My Moto Droid & XMas Shopping

I love gadgets and I enjoy playing around with new technology. I'm sort of in the anti-iPhone camp, too, mainly because of the network it runs on. Never really liked AT&T too much and would have at least tried the iPhone if Apple had the foresight to sever its ties with that weak network. I've been with Verizon for five years now and have no intentions of leaving. They're pretty solid as far as coverage. So when Verizon got the Google/Motorola Droid back in early November, I decided to wait a few weeks for the reviews to come in and make a decision. Everyone was pretty much fawning over the device, so I decided it was time to retire my Blackberry Curve and give it a shot.

One of the things I am most intrigued with is the phone's ability to use its built-in camera as a UPC barcode scanner. A simple app like ShopSavvy can be installed while you wait in line at the store and be up and running within 60 seconds - and it's free. What ShopSavvy and other similar apps do is scan the UPC code and then broadcast that code to the ShopSavvy servers. The servers identify the product based on the UPC code and then search both web and local sources for retailers with the same product. The end result is being able to see prices other retailers are offering.

For instance, I was in Best Buy (BB) looking for a micro USB cable. The only cable BB had was priced at $14.99. I thought that was high so I used ShopSavvy to scan the barcode and let it do its thing. Three sources came back, all but one of them were sourced from Internet sites. The best price? $4.99 with $2 express shipping. I ordered the product from my phone and walked out of BB empty-handed. In fact, I walked out of a lot of stores for exactly the same reason while Christmas shopping this season.

The operating system on this phone is developed by Google, so there's pretty tight integration between the device and things like GMail, Google Maps, Google Voice, Google Calendar, Street View, YouTube and so on. The Bluetooth in this device is a little buggy at times, but I cannot find too many faults with the phone. You might want to play around with a Droid the next time you're in a Verizon wireless store.

Sweet! Drive-by Video Makes the GCBR

The video about industrial vacancy made the Gulf Coast Business Review last week. It's been busy, so I apologize for neglecting to post this when it came out.

The article appeared in the "Coffee Talk" section and was entitled "A Depressing Drive Around Town."

Hopefully people found the video informative and useful. I know many of my clients have been appreciative of the information

In case you haven't seen it...CLICK HERE.

Media's Effect on Spending

Not necessarily a post about commercial real estate per se, but I find it interesting how heavily the media plays into general economic fear. No doubt we are facing some strong economic headwinds, but one really needs to question how much worse the constant flow of instant information makes things. Interesting read. See link below for the rest of the article. From The Washington Post.

Frugality fuels recession's vicious cycle
Even those whose jobs are safe are spending less, which holds down growth
By Michael S. Rosenwald
The Washington Post
updated 4:57 a.m. ET, Thurs., April 16, 2009

WASHINGTON - Denise Kimberlin and her husband, Craig, of Woodbridge are government contractors who make nice livings. They recently got raises. They don't fear losing their jobs.

Yet, something is driving them to change their spending habits. They have cut back by at least $250 a week on clothes, dinners out and other discretionary spending.

So, too, has Bob Scanlon, a Brookeville executive with the Transportation Security Administration. He feels his job is secure. But recently he decided to lop $50 a month off his family's cable bill. When they dine at their favorite restaurant, they go on half-price Tuesdays.

The frugality of the Kimberlins and Scanlons and millions of other Americans who still have their good jobs feed back on the economy, holding down growth and encouraging other worried workers to trim their spending — causing the whole vicious cycle to run another lap.

"It really can become and does become a self-fulfilling prophecy," Denise Kimberlin said.

Psychological traps
Economists say many still-flush consumers are handcuffed by psychological traps that cause them to tighten their purse strings even though economic hardship is not their reality. Underscoring the crucial role that consumer psychology will play in turning around the economy, President Obama and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke have both been on the hustings this week sounding notes of optimism.

"Traditional economics assumes that we are all rational, that we approach these things very rationally, take in all the information, and then weight it and make a decision," said Thomas Gilovich, a Cornell psychologist and co-director of the university's Center for Behavioral Economics and Decision Research. "To a behavioral economist that seems clearly untrue."

Denise Kimberlin said she began cutting back after the holidays, when at family gatherings and work parties she heard stories of people losing their jobs and people saving money around the edges. The stories made her wonder, "What if?"

These perceptions are reinforced by the blare of the news media. When network news anchors Brian Williams and Charlie Gibson lead their broadcasts with bleak news about the economy and consumers clamming up, people who don't necessarily need to cut back decide to anyway.

In August, the three major TV network newscasts spent a total of 85 minutes covering economic news, according to the Tyndall Report, which monitors newscast content. In September, when the banking crisis began and layoffs spiked, the coverage totaled 403 minutes. In the same month, Gallup's polling shows upper-income consumers dropped their total daily spending to about $160, from a high of $185 in May.

By last month, after what must feel like an eternity of stories about creative ways strapped people are saving money, they had cut back further — to $101 day.

Click here for the rest of the story.

Can You At Least Get Out of the &$%#&*^ Car?

Yes, yes we know...so many listings, so little time. You're just a super important busy guy and all. I mean, who has time to get out of the fracking car to take a photo of $8-million listings anymore? At least crop out the mirror with some $2 software will ya? LOL.

Slow News Day: Palin / Clinton Spoof :)

Tina Fey nails Sarah Palin. Spooky how much she looks and sounds like her. Very funny.