The project I’m working on is trying to find out why there are so many drive-thru coffee huts in Alaska compared to the rest of the United States. It’s difficult to find much information online or in books about this subject because, believe it or not, there are not many scholarly studies done on this subject. Because of this, the medium that I plan to use is an interview with an owner of one of these coffee huts. I think it would be interesting to get their perspective on the subject. They have a first person view of the market and understand the business aspects of it. One theory that I’ve had is if there are zoning laws in Alaska that allow someone to open a small business like that in a parking lot or on the side of the road, and maybe in the majority of the country it is not allowed. I think it will be interesting for tourists to read or listen to the interview, because there is a very good chance that they noticed all of the coffee stands around town. I am undecided if it will be in a written or an audio format, or both. If it’s audio, I would like to cut it down to around 10 minutes or under because most people would not want to stand for too long listening to something. I think this will be a good addition to our group project as a whole because we have a lot of different areas of coffee covered.
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I am excited to view your project, this is the first one that I have read that was going to try and incorporate an interview. Your theory on the laws being different in the country makes me laugh, because there is a possibility you are actually right. Maybe use it as a joke, if you want. If you want to cut the timing down on the interview, you can break your questions up to revolve around the history of the hut or anything you choose to ask and how they view their experience in the job as either a good or bad thing. This would allow to use one in audio and one as a written format and it would allow the person to pick which they want to read or hear. Thank you for a great read.
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Having an interview from someone with first hand experience is a very interesting idea, and can definitely work to your advantage with the low amount of research done in this area of study. Asking questions like the logistics of the business, when income and traffic is highest during the year, and what sorts of things people buy most during what types of the year would be very interesting to hear, and could perhaps give insight into Fairbanks cuisine culture. Be careful with the length of your video, though, as even ten minutes might be a bit too long for someone to stand in one place, especially if they’re trying to go through a museum. Maybe try cutting it so their answers are quick and concise, or maybe sewing together their answers almost like a narrative (like a documentary video).
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I think it’s a great idea to do interviews. No one knows the business better than those who run it. Getting a first hard perspective than comparing with the research you do will make for a very fastening addition to the group’s project. I hope you get some backstory from the owners of the stands, I am curious to know what drives someone to open one. I am also curious to know how they are all able to stay open and charge high prices with all of the competition they face in Fairbanks and other parts of AK. I lived in Tacoma, WA for a few years and these drive through coffee shops were everywhere.
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I like how you are doing field work for your project. I think the hands on approach not only is very helpful for your project but it shows a huge effort put forth. Along with the zoning laws i think it is also important to note that we have a huge weather difference than the rest of the united states. with the winter consisting of almost 8 months of the year not many people want to get out of their vehicle to get their cup of Joe. I think that this might be an important aspect to add when doing your interview. to ask some sort of question related to this might prove helpful.
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