Lifestyle search is the new black

If the last two years were a race by the big portals to get listings into their databases, then 2009 is looking like it will be the year that the race shifts to who can add the richest context to all of that data (see Neighborhood Search Comes Back).

We’ve gone from the refrain being listings, listings, listings — to the more familiar; location, location, location.

Case in point, FrontDoor last week launched its new City Guides - an ambitious editorial project aimed at building up relevant content for all the major metro areas. The site has hired professional editors to curate stories and articles aimed at helping people better understand the cities that they are searching for online real estate.

A big part of the push seems to be on video content, which was another big trend emerging out of Connect last week — video seems be finally on the verge of more widespread adoption inside of real estate (check out what Halstead Property is doing with their ProperTV initiative, for example).

Curiously though, Frontdoor does not seem to have enabled embedding of their videos. I would have thought it would make sense for the company to enable brokers/agents to take and embed their neighborhood videos on their own sites through a customized player that drove links back to Frontdoor and through content that drove awareness of their brand. Just like what Trulia did with their market data widgets, when they first launched.

On a slightly different note, Onboard Informatics launched a new product they are calling their Lifestyles Listings Engine which enables their partners to take a real estate search beyond the ZIP code.

The key here is to enable consumers to discover more about the places that they want to live before they get to the actual property search. This is a trend we’re starting see more and more sites offer (see Estately Comes to Portland).

Finally, on a lighter note, for those of out there already on the hunt for a home and need more information about where you are looking, check out Lethal, a new application for the iPhone. With the push of a button, Lethal finds your immediate location and tells you how safe you are. It could just save you from a big mistake.

There are Other Kinds of Career - (3) Lifestyle Careers

A Lifestyle Career is most apparent at present in Generation X although is certainly visible in the other generational groups. Barnaby works 3 days a week for a local authority and spends 2 days a week bringing up his 2 young children. Pam, his wife, works 3 days a week for an international oil company and spends 2 days a week looking after their children. On one day a week only the children go to a child minder. Barnaby and Pam are both clear that “you only get one chance to bring up and enjoy your kids and we are not going to miss out on that”. Consequently, any major career progression or job changing will be put on hold until the children are both at school. They will then review where they are and maybe make some career changes at that point. Barnaby is more likely to move on, as at heart he is actually a serial careerist. Pam is more likely to seek advancement in the company, as at heart she is a single-track careerist. What we are finding is that the work – family dimension is not the only factor promoting this work style. Some people wish to travel, do voluntary work abroad, return to being a student. In later years the work – family dimension may appear again with older relatives who need to be cared for. The latest statistics that we have show that the average woman now spends more time caring for one or both parents than she did bringing up her children.
Pluses? The opportunity to combine a range of paid and unpaid work that is important to you. Paid work does not dominate your life. You have a more balanced style of life. You can always shift into a different career pattern if your lifestyle changes.
Minuses? Career advancement is likely to suffer. Promotion can be seen as a headache rather than an opportunity. Financially there may be a price to pay, as even today it is not always possible to get a part time job with the level of flexibility that is required.

The recession is not a lifestyle choice

It’s been so long since we’ve had an economic downturn that people have forgotten recessions are about being fired, losing your home, and companies going under.

The mainstream press is instead treating the recession more like a seasonal change in fashion.

In a strange echo of the frivolous attitude that stoked up the debt bubble in the first place, much of the media seems to see the recession as a new ’story’, just as they’d salute skirts going back above the knee or the return of cashmere.

Over the past few months I’ve noticed:

• Articles in glossy magazines explaining how to throw a thrifty Christmas party, with top tips such as forgoing a party bag for each guest, and plumping for free-range turkey instead of a goose for that special retro touch
• Fashion writers talking of a new austere mood on the catwalks, which supposedly means that a £5,000 jacket with a few less shiny buttons is in touch with the times
• Photos of well-groomed kids tumbling out of Range Rovers in remote corners of the country in articles extolling the joys of a stay-at-home holiday
• Countless jokey references to the credit crunch and resultant penury throughout the lifestyle sections of newspapers and magazines

I don’t want to sound too mean-spirited about this; lifestyle journalists have mortgages to pay, too, and I’ve nothing against a bit of fun to brighten up dark times.

But what worries me is that for the average person in the street, these silly articles constitute their main information diet for dealing with the recession!