“Some retailers want to look to new things,” said Joseph Egerton, founder of the Arts Afire Glass Gallery shop on King Street. On Monday, November 22, Egerton and other small business owners discussed challenges and changes facing Alexandria retailers at a meeting of Agenda Alexandria, a nonpartisan organization that encourages debate on community issues. Retailers have had to adapt as Americans have become more dependent on technology. “Younger people are shopping online instead of going to retail stores,” said Egerton. “They spend their money in different ways.”

Small business owners have begun using social media to attract customers. “Most of us have commerce sites,” said Elizabeth Todd, who owns The Shoe Hive in Old Town. Although some small businesses still publish newsletters, most use the Internet and have Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts. However, social media has not replaced traditional shopping. According to Christina Robinson, Vice President of Commercial Real Estate for the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership, the majority of shoppers still want to see products in stores. Store websites are used to compliment the shopping experience. “We do not sell a lot directly on our website,” said Egerton. “[However,] it has brought us customers from around the world. I find it invaluable.”

Panelists Bill Reagan, Christina Robinson, Charles Langdon, Joseph Egerton and Elizabeth Todd discuss small businesses in Alexandria.

Efforts to attract customers have become increasingly important during the economic recession. “Americans have lost a tremendous amount of net worth during the last couple years,” said Bill Reagan, who founded the Alexandria Small Business Development Center. “[This has] changed our buying patterns permanently. We are looking for value and bargains.” According to Reagan, all retailers offer sales to attract customers. “[Retailers] have to understand what [their] market is, who is buying, and offer value,” said Reagan. “When there is value, people will buy.”

Alexandria retailers work together to protect their businesses. Todd created the Old Town Boutique District three years ago, which is comprised of 28 stores that represent each type of store in Old Town. “Its purpose is to market Old Town as a shopping destination,” said Todd. “Each year we try to grow and do different things.” The District distributes maps and shopping guides and sponsors an annual scavenger hunt. “People try to work together to see what other stores interest their customers,” said Todd.

The Small Business Development Center was created to help retailers. It links retailers to professionals who offer them guidance. Professionals visit businesses and conduct training workshops. “We are there to strengthen businesses and fill in areas where they might not have all the expertise they need,” said Reagan. The Small Business Development Center works with another organization, the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership, to strengthen the economy for retailers.

The parking situation has challenged Alexandria business owners, particularly in Old Town. It is often difficult for shoppers to find parking spaces. “[There is not] enough parking,” said Charles Langdon, a commercial real estate agent and Old Town resident. “All the open space that a [new parking] garage could go in has been consumed.”

Parking garages are filled by city employees, forcing shoppers to park on the street and in residential areas. Shoppers and retailers have been frustrated by the Old Town parking meters that only accept quarters and dimes. The instructions on the meter do not specify this, which has caused shoppers to lose money when they put the wrong type of coin in a meter. “It wasn’t a well-thought-out program,” said Egerton. “Shop owners have had to keep quarters on hand and pay parking fees for customers.” According to Egerton, the new parking meters were implemented in July 2010 and have caused sales to decrease. “A lot of people have not come back to Old Town because they end up with parking tickets,” said Egerton.

While parking meters have hurt retailers, the water taxi has helped. “[The water taxi] has had a tremendous impact in terms of the number of visitors coming from National Harbor,” said Reagan. During the first year the water taxi was used, visitors’ spending generated two million dollars more in taxes than in previous years.

Reagan said that he felt “cautiously optimistic” about the future of small retailers in Alexandria. “This holiday season there should be about a 2.3 percent increase [in retail sales],” said Robinson. According to her, companies have seen a recent rise in consumer confidence. However, it can be difficult for small businesses to support themselves financially. “The toughest thing we all face is being able to cash flow our businesses and survive during the tough times,” said Todd.

Accordingto Egerton, online sales in the United States totaled 131 billion dollars last year, which caused stores to lose money. If a shopper orders a product online from a store that is outside his or her state, then he or she does not pay a sales tax. This can make a substantial difference in a business’s revenue. “It is unhealthy that small, independent stores are primarily their own financiers. It is unsustainable,” said Egerton. “I wish I knew the future of retailers in Old Town.”

The next Agenda Alexandria meeting will be on January 24, 2011 and will address the role that residents play in the development of Alexandria.

Facebook.com has increasingly become a medium for teenage bullying.

Teenagers and children in the United States and in many other parts of the world live in a society where there is easy access to computers, the Internet, cell phones, texting, and other forms of technology.  For many teenagers, the Internet and cell phones are main forms of communication with their peers.  With the availability and ease of use of such technologies, “Cyberbullying” has become a more prevalent problem for teenagers and younger students.

According to stopcyberbullying.org, cyberbullying is when a child, preteen or teen is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another child, preteen or teen using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies or mobile phones.  Some of the main forms of cyberbullying are through texting, email, chat rooms, interactive gaming websites, instant messaging, blogs, virtual worlds, and social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. “Technology makes bullying so much easier, and makes it harder to get caught,” said sophomore Aliyah Nelson.  Cyberbullying usually has a connection to school life, since it often decreases during the summer months.

Cyberbullying has increased greatly over the years.  “It’s convenient because if someone won’t say something to your face, they’ll just do it online,” said sophomore Domina Williams.  According to dosomething.org, in a national survey of 10 to 17 year old students, twice as many children, teens, and preteens had indicated that they had been the victims and/or perpetrators of online harassment in 2005 compared to 2000.  The psychological and emotional effects of cyberbullying are similar to real life bullying experiences.  Unlike bullying in school, cyberbullying often continues after school hours and on weekends.

Cyberbullying can be difficult to trace because being a perpetrator on the internet allows anonymity.  “It [the internet and digital media] makes it easy, so anyone can do it,” said sophomore Amana Ali.  It is often difficult to identify the source of the bullying and remove the information that has already been posted.  Bullies usually know the victim and are almost always from the same school.  According to dosomething.org, girls are almost twice as likely to be the victims and perpetrators of cyberbullying that boys are.

Statistics show that many students have been victims of cyberbullying.  In a survey by i-SAFE America, it was found that 42% of students from grades 4-8 have been bullied online, and one in four reported incidents happening more than once.  More than 35% have been threatened online, and in one in five of those cases, more than once.  Fifty-three percent of students surveyed admitted to saying things that were mean or hurtful to other people online, and one in three admitted to doing it more than once.

One of the forms of cyberbullying are web pages made with the sole purpose of targeting and harassing a certain student or group of students.  An example of this was a Facebook group named “We hate Stina Johansson,” which was the culmination of a prolonged bullying at school.  Facebook took almost a month to remove this page.

Recently, a Facebook page was made on facebook.com, that harassed t more than 20 students students at T.C., most of them girls.  That page, however, was deleted after being up for less than two weeks.  “Facebook needs to do a better job at monitoring cyberbullying,” said sophomore Amana Ali.

Although many students are encouraged to report cyberbullying, about 58% of students who were cyberbullied do not report the incident to a parent or other adult, which can become a problem.  “If nobody reports it, then they’ll never know,” said sophomore Amana Ali.  There are many reasons why cyberbullying often goes unreported.  One of the main reasons is embarrassment on the part of the affected student.  Other reasons include thinking that attacks will escalate if an incident is reported, fear of being blamed, and fear of receiving restrictions involving digital access.

Cyberbullying has many negative consequences.  The suicide rate between 10-14 year olds has almost doubled in the past two decades.  Teens and kids who are cyberbullied show negative emotions, such as feeling sad, anxious, and having lower self-esteem.  Although cyberbullying is not legal, it can sometimes be difficult to prosecute cyberbullies.  In some cases, when schools try to discipline students for actions that took place off campus, they are often sued for exceeding their authority or violating free speech rights.

Many organizations have tried to provide support for victims of cyberbullying and help parents prevent it.  Cyberbullyhelp.com, stopcyberbullying.org and safehorizon.org are just a few sites that support and find help for victims of cyberbullying.