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. Form 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-today 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 co-workers, 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 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 interview, 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 coworkers 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 beach-goers, reduce the risk of hydroplaning while driving a vehicle, make
backpacks easier to carry for troops and campers, make planes road-guards more safe. I 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
portal 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, an 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 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.

Zach I think youre on the right track I just think you need to clear up a
few areas in your paper. First thing is that Swales was not mentioned at
all in this paragraph but I know while writing this I am a hypocrite
because I did not mention him at all either. Its a major part of our
grade and I feel as if it shouldnt be to hard for you to put the
characteristics in throughout your paper. Another thing is I think you
need to check over the grammatical errors. A few sentences are pretty
choppy and I had to re-read them a few times to understand what it
says. Not so many commas! I think this is a pretty cool and interesting
topic though and if you keep going with it youll have a good paper. I
just think that maybe you need to elaborate a little more on what
exactly it is because Im not sure what a UNCC Portal is but I dont
think a lot of people know what it is and that is why you need to go into
detail about it a little bit more. If you are able to clear these things up I
think youll be fine.