Time for overstock.com and liquidation.com?

Seems like high-priced products may be on sale after the slow holiday.

"We would say it's aspirational brands, high-end deluxe -- that's what really taking the hit," said Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne. (San Jose Mercury News, 12/25/08)

"A lot of these Fortune 500 companies are trying to save costs and raise cash. This channel we have is a source of working capital for them," adds Bill Angrick, CEO of Liquidation.com.

Happiness is contagious

This just in from medical study -- surround yourself with happy friends!

Happy people tended to be at the center of social networks and had many friends who were also happy. Having friends or siblings nearby increased people's chances of being upbeat. Happiness spread outward by three degrees, to the friends of friends of friends.

Happy spouses helped, too, but not as much as happy friends of the same gender. Experts think people, particularly woman, take emotional cues from people who look like them.

Christakis and Fowler estimate that each happy friend boosts your own chances of being happy by 9 percent. Having grumpy friends decreases it by about 7 percent.

Don't Micromanage Employees

I have had several excellent bosses and the best show "tough love" for business results but don't micromanage the details. A Wall Street Journal entitled Micromanagers Miss Bull's-Eye by Cari Tuna calls out the problem -- "dealing With every detail robs subordinates of the freedom to solve problems" and prevents their development.

The article suggests that managers:

1) Clearly articulate expectations
2) Offer constructive feedback
3) Give employees decision-making power
4) Focus on hiring and placement of subordinates

Find out about new career opportunities

The economic challenges have forced many people to think about new careers. A new book out, No Job? No Prob! has many recommendations, but two interesting websites include:

www.LiveCareer.com
www.CareerTest.com

Atheists more likely to believe in Bigfoot?

A new book, "What Americans Really Believe", reviewed in the WSJ, says that traditional Christian religion decreases belief in such things as palm reading and astrology. The irreligious, on the other hand, tend to be more likely to believe in the paranormal and pseudoscience.

Beats me, but the "conspiracy" shows are running amok in Hollywood (Fringe, Lost, X-Files) suggesting that we all need to believe in something out of the ordinary!

Do private house rental sites work?

My family has been hit-and-miss with VRBO.com (vacation rentals by owner), a site which has bought us both gems and scams.

This is not uncommmon, says Michelle Higgins in a story in today's The New York Times. She says the professionally managed rentals, like zonder.com, forGetaway.com, and PickPackGO.com, offer a certain quality control since management companies run the facilities and the sites accept credit cards.

The owner-rented sites, such as Homeaway.com and VRBO offer you cost-savings, but beg for more interaction with owner for verification of quality. A new site, call FlipKey.com, will allow past renters to offer reviews.

CrossLoop gets techie help to friends

CrossLoop allows the tech-savvy (you, or an expert) to help out the non-savvy (you or friend and often older family member) via direct control of their computers. 

To use, both you and the person you are helping must go to www.crossloop.com and download the software. The sessions require both parties to be in attendance (to avoid renegade remote control of a computer).

This seems like an intriguing way to connect the 1-in-100 techie with the other 99.