Happy Earth Day! Things have been kinda slow around here, mostly due to my commitments over at sites like eWEEK and Datamation and an ongoing (if glacially paced) upgrade to this blog. But it’s Earth Day, and it would be criminal for this Green IT blogger to not chime in. This year, as we face […]
Patent war clouds Open Compute Project progress
While conducting some research on Facebook’s upcoming IPO, I ended up on the Open Compute Project (OCP) website (Facebook’s a member). It turns out that a lot has been happening in the past several months, and most of it is great news for the future of energy efficient data centers and cloud infrastructures. Unfortunately, it […]
Facebook bets on cool, renewables for Swedish data center
Pictured: Lulea mayor Karl Petersen (left) and Facebook’s Director of Site Operations, Tom Furlong – Image Credit: Lulea data center Facebook page Facebook is poised to take free cooling and clean energy to new heights. Up into the Arctic Circle, in fact. The social networking behemoth announced today that it was siting its first data center outside […]
ecoSocial: Causes trump brands in social media?
A recent post in the Social Media Examiner examined the “9 Reasons Why Your Content Is Not Shared on Social Networks.” All good stuff , but one reason stood out because it touches on a couple of factors that shape how green technology companies do business and how they’re perceived online. The highlight for me […]
Facebook shares its secret to green data centers
Literally, in fact. Today, Facebook took a dramatically different course than its peers and let the world look behind the curtain. Whereas other big Internet firms consider the “nuts and bolts” details of their IT infrastructure a competitive advantage, Facebook open sourced its custom, energy efficient server and data center tech under the Open Compute […]
Facebook: Microservers yes, virtualization no
Some interesting insights from Facebook this week as the company broadcasts some of the thinking behind its IT strategy. And instead of submitting to the virtualization craze that’s spreading through corporate data centers, the social networking giant is throwing its weight behind microservers. This comes as Intel announces plans for Xeon- and Atom-based processors for […]
ecoSocial: What Chrysler’s F-bomb on Twitter can teach us about managing social media
Another day, another lesson in navigating the tricky waters of social media. Chrysler’s official Twitter stream let slip the mother of all dirty words, the F-bomb. Sure, the Internet may have desensitized many to racy language — especially those of us that have ever moderated online communities — but as a rule, such language in […]
‘The best strategies consist of 90% listening and 10% activation’ and other social media insights
If you’re having trouble creating a social media strategy centered around your green efforts, I’d like to point you to a couple of pieces in The Guardian that can help set you on the right path. The first is a roundup of highlights from a live Q&A on using social media to communicate sustainability. The […]
Mark Monroe heads The Green Grid, expands data center sustainability mission
Some significant changes this week at The Green Grid. Mark Monroe, a Sun veteran and a Center for ReSource Conservation board member, will be taking over as Executive Director following the departure of Larry Vertal from the post. The appointment also marks a subtle but important shift in the group’s mission. Though energy efficient IT […]
Got an iPad? Two must-download apps to kick the paper habit
This year, waiting under the tree for me was an iPad. (Happy Dance!) After the ritual updating, tweaking of settings and connecting online, it came time to download apps! The form factor, particularly all that screen, was new territory for me. The only other extensive time I’ve spent with iOS is the iPhone 4, which […]