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Bloggin' Ain't Easy

Jon Asato, a local blogger, has a simple business plan for three blogs he runs on Hawaii related happenings. "I've been trying to reach the magic cable bill amount," says Asato, explaining that his modest profit goal is to garner just enough money to pay his cable bill.

click for larger image comic courtesy of talkstink.com

Asato, 33, first launched TalkStink.com, a humorous blog that uses wit and an occasional comic strip to lampoon entertainment industry figures and dissect odd news bits, though it occasionally delves into local politics. Asato first got into blogging to vent frustrations and bring levity to a sometimes maddening post-Sept. 11 world. He later launched Wieblog.com, which chronicles Michelle Wie's exploits, and CrapholeIsland.com, which discusses the hit TV show "Lost." Asato says he launched the later two sites with the aim of tripling his revenue.

He didn't. Ironically, Asato and a small cadre of Hawaii bloggers are running into what a lot of national companies run into in Hawaii, limitations of market size. Unlike national blogs on such things as Beltway politics, Asato has a limited audience of blog readers in Hawaii.

For revenue, Asato depends mainly on such ventures as Google AdSense, which puts ad links on his blog pages and pays him on a sliding scale depending on how much people use the links. "I am not making enough money to pay for hosting and domain registration and monthly Internet charges," Asato says.

Right now, he is mainly spurred on by the occasional mention of someone around town cracking up at one of his blog postings, and spends the rest of his creative time pounding out a novel he hopes to market next year. He also plans to keep doing odd jobs to pay the cable bill.

-Scott Radway

Hawaii Business defines often-spoken words, new and old, to help you make sense of what's being said.

Flight Risk: OfficeSlang.com says this term, once used just for people who might jump bail, has been adapted for a coworker that everyone suspects is planning to leave the company. Coworker1: Eh, how come Max wearing one suit? Coworker2: He probably had one interview. He's one flight risk, fo' shua. -Scott Radway Email confusing words to hbeditorial@pacificbasin.net

Funny Money

How about this for upmarket? A one-night stay at a hotel on Waikiki Beach will cost you a cool $10.5 million. That's the going room rate if you are playing the recently released Here & Now edition of Monopoly. The good news is, if you are the first to land on Waikiki Beach property, which replaces Indiana Avenue from the old edition, it costs just $2.2 million, fee simple. (Hasbro apparently doesn't know about Hawaii's predilection for leasehold land.)

All kidding aside, Waikiki was among 22 properties that Hasbro selected for its new edition. Spokesman Mark Newman says the original game was modeled after properties in Atlantic City, which was the destination of choice in America back then. But to update the game, designers decided to replace the properties with the top destinations today.

photo courtesy of Hasbro

Once Parker Brothers had picked 22 general locations, they had people vote on where the landmarks would go on the board. Waikiki finished 10th, just behind Disney World, with 169,417 votes. Times Square, which replaces Boardwalk, was No. 1, with 194,891. The property with the fewest votes was Jacobs Field in Cleveland, with 151,338.

Newman notes that while Times Square might be on the most prestigious spot on the board, the red properties, of which Waikiki is one, are the most landed upon properties in Monopoly and perhaps the best moneymakers.

- Scott Radway

Average Earnings by Education:2004
ADVANCED DEGREE $78,093	BACHELOR' DEGREE $51,554	HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA $28,645	No Diploma $19,169
source: US Census Bureau

The Mall King

In our snap shot of retail across the Islands, one thing is crystal clear: General Growth Properties (NYSE: GGP) reigns. Chicago-based GGP manages 56.1 percent of the gross leasable area for the Top 10 retail centers in the state. That's a considerable climb from 10 years ago, when it managed an already notable 32 percent. Back then, GGP had not yet bought Ala Moana, though it did manage it. GGP also owned and managed Prince Kuhio Plaza in 1996.

- Scott Radway

RANK	CENTER	GENERAL GROWTH AREA (SQ. FT.)	GROSS LEASABLE PROPERTIES (SQ. FT.)	MANAGEMENT
1	Ala Moana Center, Oahu	1,800,000	1,800,000	General Growth Properties *
2	Pearlridge Shopping Center, Oahu	1,250,000		MMI Realty
3	Queen Kaahumanu Center, Maui	572,900	572,900	General Growth Properties
4	Ward Centers, Oahu	535,000	535,000	General Growth Properties *
5	Windward Mall, Oahu	530,000	530,000	General Growth Properties
6	Waikele Center, Oahu	521,300		PM Realty Group Hawaii
7	Prince Kuhio Plaza, Hawaii	505,600	505,600	General Growth Properties *
8	Kukui Grove & Marketplace, Kauai	457,500		CB Richard Ellis
9	Town Center of Mililani, Oahu	438,200		Colliers Monroe Friedlander
10	Kahala Mall, Oahu	418,000		MMI Realty
Total Gross Leasable Area (sq. ft.)		7,028,500	3,943,500 or 56.1 percent
* Also owns property source: Hawaii Business, Colliers Hawaii Consulting

Real Estate: An Affordable Trend

photos: istockphoto.com/ Heather Cash

Affordable housing throughout the Islands has been elusive, if not entirely nonexistent, since the residential real estate market started its rapid rise a few years ago. But local experts say 2007 will be the year we start to see some relief. Real estate developer Christine Camp Friedman, principal of Avalon Development Co., says that, because all four counties have made affordable housing a top priority, primarily in the way of tax relief, more developers will have an incentive to build.

"I expect to see a lot more affordable housing rentals, elderly housing and affordable housing for sale, either starting construction or being delivered next year," says Camp Friedman. "Each of the counties put an emphasis on affordable housing, and I think we'll see, by the middle to end of next year, a lot more people scrambling to build affordable housing. There have been many projects that have already received tax credits that are under planning or permitting now, and I expect that to continue in all four counties."

What she doesn't expect, however, is an overall softening of the residential market. "Anything below or at $400,000, new or existing, if it's in good condition, there will still be a lot of interest from buyers," she says. "It's not like the market disappeared. There's still a pent-up demand from people who want to own their own homes."

-Jacy L. Youn

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