Buttermilk & Molasses

Get Google Love in RVA (with action steps!)

Over at the RVA Business blog, Nathan Hughes (better known to many for his Twitter activity) gets the local universe up-to-date with Richmond's play to be one of a handful of communities to be a test market for Google's high-speed fiver network. And while it may simply be a fancy play for attention on the part of Google, throwing a few hundred million dollars at connecting a city or community with door-to-door Internet zing is not something to dismiss.

Now that the initial nomination phase has ended, it's all about the buzz, Nathan says, and then he explains a few ways that you can bring on the noise for Richmond.

But before we get to that, let me point you to Google's analysis of the noise, again courtesy of Nathan (here's the PDF assessment). I'm pointing to you to it because it's pretty fascinating data, even just skimming the surface. For instance, Duluth is light-years ahead of Portland, Oregon? Blame it on the Duluth-friendly blogosphere, which is rivaled only by Topeka, Kansas, in their pro-Google high-speed fervor.

Facebook fans are not enough. As the report indicates, building buzz means translating Facebooks fans into active conversations across other digital channels, like Twitter and blogs. And that keeping Facebook fans "in" the conversation makes the difference between having a fan base and having an active fan base.

Activation is another interesting metric, because it essentially looks at cities doing cool or stupid or significant things to build buzz and garner attention. Stupid things like changing your town's name to Google, if you're Topeka. Stupid smart, because while it's a pretty trite move it gained Topeka a huge amount of media hype (and that naturally made Google very happy). But Portland gained in activation with the rather mature step of having their City Council back the city's pitch, and earned some cool points with an attempt at the world's longest game of telephone.

So, a few of Nathan's suggestions for Rchmonders:

1. Become a fan of 1GBforRVA on Facebook & write posts on their wall
2. Find blogs that mention it and leave supportive comments (*ahem*…this one you’re reading is a good start!)
3. Write a post on your own blog/Facebook/Myspace about why Google should pick Richmond
4. Follow @1GBforRVA on Twitter and interact with them there

Go get 'em, Richmond!

1GbforRVA Video Strikes A Chord

Check out the new pitch video produced by the City of Richmond as part of its bid to be among one of 20 communities selected for Google Fiber, a competitively priced, high-speed Internet network for 50,000 to 500,000 people; as of last Friday's deadline, more than 1,100 communities across the country submitted applications (including our neighbor Henrico County).

In addition to encouraging you to head over to the 1GbforRVA Facebook page, it struck me as I watched the video that it portrays Richmond as the sort of city where I might actually want to live. When's the last time that happened? Nice job, Richmond.

Getting Your Java in Petersburg

While only a handful of people I know manage to make it to Petersburg on something approaching a regular basis, I've found the Tri-Cities to be a more and more a destination as a result of work. Naturally, I was interested to see an article in Richmond Magazine about a new coffee shop in downtown Petersburg.

And damned if it isn't owned and operated by an old friend and jack-of-all trades, Dave McCormack. Tina Eshleman has the scoop on Demolition Coffee:

“I’m somebody who’s real picky about coffee,” he says. “I’ve actually made a study, and we’ve done a lot of traveling, researching coffee bars and cafés.” McCormack is bringing to Petersburg some of the methods he observed in coffee shops in Seattle and Vancouver. “There is a very specific way that coffee is prepared in the smaller coffee shops,” he says. After returning home, he sought training for his crew from Counter Culture Coffee in Durham, N.C.

The result is Demolition Coffee, which opened March 1 after an overhaul of the building.

The Petersburg Progress-Index also took note of the new coffee joint in town in a recent article.

RVAMagazine Remembers Mark Linkous

There's a nice remembrance of Virginia musician Mark Linkous online at RVA Magazine; Linkous committed suicide in early March in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Jammin' on Big Ideas with Global Pulse 2010

I'm pretty excited about Global Pulse 2010 (thanks, @richmondjobnet), which kicks off today and hopes to involve thousands of voices around the world in a series of discussions and conversations about socially important issues:

Global Pulse 2010 is a 3-day, online collaboration event that will bring together socially-engaged participants and organizations from around the world. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is sponsoring the event, in partnership with the U.S. Departments of State, Education, Commerce, and Health and Human Services.

As the name implies, Global Pulse 2010 will take the pulse of thousands of participants on key issues facing communities around the world. The goals of the event are to connect and engage participants who are champions for the same challenges to help build new, or strengthen existing relationships, and to inform U.S. foreign assistance and diplomatic strategies on major themes emerge from the course of conversation.

The ideas that Global Pulse seeks to address are among the very issues – writ large, on a global scale – that the local organizations I regularly consult are beginning to identify as critical to consider. For instance, Jay Knott, the mission director for USAID in Jordan opened the forum on "Inspiring A New Generation" with these statistics and questions:

In developing countries, young people aged 12-24 number 1.3 billion and represent the largest youth cohort in history, according to the World Bank. In Jordan where I live, those under the age of 30 represent more than 60 percent of the population, and there are many other countries with this same youth profile. What all of this means is that the youth of today will have the opportunity and the responsibility to build the world in which they, and everyone, will live.

What sort of world will the next generation be inspired to build? What are the positive lessons that we are learning today that will be the most useful in the future? Who inspires us most? ... What values and skills will it be most important for the youth to have in order to have the most positive impact on their families, communities, nations and the world?

What's most fascinating about the discussions from my vantage point are the common threads that overlay this attempt at a global conversation – and the unique perspectives that aren't a normal staple in our traditional media diet. Not to mention that the dialogue is unfiltered.

It's going to be interesting watching Global Pulse 2010 unfold. And to see if it drives toward meaningful outcomes.

Get Your Groove On [at the Garden]

I have to admit that the real attraction of Groovin' at the Garden is less about who the performer du jour happens to be, and more about who I'm with. Or, as a relatively new father, who I'm without.

That said, color me excited that Neko Case is swinging through Richmond in May to perform at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden's summer concert series. Sucks that she's performing as part of the supporting cast for Jakob Dylan, and that he spells his name with a "k" and not a "c". The price of stardom.

Jakob Dylan and Three Legs (the awesome Case and two other legs) will be at Lewis Ginter on May 20. (Just in time for the fifth anniversary of our wedding party at the Garden.)

I'd be more excited about the rest of the Groovin' line-up if Dweezil Zappa was bringing his nutty brother, Ahmet, with him for the Zappa on Zappa performance in June. See the whole line-up and buy tickets here.

Keeping Up with Martins

It looks like the last week of March is when the beginning of a new shopping generation hits Richmond, as Martin's starts the laborious process of closing, renovating and reopening a handful of the 20+ Ukrop's supermarket stores they've acquired on a weekly, rotating schedule.

In the meantime, Richmond BizSense spends some time with an overlooked, unwitting victim of the takeover – the wine-and-beer shops that made a living off of the customers of the booze-free Ukrop's stores. (I spent a fun year working for cash, wine and beer for my former brother-in-law when he ran a wine-and-beer store next to the Ukrop's near Clover Hill High School not too many years ago.)

Here's the BizSense scoop:

The Ukrop’s next to Matthew Lake’s wine store will soon become a Martin’s Grocery store and do what would have seemed inconceivable a year ago: sell beer and wine.

And that presents a formerly unfathomable challenge for the wine stores that for decades operated symbiotically with Ukrop’s in the same shopping centers. But local wine stores aren’t giving in just yet.

Richmond BizSense also recently spent some time chatting with the grocery industry insider who first broke the news last year about a possible sale of Richmond's favorite brand:

RBS: Ukrop’s had a full store packed with goods and now Martin’s is going to add an entire beer and wine section. At Kroger, that’s an entire aisle. What will they get rid of?

JM: I can’t answer that specifically. My best guess is some reduction in perishables. You are going to see ultimately more priority to health and beauty and general merchandise. What they’re going to try and do is look at what the customers are buying. They will see what local items they need to keep in place.

And obviously Martin’s/Giant has a strong private label program. Ukrop’s over the years increased private label, but I expect a strong presence in that sector.

RBS: Do you think locals will sour on Martin’s because it took out their beloved local grocer? Is there some ill will out there?

JM: When the Martin/Giant people did their focus groups market research, the Ukrop’s name had become obsolete.

RBS: How much can Martin’s boost sales by opening on Sundays and selling beer and wine?

JM: There is tremendous advantage in just the Sunday opening, maybe a 12 to 15 percent sales hike in revenue. Certainly beer and wine is another modest revenue booster. I think the key long-term is getting stores a bit more modernized. Getting the Martin’s pricing and merchandising program fully integrated will take some time in execution and consumer traction.

Meet Darling Octopus

In the world of better late than never, let me introduce Karen Guard, whose "Darling Octopus" home decor business caught my eye many months ago; the Times-Dispatch spotlighted Karen and her online business earlier in March with a great video profile. Karen takes crappy furniture and makes it splashy, colorful and fun.

Also, the Times-Dispatch now lets me embed their videos on my site. Progress is a beautiful thing.

Train, Train, Take Me On Out Of This Town

With apologies to Blackfoot, I rather enjoyed Chris OBrion's recent editorial cartoon at RVANews on the amazing amount of federal funding that's going to transform Virginia into a high-speed rail paradise. Amazing, as in a pittance of what's needed to grease the rails.

(On another note, this YouTube video of Blackfoot charging through "Train, Train" is almost enough for me to give this swamp-rocking hair band from the 70s another look.)

The Great Unraveling: Still Counting Down

You can count me among what I suspect is a sizable number of people who aren't quite convinced that our economy is stabilized and all is right with the world. The waves are less choppy, and some corners of the world seem to be normalizing, but we've all been (it seems to me) a bit quick to agree that the old normal is sustainable. There are times when I even get optimistic about the mid-term prospects for our national economy.

And then I read posts like this one at Melissa Savenko's Richmond Real Estate Review:

The gist of the article is there are many, many homeowners who are seriously delinquent on their mortgages who are NOT currently in the foreclosure process.  According to the article, between 5 million and 7 million homes are eligible for foreclosure but have not yet been repossessed.  According to a class I am currently taking to become a Certified Distressed Property Expert ("CDPE"), there were only 4.9M TOTAL SALES in 2008. So, if the Washington Post is correct, there are more potential additional foreclosures than there were sales in 2008 - not including the additional non-foreclosure inventory on the market.  That's scary stuff. 

I like to cap my moments of doom with observations from one of my favorite realists, John Robb, whose focus is on "networked tribes, systems disruption, and the emerging bazaar of violence." Robb has taken a look at a couple of well-regarded books on the 2008 financial meltdown and added his own perspectives. They're not overly optimistic. After 18 months of hand-wringing and politicking, Robb says, we've essentially got the same broken system we started with. You know what that suggests, don't you? Let Robb spell it out for you:

So, what does this mean?  Since nothing has changed -- the banks are still too big to fail, the derivates that make these connections are still being offered, the operations of the shadow banking system are still opaque, and attempts to regulate this arena have been rebuffed -- the financial system will remain corrupted, brittle, and ridden with parasites that sap its strength.   Catastrophic failure is inevitable.