7 Gadgets From ‘The Jetsons’ That Have Become a Reality

By Krystal Rogers-Nelson

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Editor’s Note: This was originally published on RISMedia’s blog, Housecall. See what else is cookin’ now at blog.rismedia.com:

If you were around during either run of “The Jetsons”—first in 1962 and again in 1985—you may have watched the show and wondered if the technology the futuristic family used would ever become a reality. In fact, quite a few of the gadgets used on the show have become commonplace in real life. From robotic maids to video chatting, here’s a look at how the future predicted by “The Jetsons” has become the present, and how you can get in on it today.

1. Robot VacuumsThe Jetsons had robotic helpers that took care of all sorts of daily tasks around the house. Rosie, the family’s robot maid, was always working to keep their home in tip-top shape. While we may not be quite at the Rosie level with our robots, little helpers like the Roomba from iRobot can get you pretty close.

Roomba will take care of the vacuuming for you. It may still need some maintenance—like emptying dust bins or making sure the floor is clear so it can do its job—but if you hate vacuuming, this little guy is going to be your best friend. These types of home automation devices promise to free up tons of time for more important activities in your day-to-day lives.

2. Even if you can’t catch up on your Netflix queue, today’s smartwatches have a lot of futuristic capabilities. You can take calls, set reminders, check sports scores, see weather forecasts, and do other tasks right on your wrist.SmartwatchesWay back when Steve Jobs was just a boy, the Jetsons had little square watches they would watch TV on. While the Apple Watch doesn’t have the ability to stream television—yet—it does bear a striking resemblance to the gadget the Jetsons used almost 50 years before the Apple Watch was unveiled.

3. Video CallsAnother technological capability that probably seemed far-fetched at the time “The Jetsons” aired was video chatting. The characters would call each other up and communicate as if they were face-to-face. These days, apps like FaceTime and Skype make it as easy as tapping a contact name.

Of all the advances in technology that have accompanied the smartphone craze, video chatting might be the most life changing. Grandparents can see their grandkids from thousands of miles away at any time. Soldiers can chat with their spouses and children from across the ocean. The impact this tech has had on families can’t be overstated.

4. Talking TechIn “The Jetsons,” George was woken up each day by a talking alarm clock built into his bed. After being rudely startled awake, he could silence the alarm with his own voice—usually an angry grunt or groan.

If you want the talking alarm clock experience, plenty of options are available. Smartphone apps like the Rock Clock allow you to rise every morning to Dwayne Johnson’s soothing vocals, while dedicated alarm clocks that talk to you are available for the old-school consumer.

Flat-Screen TVsIt isn’t just alarms that talk, though. It’s possible to have anything on your screen read to you using accessibility tech like screen readers, and digital assistants like Siri and Alexa will not only speak info to you, but also have actual conversations with you.

5. At a time when many TVs were still black and white and all of them were thick and bulky with tiny screens, “The Jetsons” featured flat-screen TVs with huge screens that lowered from the ceiling. In the ’60s, this would have been unthinkable.

Today’s televisions are ultra-thin and often very light with huge screens and ridiculously high resolutions. LG unveiled a model at CES this year that is less than 2.6 millimeters thick and weighs only 17 pounds—and it’s a 65-inch display!

TVs that retract into the ceiling are also a thing. Companies like Nexus 21 can install a TV concealment system that makes it impossible to tell anything is there until you’re ready to watch, keeping your walls and living space open until show time.

6. Consumer-oriented drones are basically futuristic RC cars, and military drones fly combat missions while keeping our troops out of harm’s way. Even Amazon’s delivery drones can have an order to your doorstep in less than 30 minutes. Self-driving cars are also coming along nicely, so it might not be long before these technologies converge to bring us our very own Jetsons-style transport pods.DronesThe Jetson kids were dropped off at school each day by robotic drones—a far cry from the school buses most of us grew up with. While we are still a long way off from personal drones to chauffeur us around, the technology is advancing rapidly, and drones are being used for a variety of purposes.

7. Pill CamerasA piece of technology that’s easy to miss both on “The Jetsons” and in everyday life is the PillCam. On the show, George swallows a little robot that travels around his body and performs a checkup. If you’ve had any sort of digestive issues in the last several years, the chances are good you may have swallowed a very similar device.

The PillCam is exactly what it sounds like—a camera in a pill-shaped case that you swallow. It can be a little hard to choke down due to the size, but once swallowed, the camera goes to work, imaging your digestive tract and transmitting the info to a receiver. This helps diagnose a variety of illnesses, like Crohn’s disease, and helps the patient avoid a much more elaborate and invasive endoscopy procedure.

“The Jetsons” first aired in 1962, and, 50 years later, the show’s futuristic vision of life has very nearly become a reality. What do you think our homes and lives will be like in another 50 years?

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How to Use Snapchat for Real Estate 101

• ByPAIGE
• Posted in Marketing & Branding, Real Estate Marketing, Social Media Marketing
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The trick to real estate in today’s digital world is to be tech-savvy. As a real estate agent, your business and services, and the way in which you market them need to stay current with the world you live in. It’s crucial to be familiar with the internet, smartphones and tablets, but you also need to be aware of the applications available on these platforms, as they can help you succeed within the industry. One of the biggest cultural and technical trends of today is Snapchat. With 100 million daily active users as reported by Expanded Ramblings, Snapchat can be more than just a source of entertainment, but a powerful marketing tool for your firm.

What is Snapchat?

Snapchat can be summed up as being all of the most popular social media apps combined into one. It’s a messaging app that allows users to communicate via text, photos and short videos that only for a short amount of time. For example, you can take a photo of the interior of a new home you’ve listed on the market, and share it directly with your clients (they must also have a Snapchat account). They’ll be able to see the photo for up to 10-seconds. You can also share it on your story to connect with everyone that follows you, in which it’ll appear for 24-hours.

Use your Snapchat to Provide your Clients with What They Want

There’s no denying that most people do use Snapchat as a source of entertainment. However, people also subconsciously (and consciously) use Snapchat to find valuable information that pertains to them, such as fancy interiors, do-it-yourself projects, home gadgets and even home listings.  Whether your clients are using it for entertainment, information or a combination of both, you can leverage it to provide valuable content.

Share photos and videos of homes for sale, unique interiors and even home gadgets that everyone will enjoy. Even if your clients aren’t buying or selling a house right now, they will start to associate your Snapchat as being an entertaining, valuable and informative place for enjoyable content.

Brand Yourself as an Area Expert with On-Demand Geo Filters

Arguably, one of the best Snapchat features for real estate agents is the geo filters. These are filters (similar to a virtual sticker) that Snapchat users can apply to their content if they’re in a specific area. For Snapchat users, placing a geo filter allows you to brand your content without having to say much. When you’re in a specific area, unique filters become available that are associated with your location.

For real estate agents, this provides an excellent marketing advantage. You can instantly brand yourself as an area expert by creating a geo filter specific to an area. For example, when users are in a city and/or area, they can use your fun, unique and innovative filter. In turn, everyone that they share their content with will also see your filter, which helps build brand awareness and generate interest. You can have your geo filter available for anyone within a minimum of 5,000 square feet to a maximum of 5,000,000 square feet.

Use On-Demand Geo Filters to Promote an Event

Since on-demand geo filters are associated with a specific location, real estate agents can use them to promote special events. If you’re hosting a community event or participating in a local charity, brand your real estate services with an on-demand geo filter. This allows you to raise brand awareness, while also bringing awareness to the event and/or charities in which you’re involved.

In addition, the on-demand geo filter would be available for everyone at the event. As such, all attendees would also be enticed to apply the filter to their content because it pertains to them and helps create a story within their content without having to type a message, apply stickers, emoticons, etc.\

The Snapchat Secret is Creativity

The secret to Snapchat success is creativity. The on-demand geo filters can be used to promote everything from an open house, community event or local charity – and that’s only to name a few. However, it’s up to you to find new and innovative ways and designs in which you can use geo filters to bring awareness to your brand and services. The filter needs to be informative, yet visually appealing. After all, you are designing an on-demand geo filter with the hopes that other people within the area will also use it to increase word-of-mouth and interest.

So, it’s imperative to keep your clients in mind when choosing an on-demand filter to implement into your Snapchat marketing strategy. While it may be tempting to design one with your name and phone number, you have to remember that it needs to be something your users will want to apply to their content. It takes a bit of creativity, but the rewards can be exponential.

Snapchat’s on-demand geo filters definitely have the potential to change the way businesses advertise on their platform. The options are endless and constantly evolving, and consumers love it just as much as businesses do. So, this is one social media application you’ll want to add into your social media marketing strategy.

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Popeyes to Be Bought by Owners of Burger King and Tim Hortons

By JULIE JARGON

Updated Feb. 21, 2017 10:57 a.m. ET

Brazilian private-equity firm 3G Capital Partners LP sealed a deal in the restaurant business, just days after its plans to create a global packaged goods juggernaut fell apart.

Restaurant Brands International Inc., which was created in 2014 when 3G-owned Burger King bought Canadian doughnut chain Tim Hortons, said Tuesday it will buy chicken chain Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Inc. for about $1.64 billion. 3G Capital-backed Kraft Heinz Co. last week made a $143 billion offer for consumer products giant Unilever PLC but dropped its bid over the weekend after Unilever said it wasn’t interested in a tie-up.

Restaurant Brands, which expanded its Burger King and Tim Hortons brands into new international markets, is planning to follow the same playbook with Popeyes. The move, though small relative to what 3G had attempted on the packaged food side, will help the private-equity firm extend its global reach.

Restaurant Brands executives said they see huge growth potential for Popeyes in Asia. Yum Brands Inc.’s KFC chain is the biggest fast-food chicken brand in China. Popeyes has no restaurants in that country, so it would be a long time before Popeyes could make any headway there.

“There’s no reason this brand shouldn’t be multiple times its size,” Restaurant Brands Chief Executive Daniel Schwartz said in an interview. “We see no reason we can’t plug this into our global network and accelerate the pace of growth.”

The strategy of buying a restaurant chain heavily concentrated in one market and expanding it into new ones fits the broader 3G playbook.

The private-equity firm bought ketchup giant H.J. Heinz Co. in 2013 because it liked the company’s strong global presence. It then bought Kraft Foods Group Inc. because that company’s business, which was concentrated in the U.S., complemented Heinz’s stronger global reach allowing it to introduce Kraft brands to other parts of the world. Merging Kraft Heinz with Unilever would have opened up additional markets for the company and diversified its portfolio by getting into nonfood packaged goods, such as soap and laundry detergent.

The Popeyes deal, expected to close in April, would diversify Restaurant Brands’s portfolio by adding chicken to its existing pair of a burger and coffee-and-doughnut chain. Restaurant Brands said it would pay $79 a share, a 19% premium to the company’s $66.12 closing price Friday.

Popeyes shares recently traded up 19% to $78.80.

Restaurant Brands said Popeyes is where Burger King was, in terms of growth, when 3G bought the latter in 2010. That year, Burger King opened 173 net new restaurants. The new owners accelerated the pace of growth, pushing Burger King into Latin America, Europe and the Middle East. The growth was fueled by a push to put more restaurants into the hands of franchisees. Last year, Burger King opened 735 net new restaurants for a total of more than 15,700 world-wide.

Restaurant Brands, meanwhile, brought more Tim Hortons to the U.S. and to new overseas markets such as the Philippines.

Like Burger King and Tim Hortons, Popeyes is also nearly 100% franchise-owned. Popeyes, founded in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1972, is among the best-performing fast food chains. Last year, it opened 159 net new restaurants and now has more than 2,600 restaurants, mostly in the U.S.

Restaurant Brands operates under 3G’s bare-bones approach to running a company, using “zero-based” budgeting each year and cutting out what it sees as frivolous costs, including color copies. When 3G buys a company, its first approach normally involves identifying any excess costs and cutting them.

After 3G bought Burger King, it quickly laid off corporate employees and began selling more restaurants to franchisees. Popeyes is already pretty lean.

Chief Executive Cheryl Bachelder helped franchisees cut costs when she took over what was a struggling chain in 2007. She has used technology to better manage inventory and schedule labor and has turned to food prepared off site to cut down on time spent cooking. She helped the company save $40 million in supply chain costs in a period of three years by finding new manufacturing, shipping and packaging processes. She also has said that automation is an answer to higher labor costs.

Mr. Schwartz on Tuesday acknowledged that there may not be as much opportunity for cost-cutting at Popeyes as there was at Burger King.

“This one is all about growth,” he said.

The average Popeyes rings up about $1.4 million in average annual sales, and the company last year set a goal of boosting that to $2 million in the next seven to 10 years. The chain also set a goal of boosting franchisee profitability to $500,000 per restaurant during that time frame, up from $333,000.

Restaurant Brands was advised by Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton and Garrison LLP. Popeyes was advised by UBS and Genesis Capital LLC and received legal counsel from King & Spalding LLP.