Last night I attended a panel discussion about the cultural phenomenon Facebook.  The event, sponsored by University Housing, promised to be interesting- a mix of ex-social revolutionist, baby-boomer faculty and undergraduate student panelists set to discuss the topic with a predominantly undergraduate audience (the main users of the website).  The 2-hour long discussion hit on a number of interesting questions pertaining to the privacy and security of the users, the cultural implications large online communities have on the value of friendship and personal relations, and its place in the business world, particularly marketing.

The discussion began with the panelists throwing out a multitude of numbers astounding enough that I would like to share them- Facebook boasts 60 million user profiles, with 250,000 new members being added each day.  On college campuses, the place where this phenomenon originated, 95% of students have profiles.  Since it expanded its membership opportunities a year ago to those beyond university settings, 85% of incoming freshmen already have profiles.  The number of older member profiles is still small due to its youthful origin, but those numbers are growing as well.  Also, due to its ability to upload photos for sharing, it is the largest online repository for personal photo albums, with an average 44 photos per user.  The most astounding fact I have saved for last- this site has only been around since February 24, 2004.  All of this has occurred in just four years.

The question that was burning on my mind for most of this discussion was what happens when this site, and its users, mature?  Currently, it is mainly a youth phenomenon, a place to display and share your private self with friends.  Its main body of users are either still in college, or just graduated.  Much of the information shared pertains to general likes/dislikes. Photos display friendly outings, vacations, or parties attended.  These are sorts of things that everyone does, now and forever, generation after generation.  But for the first time, it is being publicly documented in an extremely personal way.   As its users age, it becomes a mini-biography, a public account of who, what, when, and where a particular person has been over the years.

The cultural implications have already been showing up.  Although no major social revolution has thus far been attempted, minor protest groups formed by users have caused universities to think twice about certain decisions, such as changing collegiate logos.  Students have been ousted from academic settings due to photo documentation of such actions as drinking in the dorms or tearing down goal posts after big games.  Even the face of dating, as one of the audience members demonstrated last night, is changing.  Now, because it is common when meeting someone new to become “Facebook friends,” much of the small talk that usually occurs on first dates becomes obsolete, as the information has already been provided online.  A level of prescreening occurs before the first date even happens.  The same is often true on the friendship level.  This site, and others like it, has the potential to impact the very core of how we relate to one another socially.

The world of big business, already so engrained in modern life, cannot be counted out of this social phenomenon much longer either.  The bevy of personal statistics and networks are much too desirable for marketing companies looking for the next way to gain customers.  Already there have been attempts by corporations to infiltrate the site, and some have been successful despite user protests.  Facebook, after all, is not just a social community site- it is a publicly traded company.  As such, Facebook has made deals with other business to track such things as user’s online purchases and then release the information to the users friend networks (Project Beacon).  Currently, due to user protests, the onslaught is being implemented in optional stages such as with this project.  However, it is the next level of marketing and as such the aggressive world of business will only be held off for so long.

On a another business note, as Face book’s users age and enter the professional world, the implications of sharing your personal life publicly become potentially detrimental- a tell-all biography available to not only your friends but also your boss and clients.  As this reality sets in along with the knowledge information is being used by business for marketing purposes, does the use of Facebook change?  Do people get more guarded?  Or does the plethora of personal documentation cause a shift in social values?  Since the 1920’s, public morality as determined by an overarching societal code has been continually disappearing, heading instead towards a society where truly “anything goes,” and each individual must rely upon himself or herself to create a code of personal ethics.  Is Facebook, and its potential implications, another step in that process?  Although I personally see this latter thought as a far-fetched as it would require a massive shift in societal values even still, I am interested to see how this phenomenon develops into maturity

Community sites like Facebook truly are part of the shift to Internet 2.0, the next phase of the information age’s transformation of modern society.  Such Internet use penetrates to the core of our social interactions and lifestyle choices.  Its implications have yet to completely manifest themselves due to their youth, but they could spell major change.  It will be interesting to watch.

I took this picture shortly before the end of the last school term:

 It is the image of a black vinyl sticker abstractly representing a white ipod with the words “Kill your PC” plastered on its screen.  The message is clear and simple; it references the well-known debate of Mac vs. PC, and declares Apple as the one and only.  Computer nerds world-wide know how strongly people feel about one platform versus the other; this debate is not a new theme, and not what caught my eye in this instance.  Instead, what struck me in particular about this sticker was its placement at a student bike rack by someone who most likely has nothing to do with Apple or its corporate competitors.

Why would someone go and and place a sticker somewhere like that?  This sticker, this campaign, means something to them beyond advertisement.  This corporate marketing debate has so affected their way of thinking that it has become as important as a way of life to them, a representation of who they are and what they believe.  Being an Apple, and not a PC user, is a part of how they define themselves, something they feel the need to proclaim to others in an attempt to create connections.

 This is the power of marketing in the 21st century.

People buy into brands not just because their clothing fits or is a good color, but also for the ideals they have come to understand it represents via its marketing campaigns.  Although this type of marketing can be overwhelming when it goes as far as determining people’s cultural values (see the sticker above), it still, at a lower level of cultural intrusion, is an important way for a company to market itself successfully.

By proclaiming your thoughts and ideals of how your product can enhance a particular way of life, you can help potential customers relate to your company via their own opinions.  Perhaps, then, they will choose to purchase your products or services over the multitudes of others offering the same.  The most successful companies know and practice this technique, as well as some of the most successful architects.  One example that particularly comes to mind is REM Koolhaas, equally well-known for both his architecture and his publications.  His designs are perhaps some of the most “off the wall” architecture being created currently, for example going so far as to totally recreate the library classification system for book storage in the Seattle Public Library(completed 2003).  Even though reviews on some of his projects have been mixed, REM Koolhaas is still winning competitions and practicing.  Every client that hires him chooses his office based upon his ability to market himself as a thinker.  And no matter what the reviews, he has followed his thought processes through to the end, with the help of like-minded individuals he has attracted to his practice via his proclamations of his ideals. He, perhaps better than many of his contemporaries, is not peddling style or technique, but ideals, and reaping the benefits of it.  As his office, and the sticker above proves, it makes for successful marketing.

I recently finished a book entitled “Culture Jam: How to Reverse America’s Suicidal Consumer Binge- And Why We Must.”  Written by Kalle Lasn, the editor of Adbusters magazine and founder of such movements as Buy Nothing Day, it reads somewhat like a manifesto for people who are fed up with mass media alienation and stupidity.  It encourages people to take back their minds and lives, to think past the advertising they see and to remove the pressures of corporations attempting to brand their hopes and dreams into generics that encourage sales.  While it has its moments of being a bit over the top, overall I found it to be quite good, and well-conceived. 

While the subject ties quite nicely into my thesis work, it was not the reason I bought this particular book when there are many, many titles written upon this very subject.  I chose this one because of its enticing title gimmick that this book was not only an expose of the oft-discussed subject of how our modern life is robbing us, but also would focus upon suggesting ways to fix it.  I have read many, many books pertaining to the problems the brainwashing of modern advertisment and its co-conspirator suburban alienation, but until this book, I have never found one that enthusiastically and sincerely put forth theories on achievable solutions.  Granted, I do not agree with all of Lasn’s proposed methods, but I was very glad to see someone putting forth some sort of solution

 It seems that often people are quick to point out problems, but are then much more slow to come up with solutions, and even less likely to enact them.  I understand change is difficult, I find it so myself, but the potential benefits in the face of what are obviously deteriorating status-quo situations, should push more people into attempting something new.  Or rather sometimes, revert them to a previous line of thought. 

As a result, I enjoy checking up on the workings of Adbusters from time to time.  Their consistent attempt to address and change people’s perceptions is quite exciting.   I also find their ways of creating public awareness of their causes to be informative and inspiring in my own work, particularly their main reliance upon written venues-books, magazines, and the most readily available and far-reaching place for free expression, the internet.  Currently, their online membership tops 100,000, and each year I hear more rumblings about “Buy Nothing Day.”  In other words, their campaign is gaining public recognition.  Organizations such as the Adbusters are breaking ground, revitalizing the potential for free expression and discussion upon many subjects, and gaining true attention.  It’s truly becoming a fine time to be an educational activist.  

Recently I was perusing the online blog world and I came across a feature that I plan to install on this site. It’s called FeedBurner. This free online service allows people to subscribe to my blog via email. It also provides me with information such as how many subscribers I have, where they come from, and what they are looking at on my site. All sorts of information that will help me make this site something great and wonderful, hopefully. It also it will help my readers keep up with my thoughts in an incredibly easy way. By subscribing (see box on right), you will receive an email whenever I post a new entry. It’s just that easy.

I plan to post about once a week, on the subjects you see listed to your right. If you do subscribe, please remember to come back and comment. I want this blog to partly be about discussion, so comments are important!

One week ago I dyed my hair pink.

This wasn’t the first time I had experimented with the color. A month ago I put a few streaks of the same dye into my bangs, something I had wanted to try but hadn’t had the guts to do for a long time. The results were great, I thought, and I got quite a few comments urging me to try more color. So this time, one hour, one enthusiastic roommate, and most of one dye tube later, I emerged with a full glazing of bright pink hair on the top of my head. Perfect for my plane trip home to see the family the next day.

My roommate’s enthusiasm had translated into a glazing slightly more shocking than I had anticipated, and at first, I must admit, I felt really awkward and out of place sporting such a ‘do. Once I left Eugene, home of the crazy hair and body art lovers, I was often the only unusually outfitted person in the room, and I was well-aware of how much attention it caught. The change in stranger’s daily interactions with me was immediately noticeable. Surprisingly, except for the stares, I felt people were more polite and respectful towards me. And I definitely had no trouble getting their attention ever. I think the shock of the hair sent them into some sort of survival mode where they were too busy trying to comprehend the strangeness in front of them to expend energy being nasty. And after a day, I got used to it, and I began to notice how the hair and corresponding attention changed my personality as well. I was all of the sudden bolder, more willing to state exactly how I felt about whatever, and not take any crap from others in return. And the best part was, I never lost any of my politeness that was so beaten into me as a southern child. If anything, this tendency also got stronger, as any personal affront to me I chalked up to a misunderstanding of my physical appearance, and not of my soul.

The hair stripped away whatever shield of normalcy I was still hiding behind, and I found it empowering. It became for me a visible symbol of my designer soul.

I have to admit not everyone was as welcoming towards my unusual appearance, particularly during my visit home to the South. But those unwelcoming reactions, compared with those applauded my look, were helpful in discerning those who preach the values of openmindedness versus those who actually live the creed.

I began to wonder what would happen if I brought this look to the corporate world. As a general rule, the value of a conservative appearance is preached and followed, but in a world of art and design, quite the opposite is often acceptable, if not applauded. And to go back to the statement I made earlier about openmindedness, a firm that would not hire someone with a certain physical appearance is not necessarily the type of place I would want to work anyways. Wouldn’t a firm that hired you based upon your true personality and design merits, whether they be conservative or more artsy, be a better fit for anyone than one in which you had to hide who you were? I pose this question to be debated in the comments section.

I have admittedly been fascinated by blogs for about three years now.

Yeah, I know it’s kind of a weird thing to be into, reading and knowing so much about people whom I’ve never met.It’s a hobby of mine that causes even my strangest of friends raise their eyebrows at me from time to time. I argue back that they have never ventured deep enough into the world of blogging, however, to make a fair judgment.

I think that when most people think of blogs, they think of some whiny teen lamenting their lack of lunch choices to some online journal that no one in their right mind would ever want to read. But a blog can be so much more than that. Many are written like serial newcolumns by people who can actually write well, and are even researched and reference legitimate sources. Some are personal, some political, others technical, etc. If you think it, someone’s probably blogging about it, and doing so pseudo-professionally. For example, when I was still in the planning stages for this website, I went to Google and did a quick search on “architecture blogs.” Like usual, I was astounded by the inundation of information I received. 378,000 hits. Most pertinently, I stumbled upon Archiblog, a blogsite that serves to catalog and highlight architecture blogs. I plan to add mine to their registry eventually. Another search for “political blogs” returned 69.1 million google hits, some obviously more legitimate then others. But it is undeniable- blogs are a major portion of the internet world.

Blogs have gained enough legitimacy in the internet world that other mass media sources, such as major network newreports, use them as research references, particularly when polling or trying to understand the sentiments of the general population. The great thing about blogs is that they are self-published, meaning that there is no higher power reigning in their biases. They are the true thoughts and opinions of their authors, out there for all to see and respond to. Blogs have proven powerful enough to get people fired, as happened in the recent political scandal involving a congressman and a blogging intern documented here, and again here.

Some of these blogs have millions of readers. Their writers are internet superstars. Perez Hilton, for example, has become such a popular celebrity blogger that he now is photographed and written about along with the celebrities he lampoons in his blog. Blogging is his career. It is a legitimate career for a ever-growing number of people across the globe.

Designers can, have, and should continue to capitalize on this internet phenomenon. Blogs have the power to connect ideas with many, many people. And what is Design but a field about having ideas? The potential in the meshing of blogs and designers is absolutely phenomenal.

Almost everyday since I began studying for my professional degree , I have struggled with my decision to become an architect. I saw my future self suffocating in a field that is overworked and underappreciated, battling each day for what I believed and desired against a constant army of naysayers. The rare win always seems to cause more stress than it is worth. I have had many discussions upon this subject with my colleagues, and those have led me to believe that I am not the only one who feels this way. It is a definite problem.

I came to grad school not only to strengthen my design thinking, but also to seek answers as to why designers, despite being held in great esteem socially, are so underappreciated within the world of business. I desired to know what could be done about it. I spent the first few terms focusing in particular on the suburbs, one of the largest building markets in the country and also one in which architects are virtually absent. I sought to find an answer as to what drives the American housing consumer, and how this knowledge could help a designer succeed in the current building market. After a few terms of study and a much deeper understandng of the subject, I have still yet to answer that question. Everytime I try, I come to a paradox: either a designer places their “art” on the back burner and rides the waves of the market like a developer, or they remove themselves to the fringe and create their art for ideal clients in ideal scenarios. Most, it seems, are enticed by the latter, despite its incredibly long, difficult and potentially unattainable path. It is an ideal that we glorify in schools, and train for incessantly despite the fact that it is a rare achievement. We all know that most architects end up on some aspect of the former pathway. So why do we continue to train for the role of the artist architect, and even when we do not achieve this ideal and end up on the other path, still continue to chase after it, sacrificing our time, money and sanity for the sake of an ideal? Is this really necessary? Is there not some way to bridge the two and practice our profession in a world that returns its appreciation? A few have may stumbled upon ways, but their numbers are much smaller than they should be.

Because architects achieve personal satisfaction through building the world into a better place, they are often willing to accept that the business world does not appreciate their work as it should. Although this is a decidedly lofty way of viewing your work, it is not necessary. There is no reason that architects should work soley for “the sake of the art,” and not be compensated accordingly by our society. In fact, I believe the only reason the field gets shafted like it does is that architects do not play the marketing game in a way that is beneficial to themselves. Perhaps it is disinterest, perhaps a lack of knowledge. More likely, though, it is considered a “fringe benefit” to place time and energy into such an activity- ironically, a mirror of the attitude that much of the general population holds toward design.

I know many believe that to play the “marketing game” is to reduce yourself and your values, but I feel that attitude is actually the mark of someone who is marketing themselves wrong. Good marketing should glorify your individuality, which is most evident in your ideals. If you find a way to spotlight those, you have the potential to be hired to achieve them. In bad marketing, you hide within what other expect rather than what you expect, which may get you a job, but one in which you will be miserable.

Although simply standing for your ideals may sound easy, it is the more difficult path because it does create limits on your options. When you become specific on what you are willing to do, the jobs that don’t fit those criteria are no longer available. As a result, you need to search harder, make yourself stand out more. It is a daunting task, but one that I believe is becoming easier to achieve recently because of the digital age.

The best way to gain attention in any field is to get yourself published. There are many prestigious publications dedicated to to architecture out there, and they do a great deal of good in the promotion of architecture to fellow architects and the general public. However, the amount of designers such a publication can promote is limited, and the messages they send about those designers are chosen by the publication staff, not the designer. And as far and new, upcoming designers are concerned, publication within these arenas is virtually impossible. You have to already be a superstar designer to attract such attention. However, in the self-publication abilities of the internet, there arises great possibility. Many designers already have created online portfolios and have reaped the benefits. With their work online, access to their ideas, values, and design skills is unlimited. Potential employers and clients are attracted to them, rather than the designer having to exert multitudes of time, money, and energy into portfolios and other hardcopy publications which still reach less people. With the more recent phenomenon of blogging, the ultimate self-pubication, the possibilities of the internet for designers really are endless.

With these thoughts, I decided to embark on an experiment. I want to see if my idea of self-publication online is a legitimately helpful way of marketing yourself, and what can be done to make such an idea truly successful. This blog page is the beginning of it all. I plan to write a thoughtful entry at least once a week. The subjects of the entries will transform along with the site, and honestly I am not quite sure yet where that transformation is headed. Currently, my only criteria is that the blog pertain to architecture, and have something to do with promoting my design ideals. Also, as soon as I can code it, I hope to have an online portfolio attached to this page. I then plan to continue to improve the website, looking in particular into its effect (if any) and also attempting to increase its readership. I have no idea how successful such a thing can be, but I thought it would be worth a try.

Most likely, if you are reading this entry now, you are my friend whom I have specifically directed to the site. I have requested your advice and opinions on any and all of this experiment- whether my entries are interesting, well-written, if the site is well or poorly-designed, and any suggestions and improvements you may have. In other words, tell me your truthful opinions and help direct me into a more successful page.

So, let the games begin.