[p2tech] from the event horizon: a cry for help

Right now the barrier seems to be more ideological than anything else.  We have disseminated a lot of high quality information in some creative ways, but most people have no idea of its importance.

Like an accelerating particle throwing off X-Rays as it descends into a black hole, we have a good signal, but is lost in the greater noise of the debate over how to regulate, remediate and conserve natural forests/wildlife. There is a lot more media attention given to polar bears drowning than clean factories.  A lot more attention to an auto industry bail out than the strides to make them more efficient.    Without more attention from the mass media people just don't seem to get the significance of our P2 approach.  In our workshops it takes about a half day to get past these old conversations and into what P2 is and why it works.

I think the technologies we need to apply are more sociological than IT.  We need, and continue to struggle for a consistent message that will get picked up and recognized. I think the Breakthrough Institute is on the right path for energy, maybe we should do something similar for our group.   They believe it is a question of framing the issue as an innovation/economic one, not environmental.

http://www.thebreakthrough.org/index.shtml


As to Facebook, LinkedIn etc...  I find them to be good tools for maintaining relationships, but not so good for initiating.  As you well know, I mostly use mine to talk about Star Trek, 60's rock and the weather.   Although I have a lot of people in my account who are environmental professionals, we only discuss the environment on rare occasions through social networking.  That may be a  good thing in that it helps build relationships and so makes working with people easier...especially those of us who have national networks.  But in the bigger picture, it is a small spark in a super nova explosion.


Thomas Vinson-Peng
Program Director
Zero Waste Network
UT Arlington
Center for Environmental Excellence
9111 Jollyville Road Suite 111
Austin, Texas 78759
www.zerowastenetwork.org<http://www.zerowastenetwork.org>
http://www.uta.edu/ced/

(512) 904-2281 (MAIN)
(512) 904-2287 (Direct)
(512)904-2288 FAX

Tvinson AT uta.edu
________________________________
From: p2tech-bounces at great-lakes.net [mailto:p2tech-bounces at great-lakes.net] On Behalf Of Eric van Gestel
Sent: Wednesday, July 29, 2009 4:07 PM
To: 'Miller, Gary'; 'Butner, R Scott'; p2tech at great-lakes.net
Cc: 'Paula Del Giudice'
Subject: Re: [p2tech] from the event horizon: a cry for help

I am attempting to use Facebook (and LinkedIn) to reach potential customers.  A few hits on LinkedIn; too early to tell with Facebook.  Please feel free to give a call if you want to discuss in further detail.

Thanks, and best regards,

-- Eric
_________________________
Eric van Gestel, MBA, CRM
CEO
Enverity Corporation
500 Airport Blvd., Suite 100
Burlingame, CA 94010
(650) 342-5334
evg at Enverity.com<mailto:evg at Enverity.com>
www.ghgTrack.com<http://www.ghgtrack.com/>

________________________________
From: p2tech-bounces at great-lakes.net [mailto:p2tech-bounces at great-lakes.net] On Behalf Of Miller, Gary
Sent: Wednesday, July 29, 2009 12:18 PM
To: Butner, R Scott; p2tech at great-lakes.net
Cc: Paula Del Giudice
Subject: Re: [p2tech] from the event horizon: a cry for help

Yes, and I'd like to know if anyone is using Facebook to try to reach their perceived customers and, if so, what have been the results.  I heard the Utah Geological Survey is doing that but I could not find anything about that on their web site.

Gary Miller

From: p2tech-bounces at great-lakes.net [mailto:p2tech-bounces at great-lakes.net] On Behalf Of Butner, R Scott
Sent: Wednesday, July 29, 2009 1:45 PM
To: p2tech at great-lakes.net
Cc: Paula Del Giudice
Subject: [p2tech] from the event horizon: a cry for help


Certainly by now, we all know what a black hole is - a celestial object in which matter, usually a dying star, has collapsed under its own weight, and (to use the vernacular) begins to suck so hard, that not even light can escape.

This happens to massive stars which have basically burned themselves out, and the burden of their mass is no longer counterbalanced by the radiative pressure of the energy they produce.

I think the analogy is pretty clear here, folks.   Rather than risk severe depression from stating the obvious, I'll leave it to the very intelligent readers of P2TECH to connect the dots.

So in any event, I am standing here (figuratively - actually I am SITTING here in my cool new ergonomic chair that my employer bought in hopes of retaining what little productivity I am still able to muster, for a few more years) on my own event horizon, literally perched on the edge of obscurity, trying not to be sucked in by the weight of my rapidly obsolescing knowledge base.

(yes, obsolescing IS a word!)

But obsolescing or not, every so often I manage to allow a new idea to escape.  Just like a black hole can "trick" physics, emitting radiation as it scours the local universe of matter, on rare occasion, through some sort of social quantum effect, I will absorb all the collective wisdom of the P2TECH community and attempt to toss out a new idea that's been forged from all your hard work.

Hey, I never said it was a GREAT analogy....

And so I find myself, committed for better or worse, to helping to teach a short program on Web 2.0 and the Social Web, at the upcoming Region 9/10 Pollution Prevention Roundtable (October 28-29 in San Diego -- http://www.wrppn.org/ for details).   I am sharing the podium with Rick Yoder, so I have to have something interesting to say that he HASN'T already heard of - that's a tall order, trust me.  Rick has great radar for emerging trends.

So with that as background, and with the knowledge that our presentation is on the role that computing (and especially the web, and even more specifically, the social aspects of the web, like Facebook, LinkedIn, etc) might play in P2/Sustainability/technical assistance - here's the questions I'm seeking input on:

-       Setting aside technical feasibility, how would you like to be able to access information to help you do your job better than you can today?

-       How can we more effectively use information technology to promote the "P2 agenda?"

-       Do you think that social networking will change/has changed/is changing the way that you think about improving the environment?

-       OR, do you see online culture and trends as being a negative force - one that impedes the P2 agenda?

Answers taken offline or online, over a phone call or over a cup of coffee - your choice.  I'll let them all fall past the event horizon, into the black hole that is my brain, and we'll see if any virtual nuggets of wisdom emerge between now and October.

Thanks in advance.......

SB

__________________________________________________
Scott Butner
Senior Research Scientist
Knowledge Systems Group

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
902 Battelle Boulevard
P.O. Box 999, MSIN K7-28
Richland, WA  99352 USA
Tel:  509-372-4946
Fax: 509-375-2443
scott.butner at pnl.gov
www.pnl.gov



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p2tech is hosted by the Great Lakes Information Network (GLIN):



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All views and opinions presented above are solely those of the author

or attributed source and do not necessarily reflect those of GLIN or

the Great Lakes Commission.



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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *



p2tech is hosted by the Great Lakes Information Network (GLIN):



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All views and opinions presented above are solely those of the author

or attributed source and do not necessarily reflect those of GLIN or

the Great Lakes Commission.



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