Crowdsourcing

 

Over the past few weeks I have found myself going online to ask for advice more than once. 

I have pain in the back of my thigh but it’s not sciatic. What could it be? What should I do?

Where’s a trustworthy local place to sell gold jewelry?

My car’s check engine light just came on. Where should I take it? 

Any book recommendations for children’s novels which will help me keep the stress of current events at bay?

There’s a word for this kind of social media interaction. It’s called crowdsourcing. 

Crowdsourcing: the practice of obtaining needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a large group of people and especially from the online community rather than from traditional employees or suppliers. - - Merriam Webster 

Now, obviously, when an individual like me goes online to find a trustworthy mechanic or the best place to find a root beer snowball it is a far cry from the process described above. It is more like asking one’s neighbor over the fence, but in an expanded sort of way. We’re not going to use our friends and acquaintances as sources to be mined in order to create a product we can sell.

We just need help.

In a similar way, Buy Nothing Groups create a community where folks can connect to share physical items and/or requests for assistance within a specific geographic location. Again, members aren’t looking to market a product or sell goods or services. They just need help, either to part with things they no longer need or want or to find the thing they do need or want. 

As odd as it may seem, people look to be every bit as happy to be able to fulfill someone else’s need as they are to find the thing that they want. Sometimes moreso. And there’s a special kind of joy involved in finding just the right person to take something that you have really cared about but that you realize you must now part with.

It’s almost like matchmaking.

So, we all need help sometimes. But we also feel good about being asked for help, or at least for our good advice. This is why those questions about “why is my car making this noise?” get so many responses. They appeal to our desire to be helpful, not to mention that innate yearning to share our own personal experiences. 

Now, a question like “Who will help tow my car out of a ditch?” is not at all the same thing. That’s the sort of heavy-duty request that you’d ask your immediate family or close friends. “Who should I call to tow my car out of a ditch?” Will get you a list of local recommendations plus the pros and cons of each one.

It may also get you a private message from a friend offering to come pull you out. But this is not to be expected. It’s a bonus.

I suppose there is a sort of unspoken etiquette to these things. At least, I know there are certain topics I wouldn’t pose to my Facebook or Twitter feed: too personal, too sad, too enormous, too controversial. Your own assessments might be different. It depends on your boundaries and your own circle of online friends. It’s safe to say that a question like “Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest?” is just as bad an idea on social media as it was in 1170. 

What about you? Have you ever used social media to gather information or advice in order to get help or make a decision? Did you learn anything useful? Or would you rather ask personal friends directly rather than putting it out there for the world to see?

Let me know. 

Village Green/Town² Comments

De-escalate

Today’s topic of discussion comes from Howard Community College.

Howard Community College Professor, Howard County Police partner to reduce use-of-force interactions

Howard Community College Criminal Justice Assistant Professor Eric L. Clark, a retired United States Marshals Service employee who developed the E.A.S.E program during his service in the agency, encourages using effective communication to decompress tensions, minimize physical force, and achieve productive detention, investigatory, and custodial outcomes with the public.

Did you know that HCC was on Substack? Now you do. I just subscribed.

howardcommunitycollege.substack.com

Criminal Justice Assistant Professor Eric L. Clark, image from HCC social media 

You can hear Clark talk about the E.A.S.E. protocol in two short videos.

1. HCC Pathways

2. HCC Facebook page

The second video goes into the specifics of what E.A.S.E. teaches, step by step.

Image from lecture PowerPoint, HCC social media

Clark is partnering with the Howard County Police to teach these de-escalation techniques. Furthermore, he sees broader applications for the program.

We want a Police Institute at HCC where we can train the rest of the state on these de-escalation techniques.

I honestly didn’t know until now that one could study Criminal Justice at HCC so this is all new to me. I have a few thoughts.

1. How does this work when the person in question is in a mental health crisis? Or if they are autistic or developmentally disabled? Is that a part of this training? Because the process Clark lays out is going to be profoundly altered by those possibilities.

2. How does this work when it is the law enforcement officer who needs de-escalating?

3. Does this (and can this) address the ongoing pattern of racist violence against Black Americans at the hands of law enforcement officers? 

DOJ will investigate Sonya Massey shooting, Sean Crawford, NPR Illinois

Sonya Massey called police because she feared for her own safety and one of the responding offices shot her to death in her own home. A preliminary investigation into that officer’s service record shows a pattern of violence from job to job.

How do you de-escalate that?

I am not discounting Clark or the work that he is doing. I don’t know anywhere near enough to pass any judgement whatsoever. But I despair of a criminal justice system that continues to produce outcomes that leave a trail of death in the Black community. That’s never going to be acceptable.

Who de-escalates the de-escalators? 

Village Green/Town² Comments 

Searching for Serendipity

The other day I bumped into a social media post that got me wondering.

If someone is missing a large rooster, he is near serendipity. He ran off into the bushes when he saw me get out off my car to take a picture. 

“Near serendipity?”

Is that a state of being? Like almost ecstatic? Approaching nirvana?

According to Merriam Webster, serendipity is defined as:

1. the faculty or phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for

2. also : an instance of this

Hmm…somehow I doubted that was the case for this particular rooster. I started searching “serendipity” as a place name instead. Perhaps the name of a street or a subdivision? It turned out to be neither. 

This is Serendipity. Oh, wait. I think I’ve passed that building.

Images from Serendipity social media 

Serendipity describes itself as a “quaint, independent boutique offering women's clothes, jewelry, gifts & home decor items.” They are located at 12798 MD-216 in Highland. As I recall they are at the corner of 108 and 216. 

I had a hazy recollection of reading they were going to be closing soon? Wait, here it is. Twin sisters, Pam Ehrenfried and Penny Schmit, have operated Serendipity for fifteen years and were looking for a new owner for the business. A recent update:

We have a buyer for our store (yay) but she will not be taking over until January.  Penny and I will keep Serendipity running until then.  What this means…. We are in Atlanta right now buying for the store.  Christmas will be just like we’ve always done and we are buying new merchandise and restocking existing merchandise.  Please bear with us during this process, we have a lot of work to do.  Our 30% off sale is now over.  For now our hours will remain the same and we will keep you updated when they change.  

Perhaps our rooster friend was hoping to take advantage of that 30 per cent off sale. 

So I solved the mystery of Serendipity but I still have one question. Where did the rooster come from? According to a quick internet search, roosters are not permitted in Howard County.

Residents living in a detached, single-family house may keep up to 8 chickens.  No roosters are allowed.  The yard must be 10,000 square feet or larger.  The coop must be at least 15 feet from all lot lines and 50 feet from all neighbors’ houses.  Additional rules apply.

But those are residential rules and Highland is more rural. Maryland certainly has plenty of information on raising poultry on their agricultural website so I’m assuming that this falls under regulations I’m just not familiar with. 

On the other hand, perhaps he’s an illegal rooster looking for a disguise so he can travel around the county incognito. Howard County already has a Roving Radish. Why not a Roaming Rooster?

Village Green/Town² Comments 

Save It For a Rainy Day

 

We haven’t had much rain lately. Well, yesterday’s downpour notwithstanding. But here come this week's weather predictions.

Everyone loves to make lists these days - - best place for live music, best location to see the fireworks, best local cheesesteak - - but what we don’t have is a list of the best HoCoLocal things to do when it rains. 

Let’s make one.

Best things to do with kids when it rains. Best places to watch the rain. Best places to dance in the rain.

You get the idea. 

What are your favorite Howard County hangouts when your outdoor plans get washed out? I once attended a summer concert (Beatlegras, Columbia Festival of the Arts) under a tent at Belmont as a storm moved in and it was a memorable experience. The tent was fine, we didn’t get wet, and the musicians just kept right on playing. 

Send me your rainy day (and night) recommendations. They may very well come in handy for the rest of us this week. 

Village Green/Town² Comments 

The Face of Howard County

I don’t have much to offer you this morning except a glimpse of our community that I would rather not have encountered.

Here you see a social media post from the Howard County Heath department promoting mental health.

Mental Health Tip: Celebrate your successes! Even if you've accomplished something small, acknowledging the process you've made on a goal can boost your mood. For mental health support and tips, visit: https://www.howardcountymd.gov/health/behavioral-health .

The accompanying photo, probably a stock photo, is of a young Muslim woman wearing hijab. 

The response to the post?

This is not the face of Howard County!

“Why?” I wonder. Because it is a young woman, or because she is asking for help to support her mental health? Is that why this is not the face of Howard County? 

I doubt that.

In all likelihood this response is purely an objection to the choice of a Muslim woman in a social media post in Howard County, Maryland. A quick scan of this poster’s account suggests that they would object not only to her religion but would have made an assumption that she doesn’t belong, that she isn’t a “real American.”

It continues to floor me how many people in Howard County get uncomfortable if the people being centered on social media and in the community don’t look like them. 

Oh, but this is just one person, you say. You are making a big deal over one local troll.

Friends, it is not just one person. There is far more of this out there than you might imagine. And attitudes like this make people - - the ones who are targeted as “other” - - less safe. Attitudes that paint all Muslims as terrorists, or all Black people as criminals. No wonder this hypothetical young woman needs mental health supports. She lives in a community where some feel free to label her as someone who doesn’t belong.

So, what is the face of Howard County? Who is the face of Howard County?

Who decides?

Village Green/Town² Comments 

 

It’s National Ice Cream Day!

 

I did not know. 

In 1984, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed July as National Ice Cream Month and established National Ice Cream Day as the third Sunday in July. - - National Day Calendar

Why do I feel that the National Dairy Council had something to do with this? Just a hunch.

Here in Howard County you have a variety of options if you are interested in observing National Ice Cream Day. 

Of course you have well-known chains such as Baskin-Robbins, Rita’s, and Cold Stone Creamery. The Meadows Frozen Custard, located in the Hickory Ridge Village Center, is technically a part of a chain but this location is one of only two in Maryland. 

And don’t forget, Jason’s Deli provides an option of chocolate or vanilla soft-serve free with your meal if you are dining in. 

For the indie ice cream options you have your choice of:

Cindy’s Soft Serve

Soft Stuff

Park Ridge Creamery

The Charmery 

The Crazy Mason Milkshake Bar*

Unusual Company (gelato)

If you have a hankering for the frozen delights you used to be able to get from Scoop & Paddle at Clarksville Commons, you’ll need to pay a visit to Martha’s Cafe in Halethorpe, where Scoop & Paddle is now in residence.

Visit Howard County has a page devoted to ice cream, believe it or not. And if you want to go farther afield, the state of Maryland has an entire Ice Cream Trail. Holy Cow! 

Sorry.

I asked readers for input on their favorite ice cream in HoCo. I received votes for Park Ridge Creamery in Ellicott City which serves Taharka Brothers ice cream (made nearby in Baltimore.) Other votes were for Cindy’s Soft Serve in Elkridge and Brusters in Glen Burnie. That last one is rather far afield for this post but Brusters is opening a HoCo location on July 23rd. 

Special mention given for The Snowball Stand in Woodbine which apparently serves perennial Disney favorite Dole Whip.  It was described to me as follows: 

It’s a non-dairy soft serve that originally was just pineapple, but now there are a number of other fruit flavors. I’ve seen mango, strawberry, watermelon, lime. The Snowball Stand publishes their in-stock flavors on their Facebook page.

Last but not least, a story I’ve been saving for just the right occasion. This report comes from a long time friend of the blog: 

Something I thought you could appreciate. I was sitting in my truck at the Merriweather District eating my butter pecan from The Charmery while scrolling the radio dial, and I stumbled on 105.5 FM. 

It’s the Symphony of Lights music and announcements channel, playing all year apparently. It came in with a bit of static, but Dr. Ball welcomed me to the show, and I got to hear Bing Crosby and Mariah Carey while I enjoyed my frozen treat.

This was in March. I wonder if you can still catch a bit of Christmas in July with your ice cream? It’s worth a try.

What’s your favorite place to get ice cream in HoCo?

Village Green/Town² Comments 

*Yes, it’s really part of a chain but for some reason it is viewed locally as a mom and pop. Go figure. 

Not So Hot

Looking for events? You know the drill. It’s another summer Saturday and the weather predictions look fairly reasonable.

Markets:

Movie at the Wine Bin:  Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

At the Fairgrounds there’s a Christmas in July event both Saturday and Sunday. Personally I think Santa should get summers off.

As always, check out these resources for info on local events: Events on Facebook (Choose Local and This Week)  or take a look at the activity calendar at Visit Howard County. There’s also a new events calendar in town run by Ricardo Whitaker/Guilford Gazette. Check it out and see what you think. It’s called HoCo Calendar.

Apparently tomorrow is National Ice Cream Day.  Where will you be celebrating? I’m planning on making tomorrow’s post the All-HoCo Ice Cream Edition. Send me your recommendations!

Village Green/Town² Comments