The first 100% fully wind-powered town in the U.S.

Rock Port, Missouri may only have a population of 1300, but it claims a title that no other community in the U.S. can - all of its energy is generated by a renewable resource. In fact, its four $90 million 1.25 MW wind turbines producing 16 million kilowatt hours annually leaves 3 million kilowatt hours in excess.

How was it financed?

That can best be explained via this CNN Money example involving five windmills, five farmers, and a total project cost of $10 million:

A creditor, like John Deere (extensive capital, farmer friendly) puts up $4,950,000. The farmers contribute just $10,000 each. The remaining $5 million comes from a bank loan.

The farmers' cooperative secures a contract to sell power to a local utility, then puts up the wind turbines. The projects are usually fairly small in scale, say 5 to 10 turbines producing 7.5 to 15 megawatts of power in total, or enough to power about 5,000 to 10,000 homes.

After 10 years, when the loan is paid off and Deere has recouped its investment plus profit, the ownership structure flips, with the farmers becoming majority owners.

What's holding up other towns? The factories to build the huge wind turbines need subsidies to get off the ground, no different than our road system. Once the government extends a wind energy tax credit program for such production look for thousands of towns to join Rock Port.

Posted by Neil Takemoto | Link | Comment (0)

A third place for bicyclists

You may have heard about the cafe for bike commuters, but what about a hangout for casual riders? That's what two native local entrepreneurs had in mind when they opened the Little Red Bike Cafe in Portland, OR last year.

What makes it a bicyclist's third place?

- The bike-thru - Little Red Bike Cafe's version of the drive-thru (pictured behind the kids). Plus a 50 cent discount on your coffee if you bike.
- Lots of bike parking.
- A very well written and illustrated blog all about the kinds of food, events and culture bikers enjoy.
- Sandwiches called "Paperboy Special," "The Messenger" and the "Tandem Sandwich", with coffee delivered by Courier Coffee Roasters, "a Portland entrepreneur who brews a highly regarded roast and delivers his goods via his bicycle."
- On-site bicycle pumps.
- Bicycle repair kits for sale.
- Affordable prices.
- Bicyclists tend to be conscientious of the environment, thus the emphasis on local and organic produce whenever possible; homone, antibiotic and nitrate free meats; and cafe-free vegetarian fed eggs.
- Bike art everywhere!

Thanks to Luke Graven for the reference.

Posted by Neil Takemoto | Link | Comment (0)

The continued rise of the home office

We hear a lot of buzz about the popularity of people working at home, but how prevalent is it? Here's a snapshot via answering a few questions:

How many U.S. Americans are working at home? 28 million at least part time in 2006.
Is that number growing? That's a 10% increase from the previous year and a 40% increase from 2002.
Do U.S. Americans have home offices? 7 out of 10 have offices or designated work stations, a 112% increases since 2000.
How important are home offices in new homes? Fourth, after security.

For sources to these findings, check out the NY Times article, The Office, Housebroken. Apartment dwellers should peruse the profile of Alessandra Gouldner's 2.5 x 4 foot workspace.

Sarah Susanka, author of the wildly popular Not So Big House series of interior design books, observes that many people often prefer working in nooks and spontaneous spaces (see all three photos) rather than in assigned rooms. The NY Times article also looks at the opposite spectrum, albeit those with a a much larger budget and need for status, thus fueling home office sections in retail stores.

Posted by Neil Takemoto | Link | Comment (0)

Q&A: How do you initiate a beta community?

It's the question I've lately been getting asked the most, so I thought I'd publish a response.

First of all, to clarify in the simplest terms, a beta community is the future group of tenants/buyers/customers for a place to be, involving crowdsourcing it into a community numbering in the hundreds. But how does it all begin?

It may help to explain where the millions of people initially came from to establish eBay, Facebook and YouTube - by providing a unique valuable service and allowing people to realize that the service becomes even more valued the more people they include. That's the viral loop, and a viral loop network occurs when people spark their own related groups. For example:

- YouTube allowed videos to be easily shared like never before. Users formed groups based on certain video publishers and topics.
- Facebook established itself at a single university allowing students to easily network with their peers like never before. Users formed groups based on other universities and companies.
- eBay provided access to great deals that couldn't be found anywhere else. Users formed groups based on unique interests.

What's the unique valuable service that could be applied to crowdsourcing a place? Let's take a nightlife-oriented commercial district that is looking to improve on its sparse day scene - here're then benefits it could offer future 'customers':

- Meeting fellow dayworkers that provide social well being to overcome an isolated lifestyle.
- Gaining recognition for helping a local independent business, something people are very passionate about
- Making a real, tangible, measurable difference in one's neighborhood
- Identifying business opportunities that would otherwise not be utilized
- Feeling a true sense of community
- Having the ability to establish daytime groups of common interests that meet at daytime venues, and allow them to be open to other beta community members
Invitations to exclusive events
- Exclusive access to meet with the business owners (monthly fireside chats)
- Exclusive access to knowledge worker/cultural creative calendar of events
- Exclusive opportunity to win a free dinner for two to a designated restaurant each month, and receive neighborhood recognition for contributing 'the most' to a local independent Adams Morgan (priceless)

Once you have the valued service, you can even start the beta community with your own friends. The founders of Brewtopia did just that with 140 of their friends when crowdsourcing their beer selection, and wound up with a supporting community of 10,000 in a few weeks.

Posted by Neil Takemoto | Link | Comment (0)

The 'creative treehouse'

If you're looking for an affordable, creative place to work or hang out, you're in luck if you live in Pittsburgh, or more precisely, Bellevue, Pennsylvania, 4.5 miles from downtown Pittsburgh. That's where you'll find the Creative Treehouse; a 7500 s.f. arts-oriented coworking space. The key ingredients? An inexpensive lease in a developing neighborhood.

The membership-structured (starting at a mere $25/month) space features:
- A creative service center that will allow businesses to network with member artists (the coffeehouse/coworking scene, as pictured);
- Multi-purpose facility for public art displays, gatherings and even live music (essentially a large open room);
- Photography studio with darkroom;

Also, members are allowed to:
- Organize events;
- Host and attend workshops and classes;
- Be included in group showings,
- Update their online profile accessible to businesses and other members.

Events include 24-Hour Creative Marathons (e.g. publish a comic book), NY-style dance parties, and collaborative world happenings like the May 10, 2008 Pangea Day where 24 user-created films are shown simultaneously around the globe.

Open since June 30, 2007, the Creative TreeHouse has plans to expand to other cities (undetermined) in the future, which is expected since it fits the MySpace-oriented viral loop model of customer-motivated replication. As owner Jesse Hambley puts it, who founded the Treehouse as a 23 year-old independent photographer, designer and video editor, "It's like MySpace in a building."

Thanks to Christian MacAuley of Fab Apps for the reference!

Posted by Neil Takemoto | Link | Comment (0)