Five Local Opportunities:
1) Floridians support the Clean Power Plan
The article, "Floridians support the Clean Power Plan" is about the EPA wanting to pass legislation to limit the amount of carbon pollution from power plants and some city and state leaders like Pam Bondi want to sue the EPA over the plan. Pam Bondi, Florida's Attorney General, insists the people do not want the plan to be enacted in Florida. The article goes to prove Pam Bondi wrong because over half of the people of Florida do want the plan to succeed.
The problem in this story is not about Pam Bondi or the people of Florida, but the level of emissions coming from power plants. The people of Florida want cleaner air and to preserve the different ecosystems. With power plants not having a limit on their emission levels Floridians and its inhabitants are suffering.
I would say the power plants are the key players, because if the plan passes they will need to make some changes. Upon the enactment of the plan, the directors of these power plants will need to engineer a new system to lower carbon emissions. New technology and power may need to be brought into these power plants to lower their emission levels.
2) New blueprints for bathrooms - Freestanding tubs and bigger showers are changing bathroom design - Homeowners are trying to make their bathrooms suitable for when they're older - Jet tubs like Jacuzzis are no longer so much in favor
The article for new blueprints for bathrooms is about, well, new designs for tubs and showers. One of the largest populations in the US are the baby boomers and guess what, they are aging. They are finding a traditional bathroom blueprint will not serve them and want to make a change. The article talks a free standing bath and larger showers with better water drainage to accommodate a wheelchair and to have less flooding and risk of injury. Another point was the change in materials being used. It seems like people are leaning more towards easier to clean and maintainable materials.
The problem is most bathrooms were designed and constructed before the idea of aging or even just the change of taste and the longevity of a trend. So now many people find themselves with a bathroom that has become a burden. Now the interior designers should take initiative and look to model their designs with the future in mind and the ascending trend of easy, big, and smart.
From the article it seems the homeowners have the problem of a bathroom that has lost function ability or have a change in taste. Either way it is up to contractors and the Home Depots to follow the trend and look toward using different materials. The easier the better when it comes to designs. No more over the top designs and hard to maintain finishes and materials.
3) Influence marketing: the new cost of entry
The article from the Miami Herald talked about how brands are using a different type of marketing strategy. Some brands saw the opportunity to gain more business or promote specials using popular and influential bloggers. The popular and influential bloggers or a certain brand will be rewarded with perks such as discovering new menu items at restaurants or VIP experiences. This is the new wave of marketing and brands are starting to pick it up.
The problem was people were not venturing out to the mall to see Santa or going out to eat at the rate these companies desire them to. Companies spend a great deal of time and money setting up events so they want to get people out to experience them.
The opportunity here is for both the brands and the people. Bloggers can get a return from their time rating and relying feedback to others on certain topics and experiences. In this article the addition of social media to the marketing mix means everyone has to potential to win.
4) Key West cracking down on vacation rentals
The article discusses different cases of people illegally renting their space and apartments to tourists and residents in Key West. It is illegal to rent out your home for less than 30-days. Some of the defendants discussed in this article are repeat offenders and have to pay hefty fines to the city. One other point mentioned was that the residential areas of these vacation rentals were being disrupted, by the tourists.
The problem is that people are illegally renting out their vacant rooms or houses/apartments to tourists. The accused are renting their spaces through popular websites like Airbnb and Homeaway.
The city and neighbors of these rented spaces have the problem. They want the law to be strictly enforced. Airbnb and Homeaway should check if the people renting out their spaces are doing it legally. The websites should have the ability to warn cities of such attempts to break the law or just not allow people to put up an ad for those areas.
5) Doral Council talks downtown, development and mosquitoes
This article discussed the passing of different ordinances in the city of Doral. One of the ordinances is in regards to the development of Doral. There seems to be a want for reorganization of Doral. A second ordinance enforces any zoning changes to go through two phases. The first phase allows the community to communicate with developers. The second phase give the city council the power to approve any changes. The third ordinance makes residents and property owners responsible for dealing with any standing water within 48 hours. Mosquitos are known to carry diseases such as the Zika virus, malaria, and the West Nile virus. The city of Doral wants to keep their people safe and educated on how to stay safe. Violation of the ordinance will result in a fine. The third ordinance is about a controversial development project. Originally a space was to be used to build twelve houses, but now is to be used for a 248-unit apartment complex with retail space. A portion of the apartment complex will be used for workforce housing.
The problem is that there are development issues in Doral. There needs to be structure and organization with the planning new structures. The other problem is the infestation of mosquitos in residential areas and dealing with the cause. Mosquitos can be potentially dangerous and are annoying. These over populations must be dealt with and maintained. The third problem is overcrowding and congestion on the roads due to the increase in population.
The city and developers have the development problem, because they must now follow the ordinance. The residents are dealing with the second problem of mosquito infestation. Finally, the local residents of the apartment complex will be affected by the addition of 248 families.
Hey Marcos, great job on identifying the opportunities. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteHey Marcos,
ReplyDeleteAll of you local opportunities are done very well. I liked how you identified the people who the problem affected, as the individuals who were either affected or could benefit by solving the problem and taking advantage of the opportunity. I especially liked your local opportunity in reference to Key West. I was unaware of the rule, but discussed it with my roommate, who is from Miami, and I agree that there is a problem, but also a huge opportunity if legislators, ordinary individuals and the government take the right approach.
Hello Marcos,
ReplyDeletethank you for your contribution to this class.
I believe your posts were not only extremely thorough, but your local opportunities presented issues that could be efficiently capitalized off of, and changed. These include: Influence marketing: the new cost of entry, and New Blueprints for Bathrooms. Both of these opportunities could lead to great profit and change from individuals who seek to solve these problems.
Hi Marcos,
ReplyDeleteExcellent choice in articles. I was having a tough time myself finding problems in news articles, but it seems you selected great articles and had a lot of insight. The amount of local and national opportunities presented are a good mix. I read an article about 'Granny Houses' being built for elderly parents that include easy access showers and non-slip bathrooms. This is definitely the time for more furnishings for the elderly to be placed on the market.
These are interesting articles. I think that your first article really brings to light the disconnect between lawmakers/state officials and citizens. I agree that power plants should have to limit their emissions and the solution of creating a new system to lower the amount of emissions was great. Two of your articles(blueprints for bathrooms and rentals in Key West) outlined the problems clearly and the solutions sounded realistic. There are a lot of opportunities that could come from the problems in these articles in the solutions succeed.
ReplyDelete