Unconsumption means the accomplishment of properly recycling your old cellphone, rather than the guilt of letting it sit in a drawer.
Unconsumption means the thrill of finding a new use for something that you were about to throw away.
Unconsumption means the pleasure of using a service like Freecycle (or Craigslist or Goodwill) to find a new home for the functioning VCR you just replaced, rather than throwing it in the garbage.
Unconsumption means enjoying the things you own to the fullest – not just at the moment of acquisition.
Unconsumption means the pleasure of using a pair of sneakers until they are truly worn out – as opposed to the nagging feeling of defeat when they simply go out of style.
Unconsumption means feeling good about the simple act of turning off the lights when you leave the room.
Unconsumption is not about the rejection of things, or the demonization of things. It’s not a bunch of rules.
Unconsumption is an idea, a set of behaviors, a way of thinking about consumption itself from a new perspective.
Unconsumption is free.
More on Unconsumption & Freecycling on NYT - http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/07/magazine/07wwln_consumed.t.html
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
2010 Trends
FROM TRENDWATCHING
HAPPYNOMICS, UNCONSUMPTION, STATUS DESPAIR, STATUS SKILLS, ECO-BOASTING and STATUS STORIES.
The major forces that define the business arena in 2010: from CREATIVE DESTRUCTION to the EXPECTATION ECONOMY.
Still continuting -- Generosity is replacing greed. With lots of new, insightful examples for (CO)-DONATE, BRAND BUTLERS, FREE LOVE, PERKONOMICS, TRYVERTISING and RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS.
As 'online addiction' is still spreading, and as both mobile speed and time spent online are set to explode (again), expect plenty of new material illustrating ONLINE OXYGEN and OF = ON at its most powerful ever.
A colorful overview of how earthly authenticity and well-executed 'fakery' will co-exist in a consumer society that paradoxically embraces both with gusto. Includes trends like GROW(N) UP (only for mature audiences) and FAKETASTIC.
One of the most impactful themes for 2010, we'll be looking at the endless new services and brands now helping consumers to satisfy their lust for information, for transparency, for tracking, for mapping, and so on. Includes CHECKING, TRACKING & ALERTING, TRANSPARENCY TRIUMPH and MAPMANIA.
The future is uncertain, and the past is, well, the past. No wonder then, that the now, the live, and the instant will continue to dominate consumer desires. Get ready for an avalanche of insights and examples covering trends like OWNER-LESS, PULSE, POPUPPING, and more.
Overlapping many of the other themes, the force of all things local, from PRIDE to MADE HERE to MEETING UP to SOURCED will prove to be an endless source of innovation in 2010 and beyond.
In 2010, who's not joining forces, and deeply enjoying it, too? Brands are teaming up with customers, with designers, with brands from other industries and even with competitors. On top of that, consumers will continue to explore novel ways to form any kind of CROWD, or go down the SELLSUMER lane, joining the business arena not just as collaborators, but as players. Includes numerous new (and surprising) examples from the collaboration arena.
From BRAND ME to DIGITAL FOOTPRINT to PROFILE MYNING, consumers are embracing everything that has to do with personal branding, but not for the reasons most corporations are hoping for.
It's not just the impact of the current recession: traditional luxury as a theme or trend has been up for a serious revision for quite a while. So now that the economic crisis collides with a fast changing STATUSPHERE, expect luxury to mean a great many different things to a great many different people in 2010.
Building on our ECO-BOUNTY trend, the report brings you the best of the best in clever eco-thinking and innovating. From ECO-NAKED to ECO-STURDY to ECO-SUPERIOR to ECO-REWARDS. The sheer amount of smart green innovations leaves you no excuse to not go all out on profitable sustainability in 2010.
A take on the role of brands and branding in 2010, focusing on the need for brands to not only mirror societal changes, but become an integral part of consumers' daily lives, in a relevant, interesting, surprising and caring way. Sounds like an incredibly intense journey? Maybe, but the alternative is to end up as road kill. Closely linked to the GRAND OVERHAUL trend.
Some trends are so well-researched and so pervasive, that the only thing they're good for is relentless innovation. Think certain demographics, lifestyles, or themes like 'convenience' and 'personalization'. Hence our focus on fun new products and services from around the world, delivering on the specific needs and wants of BABY BOOMERS, THE GAY COMMUNITY, WOMEN, KIDS & PARENTS and so on. Oh well, you get the picture: this Mega Trend is solely about the latest and greatest innovations waiting to be copied or improved on.
Want the biggest countertrend to most of the trends above? Try SURRENDER (and sub-trends like OPENLY OPAQUE and CURATED), which highlights how many consumers (despite rampant consumer power) are actually willing to embrace (and surrender to) trusted brands, as long as their needs for entertainment, for surprise, for convenience, and for fairness are met in superior ways.
HAPPYNOMICS, UNCONSUMPTION, STATUS DESPAIR, STATUS SKILLS, ECO-BOASTING and STATUS STORIES.
The major forces that define the business arena in 2010: from CREATIVE DESTRUCTION to the EXPECTATION ECONOMY.
Still continuting -- Generosity is replacing greed. With lots of new, insightful examples for (CO)-DONATE, BRAND BUTLERS, FREE LOVE, PERKONOMICS, TRYVERTISING and RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS.
As 'online addiction' is still spreading, and as both mobile speed and time spent online are set to explode (again), expect plenty of new material illustrating ONLINE OXYGEN and OF = ON at its most powerful ever.
A colorful overview of how earthly authenticity and well-executed 'fakery' will co-exist in a consumer society that paradoxically embraces both with gusto. Includes trends like GROW(N) UP (only for mature audiences) and FAKETASTIC.
One of the most impactful themes for 2010, we'll be looking at the endless new services and brands now helping consumers to satisfy their lust for information, for transparency, for tracking, for mapping, and so on. Includes CHECKING, TRACKING & ALERTING, TRANSPARENCY TRIUMPH and MAPMANIA.
The future is uncertain, and the past is, well, the past. No wonder then, that the now, the live, and the instant will continue to dominate consumer desires. Get ready for an avalanche of insights and examples covering trends like OWNER-LESS, PULSE, POPUPPING, and more.
Overlapping many of the other themes, the force of all things local, from PRIDE to MADE HERE to MEETING UP to SOURCED will prove to be an endless source of innovation in 2010 and beyond.
In 2010, who's not joining forces, and deeply enjoying it, too? Brands are teaming up with customers, with designers, with brands from other industries and even with competitors. On top of that, consumers will continue to explore novel ways to form any kind of CROWD, or go down the SELLSUMER lane, joining the business arena not just as collaborators, but as players. Includes numerous new (and surprising) examples from the collaboration arena.
From BRAND ME to DIGITAL FOOTPRINT to PROFILE MYNING, consumers are embracing everything that has to do with personal branding, but not for the reasons most corporations are hoping for.
It's not just the impact of the current recession: traditional luxury as a theme or trend has been up for a serious revision for quite a while. So now that the economic crisis collides with a fast changing STATUSPHERE, expect luxury to mean a great many different things to a great many different people in 2010.
Building on our ECO-BOUNTY trend, the report brings you the best of the best in clever eco-thinking and innovating. From ECO-NAKED to ECO-STURDY to ECO-SUPERIOR to ECO-REWARDS. The sheer amount of smart green innovations leaves you no excuse to not go all out on profitable sustainability in 2010.
A take on the role of brands and branding in 2010, focusing on the need for brands to not only mirror societal changes, but become an integral part of consumers' daily lives, in a relevant, interesting, surprising and caring way. Sounds like an incredibly intense journey? Maybe, but the alternative is to end up as road kill. Closely linked to the GRAND OVERHAUL trend.
Some trends are so well-researched and so pervasive, that the only thing they're good for is relentless innovation. Think certain demographics, lifestyles, or themes like 'convenience' and 'personalization'. Hence our focus on fun new products and services from around the world, delivering on the specific needs and wants of BABY BOOMERS, THE GAY COMMUNITY, WOMEN, KIDS & PARENTS and so on. Oh well, you get the picture: this Mega Trend is solely about the latest and greatest innovations waiting to be copied or improved on.
Want the biggest countertrend to most of the trends above? Try SURRENDER (and sub-trends like OPENLY OPAQUE and CURATED), which highlights how many consumers (despite rampant consumer power) are actually willing to embrace (and surrender to) trusted brands, as long as their needs for entertainment, for surprise, for convenience, and for fairness are met in superior ways.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Needy Students Head Back to School with Supplies Collected by the Houston Apartment Association
More than 3,500 Houston students started school today with much-needed supplies provided by the Houston Apartment Association (HAA).
The HAA collected more than 200 boxes of supplies during a massive citywide school supply drive it recently spearheaded. Hundreds of the HAA's 2,000 member properties participated in the school supply drive, which also raised $29,000 in donations for needy children. The donations were distributed through the Alliance of Community Assistance Ministry (ACAM) member agencies, which anticipate helping more than 10,000 children with the supplies and donations.
Diana Garbis, Executive Director of Humble Area Assistance Ministries received 38 large boxes of school supplies from the HAA drive.
"We are actually going to run way ahead of projections of children needing supplies at a time when donations are down," Garbis said. "This was a huge boost to our program."
The sentiment was echoed by Jean West Evans, Executive Director of the Emergency Aid Coalition.
"The Emergency Aid Coalition was thrilled to receive so many backpacks and school supplies for our Books & Backpacks distribution to clients' children!," she said. "The recent economic downturn had caused EAC to lose a donation on which we had counted, so we were worried about our capacity to provide for all of the students we had pre-registered. This generous donation from the Houston Apartment Association school supply drive means we will now be able to serve more deserving children."
About HAA: The Houston Apartment Association is a professional trade association that serves individuals and businesses involved in the ownership, construction, management, maintenance and operation of apartments and other rental dwellings in the Houston area. See www.haaonline.org for more information.
About ACAM: ACAM is a membership support organization committed to excellence in social services and capacity building for Community Assistance Ministries (CAMs) in the Greater Houston area.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Dan Ammerman Dies
(Reprinted from the Houston Chronicle)
Dan Sheridan Ammerman, June 10, 1932 - May 11, 2009
DAN SHERIDAN AMMERMAN, died peacefully and went to be with his Lord and Savior, on Monday, May 11, 2009, surrounded by his wife of 55 years, and his son and daughter. Dan was born to Harry Eugene Ammerman and Helen Morrow Ammerman, on June 10, 1932, in Tyrone, Pennsylvania. Dan leaves behind his beloved wife, Mary Graca Ammerman; son, Mark Ammerman and his wife Lisa; daughter, Terri Ammerman; grandchildren, Lauren Ammerman, Meredith Ammerman, Nathan Ammerman, Trace Saylor, and Sheridan Henson and her husband Chris; brother, Robert Ammerman; sister, Janis Ammerman; and many nieces and nephews.
Joining the Army at 15, Dan fought in the Korean War, and saw combat that ultimately won him a battlefield commission to Second Lieutenant. Leaving active duty in 1951, he completed his military career in the army reserves. He was proud of his country, of his time serving, and was a prominent member of the team who worked to bring the Korean War Veterans Monument to Austin, Texas. He was also instrumental in having Highway 6 named the Texas Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway. Dan was well-known and loved in Houston because of his broadcast career as a news anchorman with Dave Ward on ABC, Channel 13, in the early 70's. After leaving Channel 13, he became an entrepreneur and started a business out of his home that now has a client base that reaches out to 43 different countries. The Ammerman Experience is a company that teaches professionals how to handle television interviews and crisis situations.
The commercial voice of many major corporations, Dan was recognized from 1972 1975 as the voice of Exxon. He was also an actor who appeared in several major movies and in the well-known television show, "Dallas." He is best known for the role of the doctor who pulled the bullet out of JR Ewing. In his movie career, he worked with major actors such as Burt Lancaster, Farah Fawcett, Sally Field, and Valerie Bertinelli.
A published author at the age of 70, Dan wrote "My Mother's Secret," a novel that was inspired because he believed "that sex, violence and swearing weren't necessary to make a good book." During a book signing in his home town of Altoona, Pennsylvania, he said, "I am excited and having a ball. A man my age should not be allowed to have this much fun." Although Dan had a stellar career, he will be most remembered for his love of his Lord and of his family. Dan and his wife, Mary, were members of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, and part of the team who helped build their church building. Dan also led choir when at Notre Dame Catholic Church, and spent many hours volunteering his time to teach lectors to read the scripture with passion and awe.
Although he worked hard, Dan loved his horses and his golf. He raised Arabian horses and for years would leave the house at 6:00 in the morning to go feed the horses before going to work. He and his wife Mary, were avid golfers and are long time members of Sugar Creek Country Club.
Dan touched many lives in his 76 years. He was a light and an encourager and did everything with class. He never ran out of energy or passion for the things he loved. He was still enjoying outings with his family, playing golf, and riding his horses in his later years until he was struck with Alzheimer's three years ago.
He will be missed deeply by his family, his staff, and by everyone who crossed his path. Friends are invited to visitation with the family from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM, Wednesday, May 13, 2009, at The Settegast-Kopf Co. @ Sugar Creek, 15015 Southwest Freeway, Sugar Land, with a Vigil Service beginning at 6:00 PM, officiated by the Rev. Joseph K. Kalladan, Pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church. Funeral Services will be held at 2:30 PM, on Thursday, May 14, 2009, at The First United Methodist Church Missouri City, with Dr. Lynne Settlemyre, officiating. Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Alzheimer's Association, at www.alz.org.
Published in the Houston Chronicle from 5/12/2009 - 5/13/2009
Dan Sheridan Ammerman, June 10, 1932 - May 11, 2009
DAN SHERIDAN AMMERMAN, died peacefully and went to be with his Lord and Savior, on Monday, May 11, 2009, surrounded by his wife of 55 years, and his son and daughter. Dan was born to Harry Eugene Ammerman and Helen Morrow Ammerman, on June 10, 1932, in Tyrone, Pennsylvania. Dan leaves behind his beloved wife, Mary Graca Ammerman; son, Mark Ammerman and his wife Lisa; daughter, Terri Ammerman; grandchildren, Lauren Ammerman, Meredith Ammerman, Nathan Ammerman, Trace Saylor, and Sheridan Henson and her husband Chris; brother, Robert Ammerman; sister, Janis Ammerman; and many nieces and nephews.
Joining the Army at 15, Dan fought in the Korean War, and saw combat that ultimately won him a battlefield commission to Second Lieutenant. Leaving active duty in 1951, he completed his military career in the army reserves. He was proud of his country, of his time serving, and was a prominent member of the team who worked to bring the Korean War Veterans Monument to Austin, Texas. He was also instrumental in having Highway 6 named the Texas Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway. Dan was well-known and loved in Houston because of his broadcast career as a news anchorman with Dave Ward on ABC, Channel 13, in the early 70's. After leaving Channel 13, he became an entrepreneur and started a business out of his home that now has a client base that reaches out to 43 different countries. The Ammerman Experience is a company that teaches professionals how to handle television interviews and crisis situations.
The commercial voice of many major corporations, Dan was recognized from 1972 1975 as the voice of Exxon. He was also an actor who appeared in several major movies and in the well-known television show, "Dallas." He is best known for the role of the doctor who pulled the bullet out of JR Ewing. In his movie career, he worked with major actors such as Burt Lancaster, Farah Fawcett, Sally Field, and Valerie Bertinelli.
A published author at the age of 70, Dan wrote "My Mother's Secret," a novel that was inspired because he believed "that sex, violence and swearing weren't necessary to make a good book." During a book signing in his home town of Altoona, Pennsylvania, he said, "I am excited and having a ball. A man my age should not be allowed to have this much fun." Although Dan had a stellar career, he will be most remembered for his love of his Lord and of his family. Dan and his wife, Mary, were members of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, and part of the team who helped build their church building. Dan also led choir when at Notre Dame Catholic Church, and spent many hours volunteering his time to teach lectors to read the scripture with passion and awe.
Although he worked hard, Dan loved his horses and his golf. He raised Arabian horses and for years would leave the house at 6:00 in the morning to go feed the horses before going to work. He and his wife Mary, were avid golfers and are long time members of Sugar Creek Country Club.
Dan touched many lives in his 76 years. He was a light and an encourager and did everything with class. He never ran out of energy or passion for the things he loved. He was still enjoying outings with his family, playing golf, and riding his horses in his later years until he was struck with Alzheimer's three years ago.
He will be missed deeply by his family, his staff, and by everyone who crossed his path. Friends are invited to visitation with the family from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM, Wednesday, May 13, 2009, at The Settegast-Kopf Co. @ Sugar Creek, 15015 Southwest Freeway, Sugar Land, with a Vigil Service beginning at 6:00 PM, officiated by the Rev. Joseph K. Kalladan, Pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church. Funeral Services will be held at 2:30 PM, on Thursday, May 14, 2009, at The First United Methodist Church Missouri City, with Dr. Lynne Settlemyre, officiating. Interment will be private. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Alzheimer's Association, at www.alz.org.
Published in the Houston Chronicle from 5/12/2009 - 5/13/2009
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