Monthly Archives: October 2008

Podcast: What to Watch in a Train Wreck

Is this what the bottom feels like? Iconoculture’s consumer finance experts riff on the economy, the housing market, consumers’ fear, groupsolving and what to watch next.
Download the podcast with Chris Keating, Derek Stubbs and Hans Eisenbeis here:
Podcast: What to Watch in a Train Wreck
33 min., 54 sec.

Crowdsourcing meets Dear Abby on Sidetaker site

by Paul Katz
WHAT’S HAPPENING

Got a beef with a loved one? Let the Net decide who is right or wrong. Sidetaker allows the masses to pass judgment as couples anonymously post each side of an argument.
The concept is simple: Each couple uploads their point/counterpoint view and the webizens vote or post an opinion on the matter.
Recent [...]

“Daylighting” — working a second job on the clock — is on the rise

by Hans Eisenbeis
WHAT’S HAPPENING

Consumers who have gotten used to a certain lifestyle may take drastic measures to maintain that lifestyle, even when the economy tanks. It’s not exactly ethical, since most company’s ask for 100% engagement, but some white-collar workers are finding a way to double up on their work hours (CNN.com 9.23.08). Since they work [...]

MULTIPLE PERSONALITY ORDER

by Josh Kimball
I committed Twittercide the other day. And while I’m sure it was disappointing to the couple hundred Twitter followers who had gotten used to updates on what I ate for dinner (usually lasagna) or my level of exhaustion (high), I retired my account for many reasons — one of which was the fact [...]

Babies, repeat after me: ¡Hola!

by Derek Reveron
WHAT’S HAPPENING

A Spanish-language immersion program in the Washington, D.C. area is teaching Spanish to children as young as one year old.
¡Hola Baby! (Hello Baby) is attracting about 75 young children and their parents to each session at Mount Olivet Methodist Church in Arlington, VA (WashingtonPost.com 10.5.08). Instructor and founder María Elena Giraldo Greene [...]

Rolling Bailouts: The Economic Crisis and Shifting Consumer Values

Times, you may have heard, are tough. Banks are failing, world markets are skittish and our entire economic system is being rewired. So there’s that.
Earlier this month, Iconoculture’s Advisory Team took a look at the crisis. In addition to laying out some historical context, our Point of View brief on the topic offers high-level implications [...]

Best interest rates? Banks bid for depositors at MoneyAisle

by Hans Eisenbeis
WHAT’S HAPPENING

MoneyAisle is a new website that allows consumers to shop for the highest possible interest rates on Certificates of Deposit and  savings accounts. More than 100 local and regional banks have signed up to participate in the bidding wars (New York Times 9.27.08).
Consumers sign up to shop for a CD or a savings account, [...]

The milkman cometh: More boutique dairies offer delivery

by Tory Davis
WHAT’S HAPPENING

Milk home delivery is no longer a nostalgic notion; across the country, dairies are creating or expanding their drop-off services as busy families, homebound Matures and urbanites with a taste for fresh dairy sign up in greater numbers. As the cost of milk skyrockets, the delivery surcharge (which is generally about $.50 [...]

Why exercise when you can pharma-cise?

by Stefania Revelli
WHAT’S HAPPENING

What happens to diet pills when they grow up? They become fitness pills. Researchers at the Salk Institute in San Diego have discovered two new drugs — AICAR and GW1516 — that mimic the effects of physical exercise (Reuters.com 7.31.08).
Lab tests successfully fooled mice muscles into burning fat, using energy more effectively [...]

WALKING AWAY WITH THE FUTURE

by Josh Kimball
Last weekend, I, along with a cadre of colleagues, headed to Los Angeles for Iconosphere, Iconoculture’s annual cultural trend conference. In addition to the recession-proof and copiously flowing booze, what’s on everyone’s lips this year is our current economic crisis.
Of course, for attendees of last October’s Iconosphere, the monumental happenings of these last [...]

Saint Death finds a home in East Hollywood

by Abelardo de la Peña Jr.
WHAT’S HAPPENING

Followers of La Santa Muerte (Saint Death), a female grim reaper worshiped by Mexicans whose lives are filled with danger or violence, congregate in a East Hollywood, CA storefront.
Templo Santa Muerte is foremost a retail establishment where statues, fountains, books, candles, incense and other products bearing her visage are [...]

Payday loans are on the ballot in Ohio and Arizona

by Hans Eisenbeis
WHAT’S HAPPENING

Payday loans are a controversial part of the American financial landscape. They offer short term loans against expected paychecks for a fee — typically $15 for every $100. But consumer advocates point out that those charges amount to a whopping 391% annual interest rate, which is predatory and abusive.
15 states have already passed laws cracking down on [...]

Adaptable cooking plates put dinner guests to work

by Nissa Hanna
WHAT’S HAPPENING

A new Electrolux concept by designer Chris Fox lets dinner party diners cook their own meals. The adaptable cooking plates have surfaces for boiling, stir-frying or grilling food (YankoDesign.com 8.8.08).
The plates connect to form a functional tabletop work area that can wind around the surface of the table. Each modular plate has a heating [...]

Hospital talks teen about, like, prevention

by Sarah Barker
WHAT’S HAPPENING

Euw sick, adults talking about, like, HPV and stuff. The Center for Young Women’s Health, part of Children’s Hospital Boston, recruited real teens to disseminate real information on normal development, diseases and health issues affecting young women (YoungWomensHealth.org 9.08). The goal is to educate and thereby prevent health problems.
The Center’s website features [...]

LA CRISIS ON BEVERLY BOULEVARD

by Abelardo de la Peña Jr.
Located almost equidistant between Beverly Hills and downtown Los Angeles, the Beverly/Normandie neighborhood is a densely populated residential area. Sitting at the far end of a three-block-long business district filled with colorful Latino storefronts is El y Ella (His and Hers) Communication. Owner Rogelio Lorenzo stands at the counter of [...]