The Don Edam Group | Real Estate Professionals Serving Minneapolis, Edina, St. Paul and Surrounding Suburbs

Most of us realize there are changes we should make in our lives and in our homes to become more environmentally friendly, but overcoming inertia and actually doing it can be another matter. Now, the folks at Springwise point us to a few different companies offer starter kits to help make those changes happen.

Greensender, which just launched in October, sells green gift boxes designed to help people start embracing simple green practices. Each Greensender box contains a reusable aluminium water bottle, a reusable organic cotton grocery bag, an energy-efficient compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulb and an organic cotton T-shirt—all selected for their easy integration into people’s everyday lives, Greensender says. Prices are $49.99 for the Big Greensender Box or $39.99 for a version without the T-shirt; individual items are available separately as well. Logo-emblazoned versions can also be purchased for corporate or event purposes, and New Jersey-based Greensender donates at least one percent of its sales to 1% For The Planet.

GoGreenGift, meanwhile, packs a reusable bag with a CFL bulb; a low-flow shower head; organic fruit leather, coffee and tea; assorted herbal body care products; and its GoGreen EcoGuide. The kits are available in original and deluxe versions for $45 and $63, respectively.

Virginia-based Green-kits, which launched earlier this year, offers a variety of eco kits including basic and deluxe starter kits along with packages focused on cleaning, the kitchen, and baby care. Prices begin at $10.

A full 87 percent of Americans are “seriously concerned” about the environment, according to the 2007 GfK Roper Green Gauge study, yet only 30 percent of the population is actively ‘green’. The remainder, and the rest of the over-developed world? Nothing short of a ripe opportunity!

It may not be the sexiest ambassador of new technology, but the home security industry has stealthily become one of the most important. Options for securing our residences are transcending clumsy lock and key scenarios with new solutions that would have sounded like fodder for sci-fi movies only a few years ago.

Keyless entry locks that recognize fingerprints, hand geometry and other biometric imprints are surfacing in retail stores. Security cameras that can be monitored remotely via a PC or mobile device are commonplace. And networked security systems are increasingly tying in with other whole-home systems such as audio/video and thermostat control. Home & Design Magazine points some of the safest bets in off-the-shelf home security innovation. Read On

There’s nothing like compelling content to engage potential customers, and the folks at Springwise point us to Realius.com who is doing just that with its Fantasy Real Estate suite of online games.

The first of these, Price Me Now, was demonstrated at the TechCrunch40 Conference in September and crowned Most Creative Idea at the Web 2.0 Summit a month later. Now in beta, the game challenges players to guess the prices of actual homes for sale in their market by viewing the photos and property details provided by the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Players earn points based on their performance against the Realius price, an aggregation of previous player estimates and the actual list price; in the near future, prizes will be awarded to the best pricers. The game is free to users, but real estate companies and professionals can purchase in-game placement as “coaches” who guide players and make their own professional guesses. Licensing fees, referrals and market reports are also part of Realius’s planned revenue model.

Chuck Teller, CEO of the California start-up, explains: “Realius captures the synergies between the enormous popular interest in casual gaming and Americans’ obsession with real estate. Our games engage consumers as they dream about, search for, buy, furnish, remodel and sell their homes in ways that are incredibly fun-but also instructive.”

Other games in the works at Realius include Fantasy Flip, which lets homeowners give their homes virtual makeovers and then solicit opinions on how much the changes would increase their value, and Major League Investor, which pits players against one another as they build fantasy property portfolios. The games currently focus on the company’s home base of the San Francisco Bay Area, but they’re a nice example of marketing through content – which could be particularly important for weathering tough business climates such as the one faced by real estate today.

Back in 2003, trendwatching.com coined the term nethoods to describe an emerging trend: “neighborhoods, streets and even apartment buildings are starting to get their own internet and intranet sites: not just to promote the many qualities they have to offer their (prospective) inhabitants, but also to provide communal interaction and localised services.”

A recent example of this trend is LifeAt. Launched in March 2007, LifeAt offers property managers a turnkey solution for launching a nethood for their building. So far, over 335 buildings have joined. The property websites are private and password protected, for use by residents only. Besides offering a platform where residents can meet and communicate, sites also allow users to post classified ads and rate and review local businesses. In addition, property managers post news about vacancies and maintenance work.

By connecting people who tend to share not only a building but also similar socioeconomic backgrounds, and offering them a source of hyperlocal information, LifeAt is creating valuable links between cyberspace and ‘meatspace’. The concept is likely to find a wider audience now that people of all ages are getting used to sharing information online. Free for residents, LifeAt charges buildings a one-off fee of around $6,000 to create and launch a site.