Zachery Archie

Micro-ethnography
A micro-ethnography is a particular community, typically within a
much larger community, that shares a common goal, venues in which
they work, shared methods of communication, and usually a form of
speech unique to that particular community. The individual community
that I selected and chose to study, is the community of people that
operate mainly within Portal building at UNCC charlotte. This
community is not extremely large. FromForm what I have seen they
have approximately 30-40 people in their midst. This group is
dedicated to helping small companies who are just starting out,
fostering entrepreneurship and innovation in the charlotte area, and
having inventors compete against each other in competitions for prize
money to further their innovative products. While conducting this
micro-ethnography I studied and observed both Mr. Wetenhall, and Mr.
Fach of UNCCs Portal building. I also had the opportunity to sit down
and interview them as well. The interviews I conducted were very
informative, and went very well.
In my interview with Mr. Fach I was able to learn what it is that
Mr. Fach does on a day-to-day basis. Mr. Fach in formed me that a
typical day for him included: reading and responding to emails
regarding patents for the school, talking and collaborating with coworkers, talking on the phone with potential inventors or attending a
meeting, lunch, and working on extra projects that he finds interesting.
I had an idea of what his job consisted of based on minor past
experiences I had with Mr. Fach before this project. However
conducting this interview and observation really helped me to fully
understand his job and his role at UNCC.
Mr. Fach conducts research in the Charlotte area, and tries to find
innovative technologies that UNCC may be interested in developing
further and implementing on campus. Mr. Fach informed me that the
school applies for approximately 20-30 patents a year, and that a large
portion of the work that he does involves tending to this patents and
securing the rights of the technologies for the university. Based on the
information I was provided with, I would conclude that Mr. Fach is
directly responsible for a fair amount of the innovative technologies
that are put to use on UNCCs campus.
The other individual that I interviewed from Portal buildings
business development community, Mr. Wetenhall, is the President of a
non-profit organization called Ventureprize. Ventureprize is an
organization affiliated with UNCC that is a competition for local
inventors in the area. The competition features small start-up
companies, or products that are in the earliest stages of development.

These companies and products are entered in the Venture challenge,

and are judged by a panel to decide which inventions are the best and
most innovative. The inventions that are selected as finalists of the
Venture challenge can win cash prizes. These finalists are also granted
with an opportunity to present their idea in front of an audience of
investors and company representatives. I myself have participated in
the Venture challenge program by submitting with my own products.
Unfortunately, I was not selected as a finalist.
I did not spend as much time with Mr. Wetenhall, as I did with Mr.
Fach. Mr. Wetenhall was very busy with his work of responding to
emails, and leaving his office for meetings with other companies that
Ventureprize works with. However I did gain information about Mr.
Wetenhalls work from both the interview I conducted, and the
observation time I had with him. Mr. Wetenhall seems to have been
very successful over the coarse of his career. He not only informed of
me of his routine that most often occurs, which includes: responding to
emails, taking telephone calls, doing presentations, and attending
meetings with companies and potential Venture challenge applicants.
But, we also discussed his past achievements over the coarse course
of his life. These achievements were, in the most sincere way possible,
most impressive. Mr. Wetenhall informed me that in his career he has:
worked for a Xerox company, helped to build a company that employed
over 100,000 people, launched a company with a colleague and
brought new spell checking technology to Microsoft, apple, and others.
Mr. Wetenhall also helped develop some cutting edge technology with
the earliest hand-held devices. He, and others, were able to take the
bible, the random house encyclopedia, and the physicians desk
reference, and put them into a hand-held device in the early 1990s.
Additionally, Mr. Wetenhall has helped about 130 companies start
businesses in the technology sector. Most recently, Mr. Wetenhall has
helped establish a better approach to supporting entrepreneurs within
the region of Charlotte North Carolina.
With this assignment I learned that the community I studied is
very diverse. Not everyone has a Ph.D., not everyone is just starting
out, and some of the most accomplished individuals are people who
have not earned a Ph.D. I enjoyed my time studying this community as
it features an area that I am extremely interested in, entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneurship is an area that can turn creative and imaginative
individuals into billionaires, while at the same time changing the face
of the planet. I find it very interesting that a person can become
extremely wealthy, and change the world for the better, all from one
area. I found it interesting that the individuals that are a part of the
UNCC Portal community, in the cases that I studied, work together for
the completion of the same goal. All for the sake of bringing innovative
technologies to the Charlotte area, many people are working together
with different past experiences and a common goal.

From what I could derive from my time in Portal, the members of

the community seem to work together very well. In relation to
exclusively the two individuals I observed and interviewed, it seems
that they could accomplish a lot just between the two of them. Mr.
Wetenhall spends his time talking with companies and individual
inventors who are potentially going to work with the organization
Ventureprize. Mr. Fach spends a large majority of his time collaborating
with co-workers and patenting technology for the school that UNCC is
interested in. These two jobs alone, talking with inventors and
companies and patenting potential technologies, seem like they would
be highly effective in bringing innovation to Charlottes campus and
encouraging entrepreneurship.
My favorite part of this entire community is there willingness to
be approached. I have been into the building on campus called Friday,
and the building called Smith as well. I was trying to find some form of
mentor, or at least a bit of guidance on what I need to do to get my
products to the market. My own product that I have designed perform
the following tasks: decrease the risk of shark encounters for beachgoers, reduce the risk of hydroplaning while driving a vehicle, make
backpacks easier to carry for troops and campers, make planes roadguards more safe. MyI father has also created a new form of
camouflage, while my colleague has designed a much cheaper form of
basketball return. In these buildings, and approaching these
communities, finding guidance an advice was very difficult. The
professors seem to be far to busy with their own work, understandably,
and do not have time to assist me with my personal goals. However, at
UNCCs Pportal building things are different. The community is very
inviting when it comes to new products that can possibly provide
innovation for the Charlotte area in the future. They are very happy to
set aside time to meet with, and answer questions that some students
have. Even if you happen to come into the building randomly and
unannounced, you can typically count on a kind member of the
community to set aside 5-10 minutes for you. I was truly impressed
with the kindness and willingness to help of the individuals who work in
UNCCs Portal building.
In conclusion I would say that UNCCs Portal building seems to be
home to some very productive individuals, who work extremely hard to
raise the level of entrepreneurial activities in the Charlotte area. They
are very kind, and are willing to hear anyone out if they are expressing
interest in entrepreneurship, or have an idea to enter into the Venture
challenge. From what I have gathered with my interviews and
observations, the community seems to be very organized and
qualified. They come across as a group of people that are truly
committed to the completion of their goals, and genuinely wish to see
the Charlotte area become a more prominent place for innovation and
entrepreneurial efforts. In the future, with the help of this perpetually

working group of individuals on the job, I suspect that Charlotte North

Carolina will continue to leaps and bounds in respect to the amount of
entrepreneurial campaigns that are being conducted in this area. I also
predict that with the work of Mr. Fach, the school will certainly continue
to grow in regards to its possession of patents for new technologies.
Hopefully the school will continue to implement many of these new
technologies on campus and make campus-living more safe, fun, and
interesting for future students.
Overall I thought this was very well written. Although it seemed more
of a descriptive piece of what the 2 faculty members did. There didnt
seem to be much information about the community as a whole. Try
looking over Swales 6 characteristics and see what you can add. Does
this community use any specific lexis? Etc. As far as thesis goes, it
seemed off assignment. My afterthought was that those in the Portal
building do great things to advance entrepreneurship and innovation,
but I got very little detail of the community itself. You may need to go
back and observe other people in the community to get a good idea of
the inner workings. The questions/comments I wrote doesnt mean that
the things were wrong; they probably just need more explanation if you
think they are correct. Also try adding some quotes from the interviews
or details from your observations. The organization of the paper was
good and it flowed great. I have never heard of the services offered my
Portal and it was interesting to learn. The formatting of the paper could
use some work. Something I noticed right off was that it wasnt doublespaced and there was no header (name, date, professor, etc.)