GenY – Is Content Still King?

According to an attitudinal research study completed by Resonate Research, 18-34 year olds purchasing behaviors are influenced by both the products value, the aspirational aspect of a product’s brand message, and also by it’s “cool” factor.

From the press release: This group is more passionate about social issues like energy (36% more than the 35 plus online population), climate change (48% more) and animal rights (24% more). However, in general they are 15% – 25% less likely to make purchase decisions based on their issues of importance. Instead they look to products for external validation, meaning they buy products that convey and reward their success and personal achievement. When compared to the 35 plus online population, 18 – 34 year olds are more likely to purchase based on the following brand attributes: innovation, looks, popularity and prestige. In fact, they are five times more likely than their elders to purchase a product that is viewed as prestigious, and over twice as likely to buy a popular product or a product that is aesthetically appealing.

Could a bicycle sharing program work in New York City?

In the “Eco Wordly” blog this morning a story surfaced that London is planning a major bicycle sharing program similar to the ones in place for other major cities like Paris, Frankfurt, Montreal, Berlin, Stockholm.

The Guardian Environment Network writes:

Londoners will soon be able to hire bikes in the centre of town for short journeys, under plans announced this week by the mayor, Boris Johnson. London wants to allow cyclists to pick up one of 6,000 bikes at the 400 docking stations planned for the capital by 2010. more…

I know from personal experience and from talking to Frankfurt colleagues that the system there, which is run by the “DB” German Rail program, is working well and is being used extensively. Many other cities have worked out how to make this work:

World’s First Freshwater Wind Farm, in Upstate New York? Sandy Hook?

How awesome would it be to have a windfarm off of Sandy Hook?

Ambrose Lighthouse is one of the windiest places on the East Coast, but also  near a major commercial shipping lane. Q: How much of a collision hazard are these at night?

In his blog post Timothy Hurst writes about the proposal to add the NY lakes into the mix of the various existing open ocean proposals: These would be the world’s first freshwater windfarms.

In an initiative known as the Great Lakes Offshore Wind Project, NYPA released a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) to initiate efforts to develop offshore wind projects in the Great Lakes. If somehow completed before the above mentioned projects, the Great Lakes project would not only be the first offshore wind farm in the U.S., it would be the first freshwater wind farm in the world.