Memo: Overdose of Reality

As a rich donor, my favorite business plan that I am very willing to invest in is Tim Bidon’s “Overdose of Reality.” His idea was fresh and I think there is a huge spot in the market right now for a business that provides easy to understand information about drug policy, drug information and current debates that are relevant to average citizens today. I think he is really onto something by challenging the taboo of drug use and teaching people what they need to know. It reminds me a lot of the abortion issue today and how many feminist and activist groups decided to simplify the facts and start a campaign to illustrate their idea that teaching about birth control and providing it could in turn decrease the amount of abortions, etc. Anyway, I loved his idea.

My spot of improvement would be in his outreach. I believe that his business could be a total gamechanger in the ways public schools teach about drugs. I remember my program in school (and this was only 2009, 2010) used videos from the 80’s showing kids dramatically turning down a puff of weed at a party… they weren’t realistic and because of that, we students didn’t learn anything. It’s a waste of time trying to teach people why they shouldn’t do something as commonplace as certain drugs. Like Tim said, it would make more of an impact if we simply taught the effects of drugs and the legal/political/social aspects of it, rather than discouraging it completely and neglecting a huge part of our population.

Songs of a Humble Soul

Michael Clark

Ithaca College 2015

When everyone arrived back on campus this weekend, we had no idea we'd lose one of our own during the trip home. Michael, a junior English major, was carpooling back to school with 3 other students when he swerved to avoid a deer. He sadly passed away in the accident.

Had I not seen this photo of him on The Ithacan this morning, I would not have recognized him. But the weekend before Thanksgiving break, a few friends and I were feeling spontaneous and attending a poetry reading, where Michael was one of the guest speakers. 

After an exuberant introduction by his professor, Michael stood shyly by the mic and cleared his throat. From this quiet boy I'd seen around campus, came a huge, Shakespearean-esque voice and a clear passion for the artistry of sonnets. Along with the 2 other student speakers, I appreciated his thoughts and felt his vulnerability was both inspiring and intimidating. Before leaving, we gave little nods to the students and walked out of the gallery.

Had the entire student body known we would lose such a bright spot in the literary arts world, I'm sure the gallery would've been full and he would've received much more than a few nods from kids he'd never met.

This time freshman year, I lost my best friend to a car accident over Thanksgiving break and it is an impossible time for families and friends to deal with the death of someone they love. It's hard to turn around and say "well he should've done this" or "she shouldn't have done that," but those final moments don't really matter. Though the good dying young never makes sense, it does remind us of the incredible importance of taking advantage of the time you have with people, and appreciating them while you can. 

Asking our friends how their lives are really going. Telling our parents we are grateful for all they do for us. Putting our phones down to talk to a new person. Staying a minute longer to thank someone for reading their poetry out loud.

A thoughtful article by The Ithaca Journal can be found here. 

Crowdsourcing is the New Black

In class not too long ago, we discussed a website called Kickstarter, which helps people with business/project ideas to help get their footing by allowing the public to donate to their specific funds. An article published this week commends Kickstarter for its use of public funding, but criticizes the lack of ability investigative journalists would have if they were trying to do a project long-term.

In rare cases, Kickstarters get enough money to fund their projects for a while. But an average person trying to begin a project, or an investigative journalism outlet, would need more than start up money. 

That's where Uncoverage comes into play! 

Admittedly, Uncoverage founder Israel Mirsky will only accept serious idea pitches (sorry, Miley) and requires some journalism experiences for people who would like to start investigative projects on his new website. 

And to keep journalists from going broke by simply pursuing their passion and furthering interests of the common good, Uncoverage has a payment plan that will supposedly maintain writers and other media experts' resources to help them continuously provide quality content. 

Take a look, here!!! 

De Correspondent

This weekend I caught wind of an awesome new business start up in journalism across the world, in Holland. The headline reads: "This online journalism startup raised $1.7M in crowdfunding and you've never heard of it."

Founded by two former journalism leaders in Holland, De Correspondent offers a fresh take on news for readers who enjoy keeping up with current events. However, rather than simply regurgitate what every news outlet publishes, De Correspondent is a platform for the already news savvy to dig deeper into the issues and figure out why things are they way they are.

Take a look at the article and check out the organization for yourself!

Click Here!

New You

Recently, my brothers girlfriend has been hating her job. 

She shows up to work, has to listen to moody teen girls b*tch about getting their hair wet in swim classes and tolerate wildly inappropriate young boys making jokes about their genitals at every chance they get...

She's a high school phys. ed. teacher. 

Don't get her wrong, she loves her employer, colleagues, and has so much school pride it's coming out of her ears. The only problem is, coaching athletic teams and conducting gym class isn't where her passion lies. For her, it's in Nutrition. 

After graduating with a degree in physical education and nutrition, she got herself a comfortable job to pay for college debts, a car and a new home. But after some years on the grind, she's not sure she's happy anymore. But what can she do? She has a mortgage, loans, etc., etc. But now that she's started taking classes online to earn her masters in nutrition, she came up with a business idea. 

Create a program that develops regimens to match public school's cafeteria food and eating schedule to the gym class and extracurriculars schedule. It's all worked out.. but she needs an in.

That's where websites come through! She figures that if she can build a website, she can build a following and perhaps develop her idea further, which is a great start while she's still in school. A 2009 article by Adam Westbrook lists some general check points for someone who is trying to start up their own business, not in the field of nutrition but which would help her set up her website. 

Her idea has been developing over time, but a definitive niche has been found and the market research has been accomplished. Now comes the part of actually pushing through with it, which she will need inspiration for. 

One person on the Internet I currently admire is Kate, 22, of Glasgow, England. While her outlets are lifestyle based, she still brings something to the table business-wise. Her blog has been kept up like clockwork and now gets sponsors and ads. But the kicker is that she isn't just a blogger. She splits her time between her blog and her own business named Nouvelle Daily, a sort of expanded version of the blog but also includes a store, among other features. 

To encourage others to start websites of their own to build personal brands, Kate wrote out some of the tips she always abides by. Among them:

- Set aside blogging time. If you work during the week, you’re probably going to have to give up that extra hour in bed – take full advantage of that morning light to take photos. Make a list of what you need to photograph so you can quickly plough through it – in one of my notebooks I have a list of posts that I need to work on, and in another I have a list of items that are going in that post, so it makes things a little easier and there’s less chance of featuring the same things over and over. Spend an hour or two in the evening drafting up a couple of posts and scheduling them for the coming week, an hour here and there will make all the difference.

- Schedule your tweets using Hootsuite or something similar to save you time throughout the day – tweet the link to your new post a couple of times and any others from the week too, and keep your notebook on hand for those random lightbulb moments when you’re in Starbucks trying to find a table.

You can find the rest of the tips HERE. 

No Jobs for Europe's Brightest Graduates

So as it turns out, American students aren't the only ones having a hard time starting their post-graduate careers. This video that has been circulating on the European Observer talks of the hardships students are facing in many countries in Europe after they graduate university. 

Even with different political systems and sets of societal norms, citizens across the world still face the same problems. Echoed in one of the interviewees is the sentiment we hear in America all the time, that policy makers are simply just working to "strengthen the advantages of the already advantaged."

My food for thought on this blustery winter day: Is it true that youth today really have to curtail back their expectations of achieving the same careers their parents had? And if so, what can we do to help them achieve more?

A Sad Goodbye

Barbara Park 

1947 - 2013

I felt a pitter-patter in my heart yesterday when I found out that the author of my favorite books as a child had passed away at the age of 66 after a long fight with ovarian cancer. 

While she authored countless other children's tales, her most famous books were about a spunky little kindergartener named Junie B. Jones. Junie B.'s misadventures through elementary school not only helped me practice reading, but was the first character most little girls could really relate to. It's fun to read about princesses and fairy tales, but Junie B. had problems that we had too: "Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus," "Jingle Bells, Batman Smells! (P.S. So Does May.)," Junie B. Jones has a Monster Under her Bed," and my personal favorite, "Junie B. Jones and her Big Fat Mouth." 

The books are still proudly stacked in my bookshelf at home and I was sure to read them all to my younger sister every night when she was Junie B.'s age. 

I understand that print novels don't sell as well anymore and that many kids resort to online entertainment now, but for me and so many others out there it would be a travesty not to teach our own children the beauty of bedtime stories and the pride of reading your first books. 

Authors have guts these days, knowing that they may not get rewarded with money or fame. But as Park said in an interview with PW last year, "For 20 years I've gotten to laugh my way through my work. For me, that's a dream job."