{"id":36194,"date":"2013-07-13T15:15:29","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T14:15:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/?p=36194"},"modified":"2013-07-13T15:29:36","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T14:29:36","slug":"the-silent-economy-could-change-the-way-we-acquire-use-stuff-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/alienbabeltech.com\/main\/the-silent-economy-could-change-the-way-we-acquire-use-stuff-2\/","title":{"rendered":"The Silent Economy Could Change The Way We Acquire, Use Stuff"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Untitled-1\"<\/a>It\u2019s New, Better \u2013 <\/span><\/i><\/b>Companies no longer work for a year or more on a new product or device and then roll out something that is spectacularly different. Instead, they roll out a new version with a change here and there so they can tell you how superior it is to the one you bought yesterday. People are becoming less interested in drinking the Kool-Aid today.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

You\u2019ve just gotta\u2019 love PC\/CE\/communications announcements.<\/span><\/p>\n

You know, the one that:<\/span><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span>Happens just after<\/i><\/b> you got your new ultrabook, tablet, smartphone<\/span><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span>Makes people look at you with pity that you have yesteryear\u2019s device<\/span><\/p>\n

Daughter recently got a new iPhone. Son replaced his tablet. They weren\u2019t even a year old fer gawd sake but at that age some status things count.<\/span><\/p>\n

Frankly, I can\u2019t understand how anyone (except the respective company\u2019s marketing folks) could be overwhelmed with the new crop of smartphones, tablets, ultrabooks, TV screens, you name it.<\/span><\/p>\n

New units are nice, but mind-blowing?<\/span><\/p>\n

To die for?<\/span><\/p>\n

Seriously?<\/span><\/p>\n

I can remember back when moving from one computer generation to the next every couple of years was a real step up.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The new stuff they\u2019re \u201cannouncing\u201d?\u00a0 <\/span>NBD (no big deal).\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The new devices aren\u2019t overwhelmingly superior \u2026 just \u201cnew\u201d!<\/span><\/p>\n

Mind Shift<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>I got to thinking about the industry\u2019s drive for new devices after reading a recent Motley Fool <\/i><\/b>article and Google blog.<\/span><\/p>\n

Motley Fool<\/span><\/i><\/b> asked if perhaps we have reached the point where electronics devices are “good enough” and people will stop paying extra for the latest and greatest.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Google blog was about Google Mine — I got a bunch of stuff, people in my circle have a bunch of stuff, I want to use some of their stuff, they want to use some of mine, so we share or rent each other\u2019s stuff.<\/span><\/p>\n

Both were intriguing since we are pushing technology so fast it\u2019s hard for people (normal people) to understand it, deal with it, use it.\"Untitled-2\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Slow Down Boss \u2013 <\/span><\/i><\/b>Technical advances and improvements are coming at us at blinding speed; and for many, it feels like the enhancements are coming faster than they can be absorbed, mastered, used<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Way back in earlier times, people had very few \u201cpossessions.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

When they moved, they packed up their meager belongings and \u2026 moved.<\/span><\/p>\n

When they really needed something new, they borrowed, traded, swapped one thing for someone else\u2019s thing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, we buy so many things we can\u2019t get our cars in the garage because it\u2019s full of things \u2026 our stuff.<\/span><\/p>\n

Picking up and relocating is tough because of all of our stuff.\"Untitled-3\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Moving Time \u2013 <\/span><\/i><\/b>People continue to accumulate more and more stuff to the point they either say they can\u2019t move because of the heavy load or they streamline down to the items that really count and sell\/give away the rest.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Not that we use it that much, but it\u2019s our stuff.<\/span><\/p>\n

Recently, our neighbors — who\u2019s kids had \u201ccome of age\u201d — announced they were moving, downsizing. They were probably doing it to make sure the kids didn\u2019t move home again.<\/p>\n

During the move, they shed a lot of their stuff, keeping memories and selling\/donating the rest. A lot of it they hadn\u2019t used \u2013 probably hadn\u2019t even seen — for years.<\/p>\n

This time, they rented a home instead of buying, saying they could use the money to travel instead of property \u2026 \u201cthings.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ownership Downsizing<\/b><\/p>\n

In talking with the folks at IDC, I found that a lot of younger people have the same idea, rent\/lease, rather than buying.<\/p>\n

Some have explained that they simply don\u2019t have the money what with student loans that need to be paid and trying to build a financial cushion.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re also renting or buying pre-owned (used) stuff because it\u2019s actually a little better for the environment.<\/p>\n

If you look around, there are a lot of examples of people making a conscious decision (or because of tight money) to rent rather than buy. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You know:\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n