eBiz Tomorrow by Chris Salazar

Green is and has been a hot topic for a while.  In fact, one of my good friends told me that he wouldn’t go back to school for an MBA in Business, but rather he’d go get a “Green” degree.  He’s right…its the future and its here to stay. 

This inspired me to go out and look at current companies who are making efforts to go green.  Take a look at the list below:

1) Fox Broadcasting Company, April 16th, 2008.
http://www.fox.com/earthday/

            Fox joined with their stars to deliver a new “green” tip each day in the month of April up to Earth Day.  Various Fox stars provided their own tips on how to take simple actions now to be green and make the planet a better place to live.  Some examples of the tips are: “Electronic payments can make a difference,” “Careful what you pour down the drain,” and “Always recycle your batteries.”  More information and to see the archived green videos, visit: http://fox61.trb.com/news/environment/stv-fox-greenit-meanit-1,0,1998661.htmlstory

2) Arrowhead Water Company, 2008.  http://www.arrowheadwater.com/DoingOurPart/EcoShapeBottle.aspx

            Arrowhead has created a new eco-shape bottle that uses 30% less plastic and has a 30% smaller label.  This is now the lightest water bottle ever created and as a result it’s easier to carry, easier to recycle, and each bottle requires a smaller amount of energy to be produced.  All of these new improvements help improve environmental efficiencies in creating the bottle, using it, and recycling it. 

3) Macy’s Department Store, April 12^th, 2008.
 http://www.macys.com

            Macy’s has made an effort to go green by creating recyclable shopping bags with non-laminated paper.  Compared to their previous bags that were not recyclable, the new bags are now made out of 30% recycled material and are 100% recyclable.  This is a big improvement for Macy’s who uses 43 million shopping bags per year.  In addition, they are offering reusable tote bags for a price, which also helps limit the number of bags used.  Macy’s will also be sure to use recyclable paper for gift wrapping by producing these from ingredients that are biodegradable.  More information can be found here: http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/stories/2008/04/14/daily47.html?ana=from_rss

4) Staples, January 2008
http://www.staples.com/sbd/cre/marketing/ecoeasy/happy_fun_place.html

            Staples has created a big initiative for becoming a “green” company by devoting a section of their website to green products.  This specific section of their website sells only green products, so customers can feel confident that they are contributing to helping the environment.  In fact, their green product line is quite extensive with several products ranging from recycled paper to energy saving technology.  In addition, on the green homepage, they list the number of trees Staple’s customers have saved just by buying the green products; the total is now 526k+ trees and this number increases by 1 tree every minute.  

5) Whole Foods, January 2008
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/byobag/

            Whole Foods has shown their devotion to helping the environment by asking their customers to either buy a disposable bag or bring any bag from home (paper, plastic, backpacks, etc) to put their groceries in, which the customer will receive a five cents credit per bag.  Their goal was to eliminate the use of disposable plastic bag by Earth Day with their BYOB (bring your own bag) initiative.  In the month of January, this plan already started seeing results as they used half as many bags compared to the same time last year.  So instead of the paper vs plastic question, they are pushing the new concept of “reuse” bags. 

What am I missing?  There’s gotta be other great companies doing their part too.  Please let me know.

All of us tech geeks know and understand how important it is to get the best gagdet for the price.  Perhaps one of the most important buying decisions I’ve made this year is my TV.  Where do you start?  Where do you begin? 

I needed something that fit my budget, but provided me with the best quality and size.  This post is not a comparison between dlp, lcd, or plasma, but rather a look at how much I value “your” voice over all them experts our there. 

So I ended up buying a 56 inch Samsung LED DLP.  It fit my budget, was the right size for my living room, and I had a big hunch. 

Yes, I looked at places like CNET and SAMSUNG.com, but I get the feeling that those places are paid to say what they say.  I need real reviews from people just like me.  The tools of social media allowed me to listen and talk with people who bought this tv. 

1. Forums:  AVS Forum - there’s a forum thread of about 400+ pages with current users of my exact tv posting their headaches and new finds.  I witnessed arguments about this product, saw people’s pictures, and read about what to stay away from.  Better yet, I got a feel for how it would be to own this exact TV
2. Blogs:  I used technorati to find resources to find information about the battle between DLP vs LCD vs PLASMA.  Of course I know the high level views, but I needed more real life info.  Information like, if I have a dark room will a DLP tv suffice?  Or should I spend more $$$$ and get an LCD? 
3. Friend recommendations:  I talked to friends who had dlps, lcds, and plasmas.  I explored all of these choices.  BUT, what really worked was listening to their advice, what they DONT like about their tvs and actually seeing them.

I turned a simple purchase into a whirlwind of exploring through my personal network, using social tools to my advantage, and contemplating what to do.  But if it wasnt for reaching out to current users, I don’t think I would have bought this tv.  I read their comments and understood what it means to own this tv.

All in all, Im 100% happy with my purchase.  Thanks for everyone’s help around the world!