Cree LED Revolution Blog

Cree and LED lighting are starting a revolution

Posts Tagged ‘Twitter’

Cree broadens its presence on social media, adds new Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn profiles

Monday, October 3rd, 2011

At Cree, we tout the LED Lighting Revolution everywhere we go. That means our family and friends frequently have to listen to us Cree employees point out poor lighting and rant about why LED lighting would be better.

So naturally, we love the social Web because there are plenty of people on the Internet who care about energy efficiency. In recent years, we’ve turned to Twitter, facebook and our blog to educate the world about LEDs. (Our families and friend thank us).

And today, we’re pleased to announce that we’re going to be doing more of it. Today we’re launching two new Twitter accounts, a new facebook page and a new LinkedIn group.

Please join us in welcoming (and following) the newest additions to our social media family:

  • @CreeLEDs: With a focus on Cree components, this new Twitter handle will provide details on Cree XLamp products and modules as well as information on what our customers are doing with our LEDs. And, as always, we’ll be at your service ready to answer questions you may have about our products. We will continue to tweet from @Cree, but our tweets there will focus on Cree LED lighting products and Cree corporate news.
  • @CreeBetaLED: Focusing on outdoor lighting, this new Twitter handle will focus on product details, case studies, industry news, tips for a fair LED comparison, frequently asked questions and more.  Somehow we’ll pack this into 140 characters.
  • Facebook.com/CreeBetaLED: We’ll cover the same topics as our @CreeBetaLED Twitter account, only in more detail. We’ll share gorgeous photos of street light installations around the world and answer questions from our fans.
  • Cree BetaLED LinkedIn Group: For those of you who want to keep up with us on this professional networking site, you can start here. Our group will expand on the outdoor lighting topics covered

And, of course, we’ll continue to provide you updates from our existing social media outlets:

None of this would be possible without all of you, our fans, friends, followers and subscribers. Thank you for your support and for engaging with us online. We appreciate all of you!

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Posted in BetaLED, Cree | No Comments »

Sustainable Media Happy Hour lights up SXSW

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

My voice went hoarse last night at the Cree Sustainable Media Happy Hour, and it was so worth it. I had a chance to show off the power of itty-bitty LEDs and spread the good word about energy-efficient LED lights to dozens of South by Southwest attendees and Austin, Texas residents who care about sustainability.

It was eye opening to see how little many of these folks knew about LED lighting, especially considering it was a group of people who care about sustainable living. Over and over I got to tell people about how energy efficient LED lights are, how there’s no mercury inside (unlike toxic CFLs), how long they last (Cree’s LR6 and LRP-38 are designed to last 50,000 hours aka 17 years if you run them for 8 hours a day), and how beautiful the light can really be.

 SXSW

But everyone I chatted with was open to the technology and wanted to learn more.

I met Brenda T. Horton, a northern California resident who lives in a straw bale house, which was built using sustainable building techniques and materials including earth plasters, natural cotton fiber insulation and recycled wood.

I chatted with Kristy Graves, a self (and aptly) described social alchemist whose many hats including raising awareness about Hub, which works in 20+ cities to inspire and support imaginative and enterprising initiatives for a better world. We talked about what people who retrofit their homes or businesses with LED lights should do with the incandescent and fluorescent bulbs they’re replacing. (More details on this in an upcoming blog post).

I met one of the women behind the Sol Design Lab, which brought a solar charging station called the SolarPump to SXSW. The solar electric charging station lets you charge everything from your laptop to electric scooters. Also in attendance was Elliott McFadden, editor of Austin on Two Wheels, an online magazine of Austin cycling culture; Steve Goldman, an Austin-based blogger who writes at sustainingability.wordpress.com and oh so many other interesting people.

It was a fun to break away from my fellow SXSW Interactive geeks and hang out with other folks focused on taking steps to make this world a better place. A big thank you to Rachael Joy, a green vlogger who helped organize the party and secure goodies from Joyful Bath Co., Honest Tea, Filter for Good, Hail Merry, and Herbalogic. As well as a thank you to Nick Aster and Jen Boynton of TriplePundit.

I loved bringing the LED Lighting Revolution to Austin. I’m feeling very inspired and can’t wait to do more to help spread the good word about this energy-efficient technology.

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Posted in Revolution | 2 Comments »

Do you hate fluorescent lighting as much as I do?

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

I hate fluorescent lighting. I always have. I once worked at a company that had a horrible conference room lit with ugly fluorescent lighting, and every time I was summoned to a meeting in there, I would turn off the lights. Better to work by the light of our computer screens, I reasoned, then to drown in a greenish fluorescent bath. No one ever asked me to leave the lights on, so I guess my colleagues hated the lights too.

My disdain for mercury-laden fluorescent lighting has grown even stronger since I started working for a company that makes LED lighting. That’s because I now sit in an office lit by beautiful, dimmable LED lights and it’s pretty nice. I’ve never felt the need to switch off the lights here. I’ve also learned a lot about the downsides of fluorescent lighting: the headaches, migraines, eye strain and discomfort those icky lights can trigger in some people thanks to their notorious, sometimes subtle, sometimes painfully obvious flicker.

I must admit that even though I’m not a fan of fluorescent lights, they are more efficient than energy-sucking incandescent lights. But they also contain toxic mercury. Sadly, a lot of people don’t realize you’re not supposed to toss CFLs in garbage. There are special ways you’re supposed to dispose of CFLs (and all fluorescent lights) so you don’t muck up landfills with mercury.

Of course I crave the day when everyone will get to live, work and shop under energy-efficient LED lights. But until then, it’s comforting to know I’m not alone in hating fluorescents. A quick Twitter search of “fluorescent lights” shows a slew of disparaging comments about the lights. Some from the past week are so amusing I have to share them:

flurochain1

If you’re sick of fluorescent lighting too, then become a fan of “Banishing Ugly Fluorescent Lighting” on facebook. I’m not sure it will make a difference, but it always feels good to complain in the comfort of other like-minded people.

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Posted in For Fun | 5 Comments »

WRAL Tweetup offered inside look into the newsroom

Saturday, February 6th, 2010

WRAL, the biggest TV station in the Triangle, invited local Twitter users to bring lunch to their studios for a brown bag tweetup Friday afternoon. It seemed like a good chance to get a glimpse of the newsroom and network with local media types and other tweeps, so off I went.

The first person I met in Studio A was James Robinson (@jerobins on Twitter). When he found out I work at Cree, he quickly produced a flashlight from his pocket and proudly declared that it had a Cree LED inside. Sweet, I thought, I’ve been at this event for 5 minutes and someone else is dropping LED references for me.

TweetupFlashlight

As we ate our lunch, WRAL meteorologist/executive producer Nate Johnson told about some of the station’s social media efforts. He showed us the master Twitter list of all employees who tweet and told us about the station’s new site for moms.

Afterward, we gathered for tours of the TV Station. As I waited for my group to go, the guy who runs the @chathamnc Twitter account introduced himself. He tweets about news happening in Chatham County, NC, and also follows Cree on Twitter. He warmed my LED-loving heart when he told me that he really believes LED lights will replace CFLs someday. After all, he asked, why would anyone want lights that contain mercury like CFLs when they can have LED lights? Good question.

WRAL tour

Overall, the WRAL Tweetup was a great opportunity to meet new people and get a feel for what goes on behind-the-scenes at the TV Station. But it was even better knowing that out of the approximately 50 people in the room, there were a couple who were proud to tout LEDs!

It means the LED Lighting Revolution really is gaining momentum, from a street corner of Raleigh, NC to a Tweetup at WRAL. Cree’s Ice Skating Tweetup has been rescheduled to Tuesday, Feb. 9. If you’d like a chance to meet some tweeps and ice skate under LED lights at the downtown Raleigh outdoor ice rink, sign up for free tickets here.

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Posted in Revolution | 3 Comments »