Flicky Cuts His Sleeves Off

Bit of a Display

CARROTMOB SILK SCREEN.

Ed Burke Sporting the Dark Grey

Hooray for Carrotmob!

Carrotmob Long Johns RULE.

Compilation

Fiona’s Eye (CD)

TO ALL WHO CAME OUT ON FRIDAY, THANKYOU FOR YR SUPPORT. The 5 days of madness that I went through leading up to the day was TOTALLY worth it.

-RAD T-Shirts (If you want one, tell me! We’ll print you one on yr own shirt; free of charge!)

-WONDERFUL CD’s

-MASSIVE TURNOUT (I was very proud of my friends for coming as well as bringing new faces and informing them about our cause)

-Mindblowingly AWESOME Performances

-AND THE MESS AFTERWARDS WAS SUPRISINGLY NOT SO BAD!

—if you couldn’t make it, its okay, more awesome social events are going to be happening (AKA CARROTMOBS)—

Friday’s event hit a bit of a benchmark; the focus is shifting from “Get the word out” to “MOB SOME STORES!” (BUT that doesn’t mean we’re not going to be spreading the word, just that we’ve gained enough momentum to begin what we’ve all been waiting for)

We feel confident enough in our publicity up to this point:

-Earth to Philly (Philly.com)

-Green Jobs Philly

-New York Times

-Time Magazine (online for now; but soon to be in print!)

-Sustainable Cherry Hill

-As well as countless social and commercial network invasions all around Philadelphia (campaigning/blabbing/blogging)

WANNA SEE WHAT HAPPENED ON FRIDAY?

Despite my missing camera; I have many friends who managed to take photos (mostly of the night-activities):

-Kate Kell’s Photostream

-John Rehr aka Chang Chang’s Photobucket

-Alex Hannah’s Facebook Album 1(cooking craziness) and 2 (only the last seven or so)

OKAY, so  late-afternoon on Friday we all sat down in the basement and had a very in-depth group discussion about when, where, and how we should carry out our first CM. Although this will be the first of many; the initial mob must be passionate, crisp, and easily attendable. We decided that instead of choosing (a) store(s) in Center City, where we originally intended to begin, we decided to pick a neighborhood with a sense of community, longstanding residents, and neighborhood store rivalries, of course I’m speaking of the WEST. Trust me, by no means do we mean that no other neighborhoods in the City are any of those things noted above, most of us are simply more familiar with the underlying consumer tendencies and sometimes strange store followings/loyalties that surround the area between 38th and 50th Streets below Spruce and above Grey’s Ferry. SO THERE ARE OUR BOUNDARIES:

-We’re surveying the local FOOD MARKETS, but we have set some spec’s to narrow our targets a little:

-Must sell fresh produce of some sort and/or have a deli on premises

-No tiny “cornerstore” types; the store has to be able to handle some volume, sorry all you little minimarts.

-Rather extensive selection, variety-type stores i.e. baking, cleaning, toiletries, drinks, cooking, etc.

So the process (so far) is figured as this:

-We tell the stores what we’re doing; explain ourselves and why we’re going to their store. Tell them to read up about it on the internet and watch that infamous video.

-We decide on the store incentive (Do we want to do a simple Percetage Based method, or do we want to do things like they’re doing in Eugene and focus on supply chain as well as waste-reduction in addition to energy efficency): It will depend on the store.

-We return to the stores for their bid/willingness to participate and to what extent; determine the highest bidder.

-We do our networking thing and let as many people know as possible

-MOB, MOB, MOB.

Carrotmob is gaining recognition nationally AND internationally; it’s time for Philly to step up! Put the PARTI in Participate, the ACT in Action, and the MOB in CARROTMOB!

A complete list of businesses containing location, size, and speciality will be posted ASAP, not to worry.

BEFORE YOU GO ANYWHERE, KNOW THAT WE’RE HAVING (A) MEETING(S) in anticipation to our first Mob.

-I’ll try and hold them Twice a week Starting with THIS SUNDAY @ THE BIRDHAUS AT 1PM. The meetings will be strictly business (I say that with a bit of light-heartedness, of course we’ll have fun and such, but we have some progress to make!)

So that’s Sunday, we’ll get some final specifics down and set future meeting dates as well as go around to more stores and map out our potential mob locales. (Bring a (blank) t-shirt if you want one made for you)

-Did I forget anything? We’ll see..

For now folks, keep fighting that good GREAT fight.

—- <tony3 —-

p.s. Its YOU guys and gals that keep this train a-runnin, don’t forget it.

Can’t ya just smell it? No, not the overflowing dumpster on the corner, I’m talking about the wondrous scent of Change, it’s all over. Each day, I encounter an increasing number of social activists/advertisements, all stretching out their arms and eyes, inching persistently for their own ideal form of change within the structure of which they exist. Besides reflecting some sort of dissatisfaction with certain aspects of daily life and societal habits, this attitude towards different forms of “change” represents the human race’s recognition of responsibility to fix the broken and mend the shattered. This energy towards initiating and executing change is what perpetuates the activism cycle around all of us. Yet, it is rather interesting (and sometimes unsettling) the apathy and indifference one encounters when on the path to launching societal change. Although the best way to avoid naysayers and pessimists is to ignore them, allow me to take the opportunity to say; Your regressive attitude is not only lame, it’s becoming largely outnumbered.

•As promised, me and few others wrote, wrapped, and taped 50lbs of carrots (about 400) and handed them out to numerous passerby’s, vendors, and folks sitting around enjoying many of the festivities of the day. A few people had already heard of the Carrotmob in Philadelphia and were excited to see us promoting. Although I was rather fatigued from running around and having explained the Carrotmob “concept” over a hundred times over the course of the day; I had a great time meeting tons of new local friends and learning about different activism going on in my community!

1. We’re a grassroots consumer movement, aiming to restructure the means and mindset behind why we purchase goods from any given business.

2. The movement started in San Francisco and proved to be extremely successful, it has been adapted Nationwide as well as Internationally and continues to gain headway.

3. This method of mass-consumer power manifestation is suitable for ANY type of store for ANY type of service with competition and with a larger, multi-mob congregation, we can start to target corporations and large companies where 500 customers isn’t a very large amount.

4. The only qualifications needed to participate are: a) Must be a consumer and b) Must live in the local area of the Carrotmob. Unless, of couse, there isn’t a mob, in which case you can set your own up very easily at Carrotmob.org

5. We are non-partisan, and use NO negative tactics. We avoid waste by minimizing paper and flyer output and rely heavily on non-print means of networking and advertising. We represent a movement that needs to threaten none, our influence speaks for itself with our spending/buying potential.

6. We aim to have the consumer habits of the conscious, Eco-friendly, non-wasteful, and communally beneficial be reflected in our economic atmosphere, rather than the chaos and haphazard trends currently characterizing the global economic character.

7. We choose to consume from places not because they are the CHEAPEST, or MOST CONVENIENT, but; BECAUSE THIS BUSINESS IS WILLING TO BE THE MOST RESPONSIBLE WITH OUR PROFIT, our earned capital. Each and Every time a purchase is made, a profit is also being made on one end of the transaction, why not know where our money is going? It seems only fair that since we (the consumer) are spending our earned income on goods daily, that we may have some say or partial control on how our money is spent once we supply to a business of our choice.

–I hope these pointers help when yr trying to trim down the length and concise nature of the Carrotmob pitch you’ve been working on…

In other news:

We’re organizing a Carrotmob PARTY.

The purpose of this event is to have a social gathering dedicated to networking those who are willing to get involved with the CM as well as create an opportunity for new people to meet local activists.

Live Music, Food, Drink, and other Carrotmob Themed Activity are Planned!

But there’s a catch: Only the Carrotmob conscious can attend.

If you want to bring somebody, INFORM THEM; DROP SOME KNOWLEDGE.

Someway or another, an Invite will make its way to you (in person), or yr emailbox.

ALL ARE WELCOME; but if you show up expecting to not talk about Carrotmob, we will be sad.

Soon I’ll have up the bands who are playing and the activities planned.

EMAIL ME IF YOU WANT TO GET INVITED AND YOU KNOW I DON’T HAVE YR INFO. (carrotsofphilly@gmail.com)

There are a lot of new things brewing, and soon I want to get a date for the first Carrotmob! Its almost about time…

I’ll be seein ya,

-tonyFmont.

HEY PHILLY. WHATS UP?

THERE IS A LOT OF STUFF GOING ON SO LISTEN UP!

-First and Foremost; Vance Lehmkuhl at Philly.Com, who I mentioned in my post-Go Green Expo post, writes for a Blog called Earth to Philly and has stirred up some web publicity for the Carrotmob by featuring us in his latest post! Check out the blog as well as the previous posts, for they all carry some significance in terms of Philadelphia’s ongoing crusade towards sustainability.

-THIS SATURDAY at Clark Park (43rd and Baltimore) is the Earth Day Fest and Flea Market! AND WE’RE GOING TO MAKE OUR PRESENCE KNOWN. I’m going to buy a giant sack of carrots, and I mean giant! I’ll also bring the paper and some tape to wrap the site around them as well, DON’T FORGET TO WEAR YR PHILLY.CARROTMOB.ORG WHITE TEE’S!! I wanna get there EARLY, like 9am, but I know not everyone can get there that early, so show up whenever you can, but around 1pm or so I’m probably gonna call it quits. I have work later on in the day, but I bet there is still going to be some carrots left over (hint hint if anyone wants to take over when I leave since it goes until 5pm). I want to hit this fest hard, you know everyone there is going to want to hear what we’ve got to say, so bring your smile and come on out! Bring Camera’s as well, I want our adventures documented for use on future blogs and such. It’s supposed to be super beautiful out as well!

-SUNDAY at 7pm!!!!!! Meeting PART 3! We’re going to plan our next move, as well as make some campaigning materials. THERE ARE LOTS OF THINGS WE GOTTA GET STRAIGHTENED OUT, SO PLEASE TRY AND MAKE IT OUT. My house or the Birdhaus (a block apart anyhow), I haven’t cleared it with everyone yet, but when I know, you’ll know (Literally, cause we have a twitter now!). Whether or not you make it out on Saturday, all are welcome Sunday, just try and RSVP or something!

-AND FINALLY…A few Carrotmobbers (Kelly and Adrian) came up with the idea for our main LOGO, and another fellow mobber (Fiona) helped refine and sketch the logo idea, its a bit rough, but here it is…

Prototype for our LOGO

Well, Until Saturday folks, have a good rest of the week!!!!

-Tony Mont.

p.s. If you or anyone you know lives in North Jersey/Hoboken Area, Andy, another Carrotmob Visionary is doing a CM on May 2nd!!! Jersey is gettin’ mobbed, and this place is dedicating 70% of sales profit!! So spread the word! Check his blog or facebook event.

We took to the streets on Sunday and handed out some 50+ carrots with small strips of paper labeled www.philly.carrotmob.org on them. We started our walk at Whole Foods: South Street and made a trek to Rittenhouse Park; passing some stoop sales and generously giving out our edible messages along the way. Some just took the carrot with a blank stare as we promptly told them to “Check out the site and Video!”, while others were immediately curious about this strange marketing gesture and inquired with the one handing out the carrots. I ended up (on a few occasions) breaking down the Carrotmob to groups of 10 or more folks gathered around me, oh the exhilaration! Overall, we were met well by some of Philadelphia’s Public and are looking to do much more to spread our word; as many of you already know by the recent Facebook message and Email I’ve sent out in the past day or two. If you haven’t heard anything of our recent planning, it’ll be featured in my next post and if you don’t want to wait, email me and I’ll forward you the message. More and more to come!

Straight From the Rutgers Classroom,

-TonyMont.

Taking Over the Go Green Expo.

HEY, SUP?

We have had a very exciting weekend for Carrotmob! Friday, I attended the business-business day at the Go Green Expo, this enabled me to get a grasp on exactly what sort of businesses we could be in contact when dealing with the actual execution of the repairs and/or ‘revamping’ for the store which we Carrotmob. Although a number of the businesses ‘humanitarian’ motives were a little lacking, there was a substantial amount of businesses motivated by solving real environmental issues with intelligent and sometimes very easy services. A few in particular stood out as far as their services’ potential usage in the Carrotmob Execution (Most of Which are Local and Privately Owned):

-Four Leaf Energy, inc.-Based out of Pottstown, what this business does is install (a) ‘regulator(s)’ of some sort which saves and recycles the extraneous energy not exactly being ‘used’, and in a rollover-type concept, allows you to waste much less energy (and money). Local and Private. Check the site for more specifics.

-Sola Design-This Haddonfield-based company utilizes the actual outside sun/daylight to light up a given store. Installing ’self dimming ballasts’ enables the store to harvest natural light, tremendously decreasing energy output.

-GREENandSAVE.com-Philly Based ‘Eco-Appraisers’ inspect and diagnose the energy-wasting flaws and deficiencies of homes. Headed by Eco-Humanist Charlie Szoradi, these efficency specialist appear especially enthusiastic to the cause of our bad habits. Szoradi appears a dedicated and passionate humanitarian and progress maker, his energy when talking to me about our mutual environmentally sound dedication was one of genuine excitement. When I told Szoradi about how we at Carrotmob don’t typically have ‘business cards’, he chuckled, commenting that he just chops up cereal boxes, but didn’t have the time or hunger to make enough for the expo, he got a few hundred printed.

-IRN: The Recycling Network-This Philly based company has many cross-business affiliations and partnerships, all based around making recycling a more cost-effective process, dealing with exchanging bulk trash as well as finding other processes and usages for various ‘waste’ excess.

-AES-Advanced Enviro Systems-Chester based, formerly ‘Advanced Hydraulic Systems’, deals with services similar to those of IRN. Focuses on Chute and Duct Cleaning, Electronics Recycling, as well as Composting Equipment.

-Mr. Ellie’s Pooh-Business Cards made out of 75% Recycled Sri-Lankan Elephant Pooh! Had to mention these guys.

These are just a few of the businesses whose services could be used in the CM process; once again reminding all of us just how economically beneficial this whole plan is! At the expo, I also encountered many groups individuals; both profit and non-profit oriented whose networking abilites and excitement about the mob could combine to get the word out in a very cost-effective, paperless, and quick manner.

-Green Jobs Philly-Founded by a fiery Paul Glover, this Philadephia-based networking site is based around offering and requesting “Green Jobs” for many in the area in hopes to  “help you connect with the people, money, raw materials and know-how you’ll need” to make this happen. Glover has a very large newsletter email he sends out to Philadephia Residents. He is just getting started as well, but I have much confidence in his vision, read about him!

-GREEN-Lifestyles on Planet Paradise-”Our Mission is to Green the Planet back to paradise by inspiring paradise from within.” This network is all about getting back to the essentials, finding the true beauty in conservationism and love for our planet. Geared towards very positive and fluent change, these guys have the right ideas.

-Sustainable Business Network of Philadelphia- This network is a very smart way to coordinate and connect many eco-friendly businesses in the Philadelphia Area.

-Earth to Philly-A Philly.com affiliated blog with a few different writers all “focusing on earth-conscious technology, trends and ideas, from a Daily News perspective.” Give it a look-see!

-GRID Magazine-A free-Philly magazine dedicated “Towards a More Sustainable Philadelphia”. Mostly Freelance Writing so Submit some stuff! They’re working on their 4th Issue.

After getting the word out to the businesses on Friday; Sunday we brought the noise, i mean Mob. Around 20 of us showed up to the convention in our white tee’s, not knowing what to expect from the buzzy, busy convention floor, we had much success..

Upon our entrance, we were hesitant to pay the deep 10 dollar entrance fee, but a quick recogniton by the CEO of the entire expo, Bradford Rand, cut the price in half. He had heard about the Carrotmob elsewhere and was ECSTATIC to hear it was coming to Philly, he was hootin’ and hollerin’ everytime he saw a mobber on the floor. With the word about all of these white-sharpied shirts and the crazy concept associated slowly leaking into everybody’s ears, we were getting asked about the Mob left and right. Reporters, Students, Businesses and even the visiting consumers were immensely curious about the CM, everytime I ran into another mobber I was met with wide eyes and a huge smile, they had been spreading the word. With a majority of booths having a heads up about the Mob, they were able to see the unfolding of our wasteless, bright, and enthusiastic tactics at work. We didn’t give out pamphlets or cards; we gave out our minds, our expression, and our wit. After a couple of hours, we felt our impression was made with a very strong statement; “LOOK, WE DON’T NEED BUSINESS AFFILIATION TO BE ORGANIZED AND GOAL ORIENTED!”, We all want the same thing as they do, Change.

As I’ll be doing what I can to keep contact with various businesses and organizations, I’m looking for some help with writing emails, working on the site, and saving/cutting some boxes up and making art for CM cards and ads, even some general ideas and advice; I know everybody has something to offer the Mob movement. We’re gaining ground guys and gals, rounding up our fellow neighbors and peers and constructing our Mob, in the meantime, keep up the word. Another meeting is coming soon, Just keep checking the site, I’ll inform you and hopefully we can organise our next move, there are plenty of options.

-P.S. You can give out the email address CarrotsofPhilly@gmail.com to those who wish to send us some stuff, it should be convenient to have an email.

-P.P.S. Seriously, if any of you are any good at web development, hit me up! This is not easy for a plain ol’ bio major.

-P.P.P.S If yr one of the folks who I gave a card to in Rittenhouse today, HI!

Enjoy the Changing of Weather! It’s been beautiful and it seems to be dying to stay this way, usher in Spring with some Community Love, however you choose, just enjoy life; Spring Break or Not.

-With the love of a thousand cute little baby bunnies,

-AnthonyFulvio.