The Greening of Facebook, The Greening of America

As "the nation of Facebook," what better way to support clean green energy than to urge Facebook to unfriend coal?

In President Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday night, he referenced America as “the nation of Google and Facebook.” Though he used these examples, among others, to highlight U.S. economic innovation, it also suggests the power we have to lead the world in renewable energy – an area the President is looking to improve upon, particularly in the wake of his failure to get climate change legislation passed last year.

Google has long been an active proponent of clean energy investments, putting its money where its mouth is …

* Installing the largest U.S. corporate solar installation (at the time) at Google headquarters, producing 1.6 megawatts of electricity, enough to power approximately 1,000 California homes.
* Using landfill gas at Google headquarters, generating electricity and heat while destroying methane.
* Installing solar water heating systems at two Google offices in India.
* Investing over $100 million in the clean energy sector, including $38.8 million in two North Dakota wind farms that generate 169.5 megawatts (MW), enough to power 55,000 homes.
* Researching and developing utility-scale renewable electricity that is cheaper than coal in years, not decades.

Impressive huh? (And there’s more.)

Read full story at AltFuels Now….

On the Eco-Friendly Edge of ‘Collaborative Consumption’

 

In What's Mine is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption, authors Rachel Botsman and Roo Rogers delve into the culture of sharing seeping into all areas of our lives.

It’s been a long time coming but the concept of “collaborative consumption” behind old-school libraries and rummage sales is poised to take mainstream society by storm. In What’s Mine is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption, authors Rachel Botsman and Roo Rogers delve into the culture of sharing seeping into all areas of our lives – a green living model with all sorts of eco-friendly implications.

During an interview with Treehugger, Botsman notes a number reasons collaborative consumption ranks high on the list of good green ways to cut your carbon footprint.

Collaborative consumption:

* Reduces the production of goods
* Encourages products designed for longevity
* Better utilizes the full-potential of our assets
* Generates less waste

Botsman also touches on the way collaborative consumption will change the way we think and feel about ourselves and our lives:

“Big picture (and I am talking in 10-20 years time), I think we will see the way we measure ‘wealth’, ‘growth’ and ‘happiness’ being completely redefined. We are already seeing countries such as the UK, Canada and France looking at reinventing measures beyond GDP that give a picture of the holistic well-being of a nation. As Sarkozy commented, “So many things that are important to individuals are not included in GDP.”

Read full story at AltFuels Now….

Social Media and the Tipping Point (Part 3 of 3): The Power of Context

In applying The Tipping Point to social media, we’ve covered the power of one message (the Stickiness Factor) or one person (the Law of the Few) to “tip” your campaign toward epidemic “viral” proportions. But the third and final agent of change (the Power of Context) referenced in Malcolm Gladwell’s book is all about community:

“If you want to bring about a fundamental change in people’s belief and behavior, a change that persists and serves as an example to others, you need to create a community around them, where those new beliefs can be practiced and expressed and nurtured.”

You already do this in your social media communities – building relationships with a group of people who share your interests, background and/or goals. The right message, shared by the right person, within this community speaks to the Power of Context.

The Broken Windows Theory

Based on studies of the rise and fall of crime epidemics, Gladwell points to the Power of Context as it relates to the Broken Windows theory:

“If a window is broken and left unrepaired, people walking by will conclude that no one cares and no one is in charge…. Broken Windows theory and the Power of Context are one in the same. They are both based on the premise that an epidemic can be reversed, can be tipped, by tinkering with the smallest of details of the immediate environment.”

Read full story at FlutteringIvy.com….

Social Media and The Tipping Point (Part 2 of 3): The Stickiness Factor

If the Law of the Few determines who is sharing your social media content, the Stickiness Factor determines why. You could have the attention of every key influencer in the social media world, but if your message isn’t memorable and/or important, the Mavens, Connectors and Salesmen (referenced in Part 1 of this series) won’t have any inclination to share it.

“The specific quality that a message needs to be successful,” writes Malcolm Gladwell in The Tipping Point, “is the quality of ‘stickiness.’ Is the message — or the food, or the movie, or the product — memorable? Is it so memorable, in fact, that it can create change, that it can spur someone to action?”

So how do you do it? How do you create a blog post, Facebook update, tweet or YouTube video intriguing enough to attract attention, and substantial enough to evoke a response?

Again, it’s the Law of Attraction.

If your messaging is saturated with sales pitches, all you’re going to attract is negative attention. In the social media world, people are looking to find and share thoughts and information that inspires change in their life. Yes, products and services have the power to change lives, but it’s your job to “package” your messaging in quality content, not thinly-veiled promotions that prove you care little about genuine engagement.

Read full story at FlutteringIvy.com….

Social Media and The Tipping Point (Part 1 of 3): The Law of the Few

Before the first YouTube video went “viral,” Malcolm Gladwell wrote The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. It’s about the kind of infectious behavior that spreads ideas, information and content – social epidemics ranging from the success of contemporary ad campaigns to Paul Revere’s historic ride through the countryide spreading the word, ”The British are coming.”

Though I didn’t read The Tipping Point with social media in mind, and the book by no means references it, the relevance is unmistakable. Based on his analysis of a number of case studies, Gladwell discovered three “agents of change” that can mean the difference between an idea or product that gets lost in the shuffle, and one that “tips” to epidemic proportions.

In this Part I of III posts on social media and The Tipping Point. Let’s look at the first agent of change, The Law of the Few.

We talk a lot in social media about the importance of connecting with social ”influencers” – those key people who influence masses of others, or at least those in a specific area or niche. In context of The Tipping Point, these social media influencers fall into three categories:

• Mavens, who collect and share information, not as a means of persuasion, but education.
• Connectors, who bring people together; if you’re linked to a connector, you’re one step away from having your foot in many worlds.
• Salesmen, who find an idea, cause or product they believe in and spread the word, determined to convince everyone else of its worth.

Read full story at FlutteringIvy.com….

10 Ways to Spend Less in 2011

On the heels of the U.S. recession, the last few months of 2010 have been particularly frugal for most Americans. Yet even as the economy improves, experts say we can expect to see frugality “trending” into the New Year.

“American consumers want to save more, pay down the debt and put their financial house in better shape,” says California State University economist Sung Won Sohn. To that end, here are 10 tried and true ways to spend less in 2011:

1. Budget for the whole year. This will help ensure you don’t leave out unusual spending that often gets left out of monthly budgets, like gifts, auto maintenance and emergency funds for unexpected expenses for your home and health.

2. Leave the plastic at home. This goes for credit cards and debit cards alike. Simply take as much cash with you as is in your budget. With no cards to fall back on, there’s no way you can spend more than your budget allows. Sure you could go home and get your card then go back to the store to make your purchase, but it’s such a hassle that chances are you won’t.

3. Make lists and stick to them. You don’t need the habitual excessiveness of holiday spending to inspire impulse shopping. You’re vulnerable every time you go to the store. One of the best defenses is disciplining yourself to makes lists of must-have items, and stick to them!

Read full story at CreditInfocenter.com….

How Green Is Your New Year’s Resolution?

Here's a list of top contenders, organized by category. Pick one, any one, for a greener new you in the New Year!

Whatever aspect of your life you want to improve in 2011, there’s a green New Year’s resolution for you – from eating better and exercising more, to getting organized and saving money.

Here’s a list of top contenders, organized by category. Pick one, any one, for a greener new you in the New Year!

FOOD

Eat, grow and/or buy organic food.

Try a plant-based diet.

Cook in Teflon-free, non-toxic pans.

WASTE

Streamline your recycling system, making it so easy for your entire family to recycle that there are no excuses not to do so.

Start composting your food and yard waste.

Brush up on what’s recyclable and what’s not.

Read full story at AltFuelsNow.com….