Minnow's Five Things

1. This week I received a press release about a ‘fun’ holiday gift for kids called the iSafe Backpack. They are bags with a built-in alarm to help protect yourself and your children from predators lurking the streets. Is this the world we live in? Where we send our children out into the world…to develop self-confidence and independence—but wait—don’t forget to make sure the batteries to the alarm in your backpack are working. Just in case you get kidnapped. Or mugged. Every morning. Walking to school. With your friends. But don’t be nervous. Have a great day, honey!
Pop Up Store Walmart-Mattel pop-up toy store (Handout Photo)

2. In the category of what’s new in the world of retail, it’s safe to say that the virtual pop-up store is the latest and greatest. It’s no wonder that with the holidays approaching Mattel and Walmart have come together to launch the first one for commuters in Toronto. Located in the PATH, Toronto’s underground walkway, the virtual toy store will run for four weeks and will provide the ultimate ease in shopping by providing images of toys and a UPC code to scan for purchase. Then the commuter/shopper goes home and waits for the delivery. It’s that simple. I’m interested to see how well it does. Maybe they could set one up outside Savvy HQ next!

3. Between the storm recovery efforts and the election, there was a lot that caught my attention (and the whole world’s attention) in the US this week. Despite the close numbers, I wasn’t surprised at the end result. I did note that Romney’s speech was rather short and not as emotional as I expected. Clearly that was not the one he had planned to deliver. As far as the rescue efforts in New York and New Jersey go, one of my favourite stories was about the marathon runners taking supplies to those without food and water. New York truly is an amazing resilient city.

4. Speaking of doing good deeds, there is a church in Anthem, AZ that is actually encouraging the use of social media during services. How about that for a sign of the times? Many social media types would applaud this, I’m sure. The pastor is on record as saying this is a great way to get the story of Jesus Christ out to as many people as possible. I can’t say I’m on board myself, but religion is a very personal choice, so who am I to judge?