas/headlines/20110711-inquiry-shows-excessive-facebook-use-at-dallas-city-hall.ece?action=reregister)  Employees think it is their right to spend time on Facebook and other social networking sites, regardless of whether what they are doing has anything to do with the organization’s business.  

Social Networking will lose its zeal when many people find that their personal information is floating in cyberspace with no one in control.  We have gone from a period of having unlisted phone number to “hello world, anybody, here all you need to know about me as well as what I am thinking!”  (http://www.dallasnews.com/business/columnists/pamela-yip/20110605-storing-your-personal-data-in-the-clouds-requires-research.ece?action=reregister)

Social Networking have our children, (already generation ADD), on a fast road to ADD++  (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1153583/Social-websites-harm-childrens-brains-Chilling-warning-parents-neuroscientist.html). Look at the trend; twenty years ago we had to wait two to three days to hear from someone; (U.S. Postal Service).  Ten years ago, we had to wait a few hours before we could hear from someone; (email).  Now we have instant contact, with people sitting on social networking sites all day just waiting to hear people rant and rave about nothing and everything.  You tell me, are children better off today than children were twenty or even ten years ago?   

Social networking sites have exposed our children to a world we fought so hard to protect them from.  The only difference is we don’t know who or where the stranger is (http://www.nsteens.org/Videos/SocialNetworking).  Is that really ok?

Social networking sites should be called “Advertising Overload Sites”.  You can’t go on any site without being bombarded with advertisement.  The sites have developed a method to take advantage of you by selling your attention to the highest bidder.  (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBQ7MKlOJic) Who is really benefitting from social networking?

One social media campaign which appears to be successful in getting its message out and advancing its agenda is Generation Texas (www.gentx.org).  Generation Texas is a social media networking commissioned by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to encourage student to obtain a higher education or become career ready.   The site provide video testimonies (http://gentx.org/story/meet-oscar-15/) from students and supporters (http://gentx.org/story/meet-senator-wendy-davis/) which serves as an encouragement to other students.  This campaign, although very new, has seen tremendous growth among students, colleges and universities.

As a newcomer to social networking, my position on this issue would easily classify as that of a novice.  Nevertheless, I am continually exploring this subject matter, and experimenting with ways to utilize social networking to communicate information to communities, parents, and students.  As my skills in this arena develops, I envision a better understanding and utilization of social networking media and tools.

Green Building Council of Australia – January 12

We visited the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) and were provided a detailed presentation and tour by its Executive Director Robin Mellon.  The GBAC is a non-profit organization whose goal is to develop a sustainable property industry for Australia by adopting standardized green building practices (www.gbca.org.au) . 

The GBCA’s office is a great example of leading by example, as it has achieved a 5-star Green Star Office Interior rating.  At a cost of approximately $1.3 million, the office was retrofitted with the highest of environmental standards incorporated with sustainable design and practices receiving points in all the rating categories as listed below:

·         Management

·         Indoor Environment Quality

·         Energy

·         Transport

·         Water

·         Material

·         Emission

·         Innovation

Some of the features that the building incorporates are:

• REDUCE (dematerialisation) - exposed ceilings where possible to reduce use of plasterboard / ceiling tiles.
• RECYCLE - some furniture has been reupholstered (such as café chairs).
• OPEN PLAN - office space allows for interaction between all staff, and demonstrates workplace equality. It also maximises the natural light and views to all staff.

• BATHROOMS - dual flush (water efficient) cisterns have been installed. Urinals are 6 Star water efficient (0.8Litres /flush), and are controlled by motion detectors. Bathroom taps are water saving spring loaded taps. All taps and toilets (including kitchen sink and dishwaters) are connected to the grey water system, and were supplied by Caroma.
• BLINDS - Verosol blinds are installed on every perimeter window to control light penetration, glare and heat. All window blinds are fully automated and controlled by the touch screen panel by the lifts. Eventually, these blinds will be set on a timer, with manual override.

• CEILINGS - where possible, we have chosen to limit installation of ceilings throughout all the tenancy to avoid unnecessary use of materials.
• CO2 MONITORS - are located in meeting rooms and general office areas. These devices monitor the amount of CO2, while sensors deliver higher levels of fresh air for occupant comfort.
• DISPLACEMENT VENTILATION - a highly energy efficient mechanical air conditioning system has been installed, delivering air through vents at floor level in workstation areas, and window bays and through plenum wall boxes along the perimeter of the west and south areas of the office. This air is then vented out through return air ducts above the light shelves. Floor vents can be rotated to direct the flow of air to maximize worker comfort.
• FLOORING - carpet is from InterfaceFLOR, has low VOC content and can be recycled. Carpet tiles are held in place with adhesive stickers (on the corners of each tile). No carpet glue is used. The concrete floor has been polished and sealed with water-based sealant.
• GREEN WALL - a living plant wall is featured behind the reception area. It is both functional and decorative. As the plants grow they also provide visual privacy.
• GREY WATER - all water and other material (such as soap, food scraps) that goes down the sink, or into the dishwasher, is pumped along a grey waste pipe and into a grey water collection tank. The tank is located in a cupboard beside the meeting room's food preparation area. All solid material is filtered out, and then the water is used for flushing the toilets and urinals. The grey water is only released into the system when the tank level is high enough. At other times regular tap water is used.
• INDOOR PLANTS - are supplied and maintained by Rentokil. These act as biofilters to convert CO2 into oxygen It also brings the outside environment inside the office.
• JOINERY - all joinery in the office is made from low formaldehyde (E0) board.
• LIGHTING - all lighting is by Zumtobel. Workstation lighting provides both task and ambient lighting in one system. Meeting room and boardroom lighting runs on a sensor system. We are awaiting replacement of LED lights in the boardroom and then the touch panel can be fine-tuned. Eventually, all lights in the tenancy will be linked to the Dali automated system, providing maximum user and energy efficiency.
• OUTDOOR PLANTER BOXES - contain hardy, climate tolerant plants. The large grey planter boxes along the length of the balcony contain Lemon Ironbark and Golden Guinea vine. The planter boxes on either end of the balcony contain culinary herbs - thyme, oregano and rosemary.
• UTILITIES ROOM - all printers and photocopiers and computer racks are contained here. All pollutants are contained, and can be properly ventilated.
• WASTE BINS - have been provided for recycled paper and card, recycled plastic, and appropriate food scraps for the worm farm. Small bins are in kitchen areas and large paper and plastic, glass, steel and aluminum recycling bins are in the utilities room.
• WORM FARM - we have two and both are fed by food scraps generated by the GBCA staff.

161 Castlereagh/242 Pitts – January 13

This site represents construction of an office/retail tower which is being developed as a 5-star green design and a 5-star NABERS energy building (http://www.161castlereagh.com.au/) .  With two major tenants, Freehills (161 Castlereagh) and ANZ (242 Pitts),  the building is scheduled for completion in 2013.  The developer and construction company, Grocon, is striving for this to be the greenest building in the world.  Some of the features which will make this building a 5 star green building are:

·         Outside air will be introduced into the building at 150% of the ventilation required under Australian standards

·         Light efficiency chillers will be utilized, supported by 1200kW tri-generation plant with excess heat used for heating water

·         Lighting will be configured with time schedules to reduce power consumption when light is not needed

·         Automatic blinds for daylight glare control and solar reduction

·         Rainwater will be harvested and test water from the sprinkler system will be collected for re-use (sprinkler system required to be tested bi-annually)

·         95% of demolition waste nd 90% of construction waste will be re-cycled.

One of the most interesting aspects of this building project for me was the required design angle of the building to meet city statues regarding the shadow of a building and the Hyde Park War Memorial.

Waiheke Island Class Discussion – January 4

 C
lass in Waihekee Island was very interesting in that everyone got to discuss individual projects provided by Dr. Fred.  My article, “Beacon’s Neighborhood Sustainability Framework”, was very suited for my interest as my goal upon completion of this class is to utilize learned tools to transform the Stop Six Community of Fort Worth into a more sustainable community.  This articles is one of that I really appreciate in that it addresses what I know to be real issues in making at-risk neighborhoods sustainable.  It acknowledge many factors that are often overlooked, (what I call the Ivory Tower approach), when presenting solutions for a sustainable neighborhood.  Some of those factors that I deem to be real and very important are:

1.        Day to day survival is more important than sustainability.  This goes back to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.   If someone is worrying about getting money to  buy food from month to month, they are not apt to worry about saving the earth, environment, or any of those “green” initiatives.

2.       And by the way; “What exactly is sustainability”.  At-risk communities must first be educated about sustainability and in a manner that one can quickly ascertain, “what’s in it for me”.

3.       What exactly is sustainable about being able to walk to the corner store to buy a gallon of milk, but having to pay 4 times what that milk cost adequate shopping existing within my community?  Or, why do I have to drive to the store just to by a gallon of milk.  The infrastructure does not currently exist to embrace sustainability.

In addition to educating the community about sustainable initiatives, individual charged with helping to make those changes must be educated about how the neighborhood works.  A better understanding must exist about at-risk neighborhoods, the culture, and the obstacles to becoming sustainable.