...I'm not a "basement-dwelling, trenchcoat-wearing, socially maladjusted introvert." I came across this article from ReadWriteWeb that sites a Pew Internet Project survey that heavy internet users tend to be more socially active than there non-internet counterparts. Funny thing about stereotypes, isn't it? Dang it; just had my trenchcoat dry cleaned too.

Bing Maps just released an upgrade that will allow you to input multiple destination addresses and then export the resulting directions directly to your GPS device. I haven't tried it yet but it sure looks like it might be a good solution for spending the day showing houses. The draggable route feature is pretty cool, too.

Getting the regular flu shot was pretty easy for me this year but the H1N1 has been scarce. Google has added a feature that will help you find both in your area. It's www.google.com/flushot. In the map below, the little blue syringes are where I can get H1N1 and reds are for the regular flu shot. Pretty cool, huh?

I posted this graph last week but decided to update it a bit by adding the number of units sold and the trend line. While the Median price from last October to this October is about the same, there are fewer units that were sold but the difference is pretty small. I find this interesting because there is a lot of talk about a "shadow" inventory of homes that are not on the market. Two reasons are generally given for the "shadow": 1.) homes held by banks but not yet listed and 2.) seller reluctance. None of that is indicated by our local numbers.

If you are feeling a bit overwhelmed trying to use the big three, try this on for size: "...The average company responding in the study stated they are using seven different social media enterprises; with 65% staffing the initiatives in-house.", says an article at Examiner.com. "Business.com recently published the findings of their 2009 Social Media Benchmark Study of almost 3,000 professionals across the United States." One their findings that I thought was interesting is that the IT people in a corporation tend to use social media the least,

Typepad is running a series of tips on their main blog. As of today, they have only published 3 of the 10 but the first 2 are related to improving SEO. I suspect it is going to be a very good daily read for this week. Over the weekend, I actually read an article on SEO that said having a sitemap doesn't real do much good. I dunno. I don't think it hurts so I'm going to leave mine in place

Technophobes are quick to talk about people spending tooo much time online and they use that as their excuse for not getting up to snuff on their tech. Maybe a healthy dose of online time is better than the apple-a-day. Pew Research chimes in on this debate. I think that what I would most like to know is exactly how much online time is too much?

I guess growing up with Dick Tracy that I can't resist futuristic topics like this one at the NYT. Some days I think that I could never want any more technology than I already have and then some smart person comes up with a clever idea that I never thought of and now I gotta have it. I guess that's what keeps the wheels of commerce rolling. And then the thought crosses my mind, "What new innovations are we coming up with?".

This is a graph of ALL sales in DeKalb County for the past three years. We are almost back to the average sales price of a year ago! Plus, the trend is in the right direction. Good stuff.

I was in a mall this past weekend and noticed a boy maybe 7 years old with a cellphone. It just struck me as odd but it's really not. This article is both an interesting study in what kids and teens are doing with their cellphones but also an interesting preview into the future of our real estate clientele. There are some very good guidelines for parents here also.