Monthly Archives: September 2010

Travelers and agents are Mad As Hell About Hidden Fees

September 30, 2010 – 8:58 pm

by Sarah Barker WHAT’S HAPPENING The American Society of Travel Agents, the Consumer Travel Alliance and the Business Travel Coalition launched MadAsHellAboutHiddenFees.com to garner support and lobby the Department of Transportation to mandate full transparency about extra fees (Current.Newsweek.com 9.8.10). The group named September 23, 2010 (the day they present their petition to the DOT) […]

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Extra credits: Facebook currency goes tangible at Target

September 29, 2010 – 7:31 pm

by Anna Otieno WHAT’S HAPPENING Facebook Credits, the virtual currency used in Facebook games like FarmVille and Action SUDOKU, recently made the jump to real-life retail shelves at Target stores nationwide. Facebook Credits cards can be bought in $15, $25 and $50 increments and are redeemable in over 150 Facebook applications and games. Annual sales […]

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RENAISSANCE RETAILERS

September 28, 2010 – 12:45 pm

by Nissa Hanna Back in 2008 we coined the term “Passion Points of Sale” to describe the emerging trend of retailers reaching out to their customers through shared cultural interests. Fast-forward two years, through a recession that’s molded shoppers into even pickier buyers, and the concept of connecting with consumers by going beyond being a […]

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Dallas program trains future Latino CEOs

September 27, 2010 – 10:46 am

by Rocio Zamora Arzola WHAT’S HAPPENING When looking at the pool of business leaders, Latinos are greatly underrepresented, occupying only 1% of the top corporate executive positions in the nation’s largest corporations (Forbes.com 8.23.10). That’s why the National Hispanic Corporate Council teamed with Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University to create a year-long […]

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Frugality is not quite sexy, but it is considered smart

September 24, 2010 – 8:01 am

by Hans Eisenbeis WHAT’S HAPPENING With the national savings rate in a state of, er, heightened activity, one might wonder whether frugality is chic enough to spark romance. That’s what the folks at ING Direct asked when they surveyed 1,000 Americans in August 2010. The bad news is that just 3.7% of respondents think frugality […]

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FoodPair links cooks with recipes from multiple food sites

September 23, 2010 – 8:08 am

by Nina Elder WHAT’S HAPPENING FoodPair, a new recipe search engine, helps consumers take what’s in the pantry and the fridge and turn it into dinner (TrendCentral.com 9.2.10). Here’s how it works: If a consumer types in “chicken,” up pop 15 options, from chicken breast to chicken fat and chicken sausage. Choosing chicken breast pulls […]

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20somethings drag their heels on growing up

September 22, 2010 – 7:39 am

by Cree McCree WHAT’S HAPPENING Young adults in their 20s go through an average of seven jobs, move back home with alarming frequency and marry later than ever. The New York Times Magazine looks at the “changing timetable for adulthood” in a major cover story (8.22.10). While the downturn doubtless amped phenoms like boomerang kids, […]

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STOP POKING ME, DAD!

September 21, 2010 – 3:13 pm

by Robert van Alstyne Once upon a time, Facebook was essentially a digital dorm, a collegiate-only outpost where saucy banter and hard-partying profile pictures carried the day. Not anymore, now that Mom, Dad and even Grandma have crashed the party. As of May 2010, half of Internet users age 50 to 64 were using social […]

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alt.latino: Public radio’s take on Latin Alternative

September 20, 2010 – 11:00 am

by Abelardo de la Pena Jr. WHAT’S HAPPENING When cumbia mixes with electronica, or dancehall meets Dominican merengue, that’s Latin Alternative, as defined by the hosts of alt.latino, a podcast and blog on National Public Radio’s music site. The theme-based weekly show surveying the new Latino soundscape is hosted by Argentina-born Jasmine Serena Garsd and […]

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A recession today keeps the doctor away

September 17, 2010 – 8:05 am

by Hans Eisenbeis WHAT’S HAPPENING As with all other forms of consumer spending, Americans have cut back on “discretionary” medical expenses like family checkups and elective procedures. An August 2010 study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that more than one in four Americans have reduced their use of routine medical care due […]

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Wrangling and redeeming points is the Art of Vacationing

September 16, 2010 – 6:45 am

by Sarah Barker WHAT’S HAPPENING Loyalty programs, credit card points — there’s a free trip in there somewhere but how to actually arrange it? That’s the Art of Vacationing, a travel service that turns miles and points into a real trip (USAToday.com 8.3.10). Instead of spending hours with websites and recorded phone menus, points hoarders […]

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Arcade Fire takes fans on Wilderness trip

September 15, 2010 – 10:12 am

by Robert van Alstyne WHAT’S HAPPENING Chart-topping art-rockers Arcade Fire have collaborated with director Chris Milk and 
“some friends from Google” to create The Wilderness Downtown, a music video Web experience for their latest single, “We Used to Wait.” The first-of-its-kind interactive film puts consumers’ pasts in the center of the band’s artistic vision. Before […]

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HISTORY REPEATING

September 14, 2010 – 12:25 pm

by Abelardo de la Pena Jr. In 1932 the city of Los Angeles hired David Alfaro Siqueiros, a Mexican artist who influenced such greats as Jackson Pollock, to design a bucolic scene on a wall overlooking Olvera Street, an alleyway converted to resemble a tourist-friendly Mexican village. Working at night with donated equipment and supplies, […]

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Multiracial rapper heats up the hip hop and fashion scene

September 13, 2010 – 10:39 am

by Abelardo de la Pena Jr. WHAT’S HAPPENING Blaxican in the house! Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi, a.k.a. Kid Cudi, is heating up the hip hop scene with a rap style inspired by groups like A Tribe Called Quest; a flexible view of fashion ranging from Japanese-inspired street style to tailored suits; and an alter ego […]

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Consumers asked, banks listened: Instant debit cards

September 10, 2010 – 9:51 am

by Hans Eisenbeis WHAT’S HAPPENING Debit card growth through the Great Recession has been the silver lining in an otherwise black cloud, as consumers became control freaks about controlling their own money. Many card issuers have responded by focusing on innovations in debit products and service. A 2010 study by Pulse finds that one of […]

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