Nine Shift

Why I hate the University of Phoenix

I have never liked the for-profit colleges.  They charge too much.  Make unseemly profits.  Leave students unserved.  And then walk away leaving society unserved.  Finally, Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa has produced statistics to back up that dislike:

* Although they have less than 10 percent of students, they receive around 25 percent of federal student aid.

* Although they have less than 10 percent of students, they account for 40 percent of defaults on student aid.

It's about time government did to for-profit colleges what it eventually did to the for-profit K-12 schools like The Edison Project - - stopped giving them money.

We Submit Proposed Rail Plan

Our local group submitted a rail plan to the state last week. You can too.

After just 18 months in existence and only 20 members, we submitted a proposal to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation to modify its 2030 Rail Plan to include passenger train service to our community and others.  You can too.  No guarantee it will be approved soon, but it will be approved at some point. And the sooner you propose train service, the sooner you get it.

We worked with citizens in the city of Stevens Point, whose city is also on the route.  They started a citizens rail support group too.  Now we will try to encourage others to support the rail line too. Photo: logo of the Wisconsin Association of Rail Passengers, a statewide support group.

What a Local Rail Group Does

So what does a local passenger rail support group do?  Three things:

1.PLAN.
You plan on how to bring passenger rail service to your community.

2.ADVOCATE
You communicate with local and s tate officials and try to get passenger rail service to your community in your state's rail plan.

3.EDUCATE
You educate the public, but especially government, business and other leaders, about the need for passenger rail service. 

That gives us plenty to do! Photo: This beautiful building was the train station in Milwaukee from 1905-1951.

The National Sport

Ghana beat the United States today in futbol, or maybe football.

The U.S. was eliminated mainly for fans yelling "sock-her," "sock-her," not a very nice thing to say. I was rooting for Ghana, the underdog. Having Bill Clinton in the stands on your side does not constitute being the underdog.  Everyone in Ghana was watching, praying (literally). The schools were shut down. Everything came to standstill. The celebration today, tonight and tomorrow must be really something. Meanwhile, here in the U.S. there was no angst, no visibile mourning, in the streets. The global sport of the 21st century is clearly futbol/football/soccer. Some 7 times as many people watch the World Cup as the Super Bowl. Joining the world community, and reconciled to not dominating it, is one big change for the U.S. Let's see if she/we can do it. A good start would be to get the name right. (This post especially for my Nine Shift sports fan).

How to start a local rail group

You can start a passenger train support group in your town. Here's how.

First, read.
start reading about trains. In the newspaper, TheTransport.org blog, anywhere.

Second, attend meetings.
Attend one or more meetings your state Department of Transportation (DOT) holds on passenger rail service. And/or start attending your state's passenger rail support association, or any other group meeting in your area.

Third, find 2-5 others.
Invite your city's mayor to join. Find the nearest college or university and invite an official. Invite your area's economic development specialist, and/or Chamber of Commerce rep.  Get any members of the National Association of Rail Passengers in your area, and email them. 

It's that easy. You don't have to know a lot about trains.  You don't have to be a government official. You just do it.  I did it.  We started with 8 people.  If you want passenger train service for your community, just do it. You will have lots of fun too. Photo: Me and mayor Don Richards at a public meeting our group hosted at the public library.

Backyard cottages: communities getting denser

Seattle residents are getting an adjustment to zoning laws so they can build cottages in the backyard.

It's just another sign that communities are getting denser.  Here's the story in USA Today. And as the former London mayor Ken Livingston notes, denser communities use less energy and pollute less. Win-win.  

P.S. USA Today charts are awful, with confusing data, numbers they don't tell you what they mean. Just thought you should know. 

Can we make it with only one car?

Help your NineShift co-authors out. Can we get by with only one car?

The van died last week. We are going to try to get by with only one car.  There's no car rental agency in town. No car sharing company.  No bus. No shuttle. The taxi cabs won't even take us more than 3 miles. Can we make it with only one car? Help us out with your experience and thoughts!

Do you want chickens?

There's a chicken craze going on. People want to raise chickens in their backyards.

Fascinating dual trends going on now. On the one hand, urban communities are becoming denser. On the other hand, more people want to raise chickens in their backyards.  They are not opposing trends, just interesting. 

Louise Cooley of Michigan State University reports raising chickens one of her hottest classes this year. And even our little town of River Falls has the City Council considering an ordinance allowing up to 6 chickens per house/yard.  Do you want to raise chickens?  Tell us your thoughts on this critical issue!

Ad Age Editor Confirms Nine Shift Prediction

Ad Age Editor at Large Jack Neff confirmed a Nine Shift prediction in his talk with us last week.

He said that areas where housing prices have had the least decline and the greatest comeback have been areas around train stations.  Nine Shift has long predicted that people would move close to train and light rail stations, and that the closest neighborhoods near the biggest lines would have the highest housing prices. Nine Shift does it again! 

Advertising in the 21st Century: Part II

Some thoughts on how advertising is changing. Add your ideas.

1.Mass Advertising is dead. Direct advertising is alive.
Newspaper, radio, tv, magazine advertising as it exists today as mass advertising is dead. No one wants junk mail, junk email, or junk ads.  Direct advertising, where one identifies a select target audience, is still alive. 

2.Gen Y is the new audience.
Gen Y will tell us how it wants to receive product information. What we know now:  push advertising is in decline, pull advertising (Google Ads, SEO) is rising.  Word of mouth is critical.  Online customer Reviews and comments are important. Facebook is good. What else?

3.Pull is "in."
I don't think we've figured out pull advertising yet. There's good stuff I want to buy, but I don't know quite how to find it. The right stuff-makers certainly have not found me. I am very good, however, at ignoring the wrong stuff makers.  Advertisers will figure it out, I think. What do you think?