Trend: Gas Watch

The price of crude oil climbed higher into record territory Wednesday, topping $72 a barrel. The high cost of crude oil, along with seasonal refinery outages, is driving up prices at the gas pump (or so "they" say, as accountability on this issue seems fuzzy as hell to most everybody, including ourpresident!).

The Energy Department’s weekly report on petroleum carried a headline Wednesday, asking "$3 per gallon?" That question has already been answered in Los Angeles and some other parts of the country, where gasoline prices hit the $3 mark this week.

"The bad news is the numbers are going to keep going up. We expect that gasoline over the next few weeks could go, on average, to $3.10, $3.20 a gallon," says spokeswoman Carol Thorpe of the American Automobile Association.


check out GasBuddy.com to keep up with the neighborhood and national price trends.

Freeloader: Free Cone Day

Cheapskates unite! Check out Ben & Jerry's Free Cone Day on Tuesday April 25th, from noon to 8p.

In today's financial pinch, Free is the new black. Particularly, TRUE FREE, no strings attached, no coupons and trade-offs and catches. Starbucks had a succesful free coffee day a few months ago, I understand Free Cone Day is an annual event for B&J.

Trend: Smug Alert: Hybrid Haters

I posted a few weeks ago about the conflicting mathematics of Hyrid's economy value and their production impacts on the environment...I also noted an amusing aside to a recent South Park episode which highlighted a growing backlash of the increased "Smug" from high-and-mighty Prius drivers who think they are so much better than others.

Now noting an article highlighting the growing numbers of hybrid drivers who are becoming victims of road rage! They are calling it the "Prius Backlash" as the political debate over the environment seems to be moving to the carpool lanes.

Hybrid drivers, particularly in California and Virginia where solo occupants of hybrid cars are eligible to drive in the carpool lanes, are feeling a new form of commuter road rage.

Some carpoolers accuse the hybrids driving too slowly in order to maximize their fuel economy and they claim that the slower hybrids are beginning to cause traffic jams in lanes that were once clear.

"People are a lot less friendly than when I drove a Mercedes," one Prius owner confessed.

As the political debate over the environment heats up inside the HOV lanes, the "Prius Backlash" is giving rise to a group of self declared "hybrid haters" cruising chat rooms on automotive websites. The chatter can be bitter. "These idiot hybrids are clogging the car-pool lane," is typical of the views expressed on many of the anti-hybrid sites.

AKI COMMENT: Judging from the venom over at sites like FUH2.com and now in the HOV lanes, I predict a civil war as Hybrids and SUV Hogs take the matter face-to-face with bottles and bats, Wrestlemania-style! Look to YouTube to showcase the footage.

via Consumeraffairs.com

Trend: Citizen Journalism: People Paparazzi Redux

In Jan we posted about a growing list of mobile services such as Scoopt, which sells pictures taken by any mobile phone user to tabloids and celebrity magazines.

Lately, Scoopt announced it will sign a deal to install its software into 10 million mobile phones, according to founder Kyle MacRae, reports Scotland's The Sunday Herald.

"The company, is also considering a relocation to Silicon Valley." MacRae says: “One of the biggest challenges is how do we get people to know about us to send in their pictures. We are about to sign a deal which puts Scoopt software on 10 million handsets going into every market in the world except China. That is a pretty big deal for us, it will make a major difference.”

In related People Paparazzi developments...


Gawker Stalker was recently launched which allows users to post live, up-to-the second celeb sightings, cell photos, and even detailed Google maps to chart the goings-on of the famous.

Turning an airline into a communications network

Ryanair CEO says someday all his passengers will fly for free, that's no money folks. It's not so far fetched as this CNN Money story points out. Right now about 25% of their passengers already fly for free. His secret is a ruthless pursual of cost cutting, charging customers for everything including drinks, checking bags, etc, selling ad space anywhere and everywhere, and functioning as a portal to drive traffic to other related services like car rentals and hotels.

It's genius and it works, they have a lower average fare than Southwest ($53) and a higher profit margin.

Trend: Hactivism: FUH2

Hactivists who share a hatred of HUMMER H2's gather BY THE MANY THOUSANDS at http://www.FUH2.com to post their amusing photo salutations.

And you thought Chevy Tahoe had it bad...

Trend: Tech Etiquette

We have previously pointed out the growing conflicts of gadgets on social decorum - and we've given it a new name each time.

Continuous Partial Attention here and here. Gadgets and Antisocial Behavior here. Gadget Isolationism and Podding Out here

I rather like this nomenclature provided by Christian Science Monitor on TECH ETIQUETTE, here. I suppose the Macro-Trend of TECH ETIQUETTE may still house Micro-Trends such as Podding Out and CPA (but we do get a bit name-happy sometimes, don't we?).

From the perspective of executives polled by Robert Half Technology, some stat-bites:

*Two-thirds say that breaches in tech-etiquette are increasing
*Nearly 90 percent think it is inappropriate to leave a cellphone ringer on during a business meeting
*80 percent say sending instant messages or e-mail in meetings is a definite "don't"
*Two-thirds consider it poor etiquette to use personal computers during these sessions.

Commercial Interruption: Smoking and Kids

Found these oldies-but-goodies which show the complete shift in societal thinking on smoking.


Flintstones for Winston

Trend: Bankrupt!

Americans in massive debt prob ain't no new revelation...but the idea that getting out of debt may have become the New American Dream may be!


•Average households carry some $8000 in credit card debt (Cardweb.com)

•1/4 of credit card users say they use plastic to buy things when they don’t have the money (AP-Ipsos Debt Poll)

•Personal bankruptcies have doubled in the past decade (Federal Reserve/ American Bankruptcy Insititute)

•About 43% of American families spend more than they earn each year (Federal Reserve)



Source: AP-Ipsos Debt Poll Dec 2004, Federal Reserve/American Bankruptcy Insititute



Source: AP-Ipsos Debt Poll Dec 2004, Federal Reserve/American Bankruptcy Insititute


Goals have turned from keeping ahead of creditors towards achieving financial independence

Financial independence indexes at 45% - up 18 from 1995, while traditional goals like saving for college or retirement decline

Source: Debt’s Double Edge, Roper Reports December 2005



Source: 43Things.com 29, Mar 2006

I've noticed radio stations (particularly the "urban" formats) increasingly host contests where listeners may get their credit bills paid off. Freedom from debt is the new "prize" for saying the 'phrase that pays'!


*THESE ARE STILL THEORIES I AM WORKING ON, ANYBODY GOT ANY OTHER THOUGHTS TO LEND CREDANCE TO DEBT FREEDOM BEING THE "NEW DREAM" IN AMERICA?



Bankruptcy Blogs
Below is a listing of interesting bankruptcy blogs. Most are directed to bankruptcy lawyers, but a few appear to be for consumers. Some appear to be hosted by law firms, others by bankruptcy product vendors, and some by official bar organizations. All have a different slant on the topic and all have something to offer.

THE BANKRUPTCY LITIGATION BLOG
http://www.bankruptcylitigationblog.com/

ELIZABETH WARREN'S BANKRUPTCY BLOG
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/bankruptcy/

MILTON & MARY JONES' BANKRUPTCY BLOG
http://www.bpaperfree.com/index.php

The ABI BAPCPA Blog
http://bapcpa.blogspot.com/

KEVIN CHERN'S BANKRUPTCY BLOG
http://blog.startfreshtoday.com/

JONATHAN GINSBERG'S BK BLOG
http://thebklawyer.com/thebkblog/?p=18

THE TOTAL BANKRUPTCY BLOG
http://blog.totalbankruptcy.com/

“LEGAL HELPERS” BK BLOG
http://www.legalhelpers.com/blog/

BANKRUPTCY & RESTRUCTURING BLOG
http://www.bankruptcylawblog.com/

NEW YORK BANKRUPTCY & CONSUMER LAW BLOG
http://www.drlcny.com/blog/

FLORIDA BANKRUPTCY LAW BLOG
http://www.bankruptcyorlando.com/2006/02/index.html

Source: BankruptcyMedia.com

Trend: Bankrupt!: Maxed Out

"...back in the '60s and '70s ... a lot of bankers objected to credit cards and said they were not going to give consumers the noose from which to hang themselves--that was immoral, that was unethical ... They understood that people would abuse credit if given too much of it, and the banker had to fill this role of regulator. That philosophy doesn't exist any more."

That's a comment from documentary filmmaker James Scurlock in a recent Newsweek interview about his film Maxed Out, which traveled around the country interviewing people who were victims of predatory lending practices, greed, and ignorance.

Brief Synopsis:
When Hurricane Katrina ravaged America's Gulf Coast, it laid bare an uncomfortable reality—America is not only far from the world's wealthiest nation; it is crumbling beneath a staggering burden of individual and government debt. Maxed Out takes us on a journey deep inside the American debt-style, where everything seems okay as long as the minimum monthly payment arrives on time. Sure, most of us may have that sinking feeling that something isn't quite right, but we're told not to worry. After all, there's always more credit!

Maxed Out shows how the modern financial industry really works, explains the true definition of "preferred customer" and tells us why the poor are getting poorer and the rich getting richer. By turns hilarious and profoundly disturbing, Maxed Out paints a picture of a national nightmare which is all too real for most of us.

Get more athttp://www.maxedoutmovie.com/

via Consumerist

More irony: New patent for technology that forces you to watch the ads

Philips has filed a patent for a new technology that will prevent users from changing the channel when ads are shown. The patent states that users will have the option of "paying a fee" or watching the ads. An article in the New Scientist explains that Philips recognizes that users may be upset and think that their TVs have stopped working, so they recommend putting up a warning sign while the ads are playing.

Apparently this works because cable providers who use the popular Multimedia Home Platform software are able to embed digital flags into the TV signals that enable or disable specific features. Stopping you from changing the channel is quite basic, what happens if someone hacks this system and viewers are forced to buy the 24 hour porn package or the Barry Manilow special?

Industry: State of the Blogosphere April'06

Technorati's David Sifry posted the latest quarterly update about the state of the Blogosphere. His blog search engine, Technorati, now currently tracks 35.3 Million weblogs (up from 27.2 last qtr), and the blogosphere continues to double about every 5.5 months. The blogosphere is over 60 times bigger than it was only 3 years ago. 75,000 new weblogs are created every day and 13.7 million bloggers are still posting 3 months after their blogs are created. And we're posting about 1.2 Million new blog posts each day, which averages some 50,000 per hour.







Get the data here

Study: Who's Your World Cup Favorito?

As much as it kills me to root for this squad, I do want what's best for our planet... and a recent report by ABN Amro, called Soccernomics, predicts the world economy would benefit most from an Italian win at this year's World Cup. Therefore, if 2 countries move forward from Group D, I want them to be the US and Italy (not the US and Ghana as previously desired). An excerpt from the press release:

"Although the direct economic impact (higher sales in bars and cafes) is marginal, good performances on the pitch can certainly stimulate an economy. In the past, countries winning the World Cup added around 0.7% to their economic growth. And at the last three tournaments the winning country's stock market considerably outperformed the losing finalist's market. On average there was 10% positive effect in the winner and a 25% negative effect in the loser."

Obviously they don't know the type of drinking that will go down at Lyon's with an English victory - our dept. and the American women who're suddenly interested in free kicks.

See the full report here (where you'll also find a project outcome for the tourney):
http://www.abnamro.com/pressroom/releases/2006/2006-03-22-en.jsp

via PSFK, via Influx, via ? - I'm clearly not breaking any news.

Trend: Mobility: Death of the Watch

Is time running out for the wristwatch?

Surveys and sales data show that young shoppers are shunning watches for snazzier time-telling gadgets, such as cellphones and iPods.

Last year, the number of people who bought watches not in the Rolex and Patek Philippe stratosphere dropped 12% from 2004, according to a leading market research group. The runaway favorite brand for teens, Fossil Inc. of Texas, acknowledged an 18.6% decline in wholesale U.S. sales of its namesake brand.

Oakley Inc., which is based in Orange County, said watch sales fell 11% last year as it phased out digital watches and styles that weren't selling well.

For many in the cellphone generation, watches now seem about as relevant as grandfather clocks.

Piper Jaffray's semiannual report on teen preferences finds that teenagers who said they never wore a watch rose to 59% from 48%. The number of teens who said they wore a watch daily declined to 13% in this spring's survey, compared with 18% of those polled in the fall.

And 82% said they didn't plan to buy a watch in the next six months, compared with 76% last fall.

The dismal poll results caused Piper Jaffray to maintain its "neutral-to-cautious stance" on Fossil's stock.

Get the time here

via YPulse

Trend: Day after viewing (DAV)

Fox has joined ABC/Disney in putting its shows up on the web for day after viewing (DAV). So far CBS has only dabbled in DAV wih its March Madness webcasts but I predict that it will join all of the others in offering DAV for its shows too.

I also predict that DAV will become the new primetime and further I predict that DAV will become a new acronym (at least on my posts) replacing its current meanings of Disabled American Veterans or Distributed Authoring and Versioning.

This post also available on DAV.

Inbox of Immaturity

Another great pic... amazing what happens when you search "immature men" on google images, as Aki figured out...

5. For Mets fans – http://gorillamask.net/game6rbi.shtml
4. For the hebrews – http://www.atomfilms.com/contentPlay/shockwave.jsp?id=matzah&preplay=1&
3. For the treekies - http://videosift.com/story.php?id=630
2. For the visual people - http://eatliver.com/
1. And finally, if you win, for you to invite me - http://www.winascottishcastle.com/index.html?banner=jg

Happy Easter and Passover and Goodfridassterover!

Infamy is good, but maybe not for Disney

The recent story about the second death on Disney's space ride reminded me that my family had visited the same park earlier in the year. My 10 year old had come back from the park having gone on the ride and talked about how "a boy had died on the ride a little while ago." For her, it was part of the experience, an added thrill, not a deterrent. She's not a daredevil, but the idea of riding (and surviving) something that killed someone else was obviously intriguing to her.

The fact that this ride now has a mythology around it also reminds me of Meg's report on the Future of Marketing conference and example of Red Bull using its slightly shady reputation as a plus. Disney has re-opened the ride. It will be interesting to track how it does in the coming months and whether the type of riders change. It will also be interesting to see how HP, a sponsor of the ride, react.

Mobile advertising study

IDC have released a new study on mobile advertising which we are too cheap to buy and therefore can't really comment on. However, according to BlackBerry Cool, it says there's a lot of potential but no clear business model has emerged. Mobile operators love the idea, advertisers are pretty jazzed too, it seems that the weak link that has to be yet figured out is why consumers would want advertising on their phones after paying lots of money every month to use them.

It seems the report gets by this little inconvenience with good ideas like opt-in, targeted, useful and meaningful. All of which fills me with complete confidence. Not.

Interactive TV station to launch in July

ReacTV is the first entry by a former real estate tycoon, into the interactive TV channel category. Essentially, it's a channel that will feature all day interactive game shows. You participate at home through a pretty nifty wifi enabled super remote and compete for up to 5 million in prizes every day.

In a launch press release issued a couple days ago, the owner Frank Maggio has issued a bold claim, he says ReacTV will: Pass more homes on its launch date than the legendary MTV network on its first day, and to top MTV’s current average advertising ratings within 500 days of ReacTV’s launch.

I don't know about this one, while it will offer a pretty interesting interactive platform for advertisers, it doesn't feel to me that people will want to play interactive games all that much. There may be initial interest but my guess is that it will wane unless they can figure out more creative ways to use the interactivity.

If they can survive long enough to do that, it could evolve into something pretty interesting. They should open up development of their platform too, that would speed up innovation.

Update: A big week for Transhumanism

The evolution of man towards Cyborg took a huge step forward this week with a couple of new events. In the first, University of Chicago geneticist Bruce Lahn has discovered that human genes are still evolving and much more rapidly than people thought possible. His research has found genes that have evolved to cope with cultural needs that are only a couple of thousand years old like milk consumption for example. While this still seems like a long time ago, it's much more recent than the 100 thousand years previously thought to have been the end of homo sapiens evolution. We may be evolving now, our genes could be adapting to Continuous Partial Attention.

The second and potentially juicier development is that European researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry have managed to fuse brain cells onto silicon microchips, creating neurochips and paving the way for all manner of brain mods like memory upgrades, new video cards, or a possible genius-chip.

If there's a beta program, sign me up.

Evian "Detox" Comes Alive

I've noticed a rather clever new positioning for Evian recently.


The new Evian "Detox" campaign positions Evian water as the ubiquitous antidote to overindulgences, such has holiday season excess.


This holistic positioning moves the brand above just being about another natural spring water; it concocts in the commercial imagination a more inspirational story, which complements the brand's spa businesses.

Evian Spas in France and Shanghai provide an urban sanctuary, with a serene environment that is further enhanced by touches of Zen and art. The spa offers state-of-the-art treatments. Guests at the spa are greeted at the entrance by a serene, manicured Japanese rock garden in a dramatic 35-meter-high atrium.




Naturally, Evian spring water is used liberally throughout the spa experience. The water, described by the company as being "aged like wine," is used to brew tea served during consultations; it is also used in deep-hydration treatments for the hair, body, and feet.

Pop-up spas have also appeared recently, such as in NYC and at the Oscars in Beverly Hills.






The Hotel Victor features an Evian Experience for those staying in the $6K per nite penthouse suite. The experience consists of a tub surrounded by candles and gerber daisies, and filled with 1000 liters of Evian valued at $5000.