A proliferation of Prii

An anniversary is looming.

October 8 will mark our first year owning (through Capital Synergies) Pretty, a 2009 Toyota Prius.

The name, besides being an obvious play on "Prius," (and preferable to "Priapus"), acknowledges a change of heart and mind. When I first became aware of the Prius, I thought it was the ugliest thing on God's earth. Then, a few years ago, a friend gave me a ride to an event in a 2007 Prius. It was my first time being inside one, and the surprising spaciousness of the interior made me say, "Hey, this isn't so bad!" Then the display of graphics made me say, "Hey, cool!"

And the Prius went on my list of candidates to replace our 1997 Honda Accord, which had been totaled in an accident after passing the 200,000-mile mark. But on at least two occasions, when I found a listing online for a Prius that I thought might be appropriate for us, the darn thing sold before we got a chance to look at it.

Last September, I came across a listing for a 2009 Prius, touring edition - i.e., with all the bells and whistles of the time: Bluetooth (my #1 requirement), garage door opener (we don't have a garage), etc. And the timing was right, and the price was right, and I drove it home, stopping along the way to take this pic:

Come to papa, Pretty!

Since becoming a Prius owner, it now seems that I see cars like mine everywhere. But then, that happens every time we get a car. I have always assumed that that was merely the demonstration of a principle like, "You see what you're looking for." Or at the very least, what you're paying attention to. Something like that.

But the number of Priuses - oops, excuse me, Toyota - the number of Prii that I see in and around Pittsburgh these days makes me wonder if there's something larger going on.

A couple of months ago, my friend +Shimira Williams and I co-presented a program at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh's Northside branch. Afterward, I offered her a ride home, and between the library and Lincoln-Lemington, we counted at least a half-dozen Prii.

Tonight, my wife and I attended an event in Oakland. On the way there, I saw at least 7.5 Prii (the .5 is because I may have counted one of them twice).

This is normal now, and I have begun to suspect that the proliferation of Prii signifies something about Pittsburgh. This is just a feeling, but the feeling says that as little as five years ago, most Pittsburghers regarded the Prius as a car for people out on the Left Coast. It says that five years ago, I could not have taken this picture at random in an East Liberty parking lot:

A pride of Prii? 

My hypothesis? The growth of Pittsburgh's Prius population is a proxy for the greening of Pittsburgh, not by way of public policy initiatives, or campaigns by fine organizations like GTECH Strategies or Green Building Alliance, but by way of hundreds, then thousands of individuals making individual lifestyle choices. Such as, "My next car will be a hybrid." 

This delights me. What delights me even more is imagining two scenarios. The first is that as more used Prii are released into the market by people buying newer cars, they become affordable enough to show up more often in Homewood and neighborhoods like it, bringing the cost savings of a high-mpg vehicle to the people who need those savings the most.

The second is that Pittsburgh hosts To Go Before, the national convention for Prius owners. Just because I think that would be extremely cool. In fact, I think that would be so cool - and my selfish desire to attend such a convention without having to leave town is just strong enough - that I just might drop those guys a line. 

Pittsburgh's Black Digerati - Prophets Without Honor?

Today I sent Facebook friend requests to some people whom I do not know.

For me, that is unusual. I joined Facebook in 2009 to expand the audience for my work as a reporter with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Therefore, I have been quite liberal with granting friend requests to people, whether I knew them or not. But I don't remember when I last asked someone I didn't know to be Facebook friends. Indeed, I don't remember when I last asked someone I do know to be Facebook friends.

I made the friend requests today because the people whose Facebook friendship I sought are members of an accidental club. We are Black Pittsburghers who have what some consider to be a significant online presence - whether as bloggers, or on Facebook or Twitter or Google Plus, or as contributors to print publications - and who were not included in a recent list of Pittsburgh's noteworthy online personalities.

The list was published by Pop City last week under the title, "Sixteen Pittsburgh social media mavens to follow."

Vernard Alexander, himself no small presence on Facebook, noticed that it was pretty homogenous, and called Pop City out in a Facebook status:

Another Pittsburgh LIST..............No people of color...........

But he went beyond a general complaint. He made it specific by tagging Black people on Facebook whom he considers worth following - and more than that, whom he considers to be worth recommending:

No Kimberly DrGoddess Ellis, No Paradise Gray, No Bluey Blackashell, No Ceo Raw, No Damon Young, No Rob Wilson, No Elwin Green, No Stephan Broadus, No Wadria StyleandSteel Taylor, No Shimira Williams, No Jasiri Xtra.........No LOVE...........

I am honored to be in that group, and told Mr. Alexander (and the world - it's Facebook, after all) that I would rather make his list than Pop City's. Which is true. I care more about having a good reputation with Vernard Alexander and among his circle than with Pop City. Not that I want a bad reputation with Pop City. I simply don't care as much about Pop City. At least, not for my own sake.

I care more for the sake of others who have achieved more than I have so far.

Kimberly ("Dr. Goddess") Ellis has presented at South By Southwest. Paradise Gray's One Hood Media Academy has received more than $200,000 in grants from The Heinz Endowments, and the man himself is a walking history of Hip-Hop. His collaborator Jasiri X's music and activism allow him to hang out with Harry Belafonte. After being featured recently in the Post-Gazette, Shimira Williams is attending a business briefing tomorrow - at the White House. Damon Young is a contributing editor at Ebony Magazine; Stephan Broadus, web editor at the New Pittsburgh Courier. Bluey Blackashell, I can't even describe.

ALL of these people are HIGHLY regarded by a bunch of people.

So, does Pop City not know any of them, or does Pop City not consider any of them worth recommending?

I can't help thinking about August Wilson, who, as far as I can tell, became famous in Pittsburgh after gaining accolades in the larger world. Do Black folk have to become famous out there in order to be noticed here?

In any case, I care less about Pop City's ignorance than I do about my own. So today I sent Facebook friend requests to the people on Vernard Alexander's list whom I do not know - Cardell Collins (Ceo Raw), Rob Wilson, Wadria Taylor. Because Mr. Alexander's recommendation is enough for me. And the ones I do know, I will work to get to know better. Because my limited knowledge says they're worth it.

As for me, I'm perverse. I want Pop City to continue paying me no mind, until my work advances to the point where they have to take notice, and they say, "Who the hell IS this guy?" - and then, "How the hell did we not know about him?"

That's why I have not included a link to their list, because that might bring me to their attention.

Do me a favor, OK? Don't tell 'em.

***************
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Building a billion-dollar enterprise, 21: a new media experiment

This evening's update on my work to build Luminaria Productions into a billion-dollar enterprise:

1. I promoted last night's BBDE post via Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and G+.

2. I also promoted last night's Homewood Nation story about TechShop coming to Homewood Library, via Facebook and Twitter.

I did all of that by noon or so, on the belief that people might be more likely to browse social media then during lunch. I also used my new spreadsheet to keep track of what I had posted where.

According to Google, "ReVisions" had 3 pageviews today, after 77 on Monday, 59 on Tuesday, and 42 on Wednesay.

According to Clicky, Homewood Nation had 59 visitors today, with an average time per visit of 1 min, 31 secs. That would include people who visited to read about Shimira Williams...

3. I wrote a story about Shimira Williams creating and registering a new hashtag for people to share and find information about local youth activities - #youth 412.

The last gave me special pleasure, and I consider it especially important, because it was, as I said to Shimira, "a new media experiment."

We were chatting on Facebook, and at 2:45, I got the idea of doing a story about the hashtag. I asked if I could interview her, right there on Facebook, she agreed (with the caveat that she was multitasking), and we were off.

The chat itself served as notes, and I began writing while we spoke. At the end of our convo, she sent me a pic of herself to use.

At 4:35, I posted the first link to the completed article on Facebook, quickly following with posts on Twitter and G+.

It's not great journalism. But I'm certain that it is the fastest story I have ever done. And I think it is also serviceable, as opposed to being downright bad. It accomplishes the not-grand purpose of sharing a little bit of information that some people might find useful.

And it even has two - not one, but two - pictures.

I am downright proud of having reported, written and published a serviceable story in less than two hours. The better I get at producing serviceable stuff faster - the better.

This post marks the beginning of me tracking visitors/pageviews on a daily basis. First results don't look good for my use of LinkedIn to promote my content. Is the very title, "Building a billion dollar enterprise" off-putting for that audience? How can I make this more interesting and useful?

Thoughts for another day.