Every week, GigaOM Pro chats with one of its analysts to find out which technologies they read about, write about and can’t live without. Today, we talk to Shannon Arvizu, who recently joined GigaOM Pro as an analyst writing for our Green IT topic area. Stay tuned for her research and analysis on the electric vehicle market in the U.S. and beyond.

GigaOM Pro Analyst Shannon Arvizu juices up her ride: a Chevy Volt

1. Who are you, and what do you do?

I am a sociologist of technology. I uncover patterns of resistance to technology adoption and then apply these insights to generate greater acceptance. Many organizations in the tech space forget that technology does not emerge on technical merits alone. It is about the beliefs, networks, and resources around the technology that determines its market success. So, I research and consult with organizations to determine what are the field-level obstacles to tech emergence. Together, we figure out how to change the beliefs, build networks of supporters, and generate the resources we need to get the success we want.

Currently, I am active in two tech movements: the electric car movement and the digital media and learning movement. These movements are working to disrupt stagnant systems in the transportation and education sectors, respectively. I am particularly focused right now on understanding the commonly-held beliefs that hinder mass adoption and helping organizations tell a new story about how these technologies provide value. It’s fun work and has a purpose…and it’s a lot more interesting than the purely academic research I used to do as a professor.

2. As a GigaOM Pro analyst, what are your areas of focus?

Electric cars; specifically, consumer adoption and policy drivers in the U.S. and abroad.

3. Talk about a favorite article you’ve written.

Hands-down, one of my favorite articles is the one I wrote on civically-engaged youth in Cairo, published in Media Culture & Society in 2009 (two years before the Arab Spring). The article is based on the research I completed for my M.A. thesis, which focused on the rise of a new generation of educated, tech-savvy and politically conscious young people in the Arab World. Many of the people in my research eventually became active leaders and participants in the recent protests.

4. What was the last piece of media (music, video, book, etc.) you paid money for?

Joseph Campbell’s The Power of Myth, which I rented on Netflix. Even though the graphics are from the 80s, the substance of this series of interviews with Bill Moyers is timeless.

5. What are the first three media outlets (websites, blogs, actual physical publications) you read in the morning?

I usually tap into my social graph newsfeed first: Twitter and Facebook let me know what my network thinks is hot for that day. Then, I wander over to the Google News, GigaOM and AutoBlogGreen.

6. You are stranded on a desert island: What are the five gadgets/devices/services/apps you can’t live without? (Presumably, there’s electricity and Wi-Fi on this desert island.)

1. My Panasonic Lumix underwater digital camera (got to take pics of the sea life!)
2. My MacBook Pro and Dragon Dictate (to chronicle my experience through audio dictation).
3. Yoga mat and YogaDownload.com. (to stay on top of my yoga game).
4. Jawbone speakers, DI.fm and Pandora (so I can rock out anywhere I am on the island).
5. And, of course, a solar panel array to power it all. (Is that more than five?)

7. When you’re not writing for GigaOM Pro, what’s your favorite thing to do?

I have a fully loaded White Diamond Chevy Volt and I love taking my friends for joy rides. My personal motto is, “Life is better fully charged.”

8. What’s your favorite non-tech blog?

Vice.com; I enjoy the irreverence.

9. What do you listen to (or watch) while you’re writing?

Chilltrax, a solid iTunes radio station that feeds me equanimity throughout the day.