Is Green Regulation Hampering the Economy? Green Skeptic on FOX Business

This morning I sat down with Stuart Varney on FOX Business to talk about whether environmental regulations are hampering the economy.  My argument for reasonable regulations and putting the "conserve" back in conservative did not fall on deaf ears.

Here is the video:



And here is a link if your browser doesn't support the video format: Green Skeptic on FOX Business

What My Brush with Fame in Naples Taught Me About Engagement

I arrived in Naples in late July 1990 as a minor celebrity.

My article on Italian-American novelist John Fante had just appeared in the Naples daily, Il Mattino, in a translation by my friend and editor Francesco Durante.

Wherever we went in Naples it seemed everyone I met had read the article, had an opinion about it, and wanted to discuss it with me. 

I met more people who had read something of mine in those few days than I ever have, at least, until the Internet made it easier for me to reach a large, global audience.  What was so interesting about that experience was not the brush with fame..

No, it was how engaged people were with the writing, and not just my writing.  Mine was one of many articles about which they held and shared their opinions.

I wonder whether, more than 20 years later, newspapers in Naples still engender that kind of engagement and dialogue.  And I wonder how we can better capture such engagement on the Internet.  Disqus helps.  Twitter does it occasionally, although dialogue is hampered by that service's forced "retweeting" without commentary.

Some bloggers such as Fred Wilson, who blogs at AVC is a master of fostering such community; whereas another popular blogger, Seth Godin, does not allow comments on his posts.

Within a few days the talk had shifted from my article to the invasion of Kuwait and the first Persian Gulf War, just as we had moved on from Naples to Capri.  I realized those Italians I met were newspaper readers; it was the medium of their day and they formed a community of readers around their reading.

How are you encouraging community among your readers? What kind of reader engagement metrics do you use for your web site?  How are you encouraging dialogue among your readers or your customers?

   

Nissan Leaf Tries to Jolt Sales vs. Chevy Volt with TV Ad

Nissan Leaf is losing ground to its hybrid competitor the Chevy Volt. In fact, some report that Volt has been kicking Leaf's butt -- or at least blowing Leafs off of the lawn?

So Nissan has decided to take on Volt the old-fashioned way: with a TV spot that CNET featured this morning and that will air on June 12 during the NBA Finals.

Imagine a world where all our appliances are gas-powered and you've got the world Nissan wants us to think we live in.

The ad is funny, inventive, even a little steampunk. 

While it's message is delivered in a tongue in cheek manner, it is also a little disingenuous.  Most of your all-electric Leaf mileage will be powered by dirty coal.

Nevertheless, its a spot that will no doubt have people talking, much like last year's Polar Bear ad.

Here is the 60-second version:

How Self-Publishing is Like an Upside-Down Urinal

"Fountain," R. Mutt

Long before Amazon and Lulu and CreateSpace made it easy, I had my own foray into self-publishing. 

I was reminded of it this morning reading James Altucher's excellent post on why and how he self-published his new book, How to Be the Luckiest Person Alive!

It was 1987.   I had just returned to New York from living in Germany and France and started working for an international agency representing Latin American and European publishers. 

But 1987 was also the centenary of the artist Marcel Duchamp.

While living in Europe, following the break-up of my band, Active Driveway and the folding of my magazine, Rockstop!, I started writing a book about Marcel Duchamp.

Duchamp, you may recall, was one of the giants of 20th Century art. He, along with Picasso, arguably redefined what it was to be an artist in the early part of that century and re-categorized what was considered "Art."  (Think of Duchamp's urinal turned upside-down, signed "R. Mutt" and titled "Fountain," which he submitted to the Society of Independent Artists show in 1917.)

That fall, the Philadelphia Museum of Art held an exhibit to mark the centenary appropriately titled "Apropos of Marcel Duchamp."

As homage to Duchamp I pulled together three short pieces from my work-in-progress and printed them together with some xerographic collages using photographs of the artist and his work.  I called the little book Endgame: Fragments on Marcel Duchamp. (I just found this reference to it on Google Books; what a world we live in!)

I went to Philadelphia and, as a kind of art performance, sold the limited number of copies on the steps of the Museum of Art.  At one point, a guard came up and tried to remove me from the premises, which caused a scene -- perfect for selling more copies of the book. 

Finally, I was able to convince him to let me stay if I gave the books away rather than selling them.

My little book wasn't going to be a best-seller, that wasn't the point of it.  But in its own way, my book created more of a spectacle than it would have in the hands of a big publishing house.  That kind of niche marketing is so very important today and it is so much easier to get your ideas out there than it was in 1987.

As a parting gesture I asked the museum guard to take a signed copy of my book to the museum curator, Anne D'Harnancourt, who had been a friend of Duchamp.  He agreed.  I don't know whether the book ever made it into her hands.  Quite possibly, one of the few copies sits in the Museum's collection, but it doesn't matter, the endgame in this case was the gesture itself.

Just as Marcel Duchamp would have liked it.

Meet BERT, Your Energy Control Freak

Will Ernie be next?

Remember when your mom would shout at you to turn off the lights when you left a room?  Well, now there's an electronic mom that does it for you without the yelling.

They call it BERT, which stands for Best Energy Reduction Tools, and it's a new "smart plug" has the witty tagline that it's "your energy control freak." 

I've written before about smart plugs (see ThinkEco's Modlet and Israel's Greenlet) and other energy demand management solutions, but yesterday's announcement by Ben Franklin Technology Partners (BFTP) of Southeastern Pennsylvania that it was awarding a follow-on investment of $500,000 to Green Power Technologies of King of Prussia, PA, caught my attention.  (BFTP has already invested $250,000 in an earlier round.)

They call it BERT, which stands for Best Energy Reduction Tools, and has the witty tagline that it's "your energy control freak."

BERT eliminates wasted energy from devices that are turned off but still plugged in -- and let's face it, we're all guilty of leaving our devices plugged in when they don't need to be.  BERT software enables you to program up to 100 on/off commands per week, which gives you control of energy use day or night from your WiFi enabled computer or smart phone.

The company plans to manufacture in the US, which would make Jack Donaghy proud.  GPT has contracted with Millennia Group, a manufacturer in Cheswick, PA, to make BERTs.

I'm still looking for a solution that cuts off power to my phone charger when the charge is complete, such as when I charge it overnight, but this programmable smart plug gets closer to solving that problem. 

The Day I Served Gilda Radner the "Ugliest Pastry"

Gilda Radner

You never know who your customers are unless you get to know them.

One of my first jobs in New York was as a baker's assistant at Natural Source, a small bakery on 72nd St and Columbus Ave.

Most of my time was spent running baked goods from the kitchen on 71st and tubs of hand-packed ice cream from the basement to the shop on the corner.

It was the early 80s, a heady, gentrifying time on Columbus Avenue.  New York Magazine dubbed it the "New Left Bank," with Charivari's high-end fashion store, the orignal Silver Palate restaurant, numerous galleries, and even a Texas bootery called "To Boot."  (I still have a pair of Noconas they tossed because of a tear in the snakeskin.)

I learned a lot about baking from the baker, a woman named Lesley who went on to work for Sarabeth's Kitchen. (We sold Sarabeth's marmalade when she was still making it out of her apartment.)

But I also learned a valuable lesson about customer service.

Occasionally, during my runs I'd find the shop crowded and offered to lend a hand at the counter.  The counter crew didn't like a bakery "bus boy" crowding in on their territory and tips.  But there were two times where I couldn't resist.

The first was when a woman dressed as a bag lady came in.

"I'll take the ugliest pastries you have," said the woman. 

"We don't carry ugly pastries," said the impatient counter help. "Why don't you try another store."

The woman looked annoyed.  I stepped in and said, "If you want ugly pastry, come back with me to the kitchen.  We've got a bunch that will just be tossed otherwise."

She followed me to 71st Street.  I explained the situation to Lesley and she gave me a paper bag full of discards.  I handed it to the woman.

"Thanks, sonny.  Do you know who I am?" She looked familiar, but I couldn't place her. She shouted, "Live from New York, It's Saturday Night!"

After that, whenever the "bag lady" Gilda Radner came by the shop, she asked for me and I brought the ugliest pastry I could find.  I never told anyone at the store who she was; it was our little secret.

What are you doing to get to know your customers? Are you giving them what they want or what you want them to have?