Generation Next » Stand Aside

Socialnomics by @equalman

Are people on the internet? We seem to think so. Do they use social media? Pretty much everyday. How about businesses? They’re getting there. Do people like businesses on the internet? One would think that if they were able to find out as much that is good and bad about a business on the internet that they would begin to tell their friends. Sending a link to 1,306 friends on facebook, 460 email contacts, and 3,583 followers on twitter is a lot faster than calling 1 person to talk on the phone.

Random bit of connected nonsense with no data to back it up. Maybe. I’ll call it common knowledge for now and see what happens.

Project Blue Heron

I've been working on a project aimed at creating a communications program with the effective goal of reducing dangerous drinking among college students. I know, its a daunting task. Drinking in college is so accepted and enjoyed that Grandma's Apple Pie may not look as appealing as drinking with your buds on a weekend night. As I look at all of the statistics and research on college drinking habits and trends, I find they all point to the same billboard. It reads in Big, Red letters, "Can't take me down".

Did you know that the accepted definition of Binge Drinking is consuming five or more drinks in a period of two hours by males and four or more drinks in the same period of time by females? The frame of time is up for debate because some feel it should be in one sitting, or one occassion. Another pseudo-definition says the time frame is once every two weeks.

Love that picture! I think we can do it. I think we can start a movement and change a habit. That's all it really is. Changing a normative behavior. Okay, not all that simple. It will take a lot of work and a lot of brain power to figure this one out.

Movements change normative behaviors. Passions motivate people to do different. These two tenets of the human psyche are my goals.

Although to be perfectly frank, I don't believe there is any reason to reduce the amount of drinking on college campuses. I think that students should learn to be a bit more responsible so that there are less accidents, injuries, rapes, and deaths due to alcohol. College drinking teaches too many students a very difficult lesson, and the worst part is that some of them don't even pay attention.

[Do you think I should start vlogging? I'm trying to figure out the best way to increase my published content because writing has been very hard for me to keep up with.]

An age of connectivity

My generation is connected so seamlessly that I am able to communicate via text, audio, or video to anyone I know across the globe. This has got to be the key to the future. Communication is at the root of most, if not all, interactions and processes. It is these two elements which can make for a productive world, in the right hands of course. Talking with my roomate the other night, we came to the conclusion that the current generation of young innovators has the power to save the world.

We all know that there are problems here and there. We all talk about fixing them and try to find ways to do. So far, not many of those problems have been solved. We are in an ever crumbling environmental state. There is an air of dissonance across the globe as so many nations are not cooperating and do not have unified human goals. Darfur’s residents are at war with each other, comitting horrible atrocities against humanity. Even the U.S. has been invading its citizens’ privacy in hopes to gain some ground on Terrorism.

We have the numbers, the influence, and more importantly the connectivity to get done what needs to be done. Global cooperation and unity is not too distant a future. Some of the first signs are the widespread adoption of online social networks and the youth political movements across the world regarding politics, social justice, and progression. I don’t mean to be "preaching to the choir", I mean to show that there are apparent signals reflecting a coming change. I believe in innovation and self preservation. I believe in cooperation and interaction. I believe in human advancement. I try to reveal these beliefs in how I live my daily life.

This morning, I voted in the New York State primary elections. In and out in less than 5 minutes! Voting, the inspiration to this post. Participation in government is my way of ensuring that I do all that I am capable of right now to live the way I most see fit.

First energy balanced city. Zero carbon. Zero waste.

Location: Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.

Goal: To create the world’s first zero-carbon, zero-waste fully functional city.

The Masdar Initiative. Foster + Partners, a multi-national architecture and design firm based in London, has taken on this incredible endeavor to the fullest of their abilities. They are known for some of the most functional and creative designs in the world such as the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank Headquarters, American Air Museum, Wembley Stadium, and Beijing Airport [the world's largest and most advanced airport building]. Creating a sustainable city is unlike any other undertaking. Foster is said to have finished the final planning phase this past spring and, with a team of engineers behind them, expect the project to last the better part of a decade.

The almost 1,500 acre space is set to contain commercial and industrial efforts striving towards eco-friendly products and services. The city will also have housing, a university, and a future energy company which is driving the city project. The developers are striving to keep the city balanced even as it is being built. Which means that as much energy that goes into the constructing of the city will have to be produced by the city. A difficult task indeed. The designer’s are confident that with a combination of solar power and energy efficient constructs the project should go as planned. The University at Masdar City is expected to open 2009 and students studying Sustainability are suggested to contribute to the development of the city and to live as sustainable as possible.

When complete the city will be home to 45,000 residents and will operate in a completely sustainable manner. An example city for future development if you will. There will be no cars, but instead an efficient rail and public transportation system. Walking will be encouraged by providing shaded walkways so as to be bearable in the intense desert climate of the U.A.E.

See the full article via Architectural Record

Think about Live Earth

Think about Live Earth on 7-7-07
Just think about it. A global concert and awareness event. This is a major step in converting the idea of global climate and environmental change from a mere pipe-dream to reality. I did some quick math calculations and with Live Earth concerts showing at 8 worldwide locations, with an average of 100,000 expected attendance per venue, and tickets being sold for an average of $100US each: ticket sales should soar past $100 million USD. If you factor in worldwide media coverage of this event I don’t even want to look at the numbers of people who will see the event via television, radio, and the internet. I have a feeling this event will blow Live Aid of 1985 out of the water in terms of widespread coverage and contribution. Live Aid was a globally covered concert put on to raise funds for famine relief in Ethiopia.

I wish I was able to afford tickets because I do believe it is for a good cause and also the music artists performing at the NY concert are a once in a lifetime collaboration. Smashing Pumpkins, The Police, Dave Matthews Band, Roger Waters, Kanye West, and Bon Jovi– just to mention a few. And, yes, Al Gore is a major player but we don’t need to think about that.

Just think about it

Project Blue Heron

First energy balanced city. Zero carbon. Zero waste.

Think about Live Earth

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