What does this mean for you?

It means your real estate blog can now have the functionality of a highly custom site with search engine friendly IDX data. dsIDXPress is released with special introductory pricing of $99.95 setup and $29.95 a month. That is an introductory offer and will go up over time.

And for the most part the plug-in is compliant in all markets they cover with the exception of a couple of the more strict MLSs. If you have any questions or comments about compliance reach out to them here.  Let’s take a look at a few ways to implement dsIDXPress.

Short code

If you’re not already familiar with shortcode, it’s worth taking some time to familiarize yourself with the concept. It was introduced in WordPress 2.5 and allows the blog author to include a small piece of content [shortcode] in a post or page to replicate what would usually be numerous lines of code.  In the case of dsIDXPress the shortcode placed in your posts and pages is replaced with specific listings or groups of listings from your MLS.  That’s right, no frames….actually pages from your site that get indexed by Google and the others. *C’mon deep crawl*.  This also means that your real estate blog can now be sculpted to represent your market area in custom fashion. For example, take a look at a few options:

• Geographic: Create a page for each of the different areas in your market. Break them down into geographic levels that make sense: city, zip, community or tract.  Here are a few different examples of how the shortcode could be displayed in a page:

[idx-listings city="Pleasanton" orderby="Price" orderdir="Price" count="15"]

[idx-listings zip="94566" orderby="Price" orderdir="DateAdded" count="15"]

[idx-listings community="Golden Oak" orderby="Price" orderdir="LastUpdated" count="15"]

[idx-listings tract="Willow Glen" orderby="Price" orderdir="DESC" count="15"]

• Listing Specific: This piece of shortcode uses the MLS number to display a configurable view of a property. Show just the basic property details or all data available.  Included in the property display is a Google map that will also display in your RSS feed for subscribers.
  Example: [idx-listing mlsnumber="AB454834" showall="true"]

Widgets

dsIDXPress comes with 3 widgets: Search, Area List and Property List. Each provides different levels of customization. The property list widget can display a crawl-able list of properties, map, and a detailed array of properties.

MyTechOpinion

It’s no secret that we at MyTechOpinion love WordPress. So much so that we partnered with Brian Gardner of AgentPress because he captured the essence of what a real estate agent require in a WordPress theme.  Now we see the same in Diverse Solutions new dsIDXPress.   We think they really nailed it with their plug-in.  To start, it’s very easy to install and early adopters will likely see amazing results. Overtime it will become more important for real estate bloggers to sculpt their site to increase pagerank and facilitate a deeper index by Google.  If you need help in that department, make sure you reach out to Chad of MyTechOpinion for a quote.

If you’re even slightly interested in learning more about dsIDXPress from this article let me give you the push. Go check it out….tell them Reggie from MyTechOpinion sent you.

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A few weeks back we were excited to hear Ustream was approved for the iTunes app store. At the time, it seemed obvious Qik would follow suite and make a move for approval. Well it’s happened; Qik (version 4.40)streaming video service has been officially approved by the app store and is now ready to download.

This smooth application lets you to stream videos right from your iPhone.  If you don’t already have a Qik account, simply create one after downloading the application and you’re ready to start shooting video in public or private mode. If you choose private you’ll control who sees the video by sending various parties a direct link from SMS or email.

Why we like Qik:

Qik was the first to bring video to the iPhone, even before Apple.  The only problem with Qik was that users needed to Jailbreak their phones to get access to the app. One major drawback of Jailbreaking is that you void your factory warranty.  Although now that Qik is officially approved, you’ll get all the benefits simply by installing the free app.

We love that Qik works on the iPhone 2g, iPhone 3g, or iPhone 3gs. We also like that once you’ve captured that perfect video, Qik makes it easy to share using sites like Facebook, Twitter & YouTube.

If you’re wondering how you could apply streaming video to your real estate business, here are a few ideas:

• Share a local home tour with your out of state buyer
• Capture important moments from your local city council meeting
• Broadcast downtown event on your blog
• Share highlights from a  convention

Cost: FREE!

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About the Dragon Search app:
Historically if you wanted to search a keyword or phrase on your iPhone you’ve typed directly into a search engine. Ok, maybe you’ve tried the Google voice app, but for me I was left wanting more. Not any longer, Dragon Search is the new one-stop search application controlled by your voice. At its heart you’ll gain the ability to speak any given search into like Google, Yahoo, Bing, YouTube, Twitter, iTunes, and Wikipedia. Once the results have populated your screen, use the intuitive search carousel to switch between the other sources on the fly. Dragon also archives recent searches, allowing you to quickly recall past activity.

Why we like the Dragon Search app:
Dragon search is quickly become one of my favorite iPhone apps because of the accuracy, speed and convenience. Plus the fact that Dragon provides a very slick and intuitive interface. I also appreciate the ability to define my preferred search engine. I would recommend that you head over to the iPhone app store and download Dragon search today.

If you like this app, try Dragon Dictation.
Cost: FREE

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About Dropbox:

Do you ever email yourself a document, just so you could access it on another computer?  You may want to check out Dropbox, it’s a lightweight app that syncs files between computers and even your iPhone.  To me, it’s become one of those apps that I can’t do without.  I switch between my desktop, laptop and iPhone often. And there are certain files in each of those locations. That’s when I rely on Dropbox.

Getting started with the app is really straightforward. Create your free account, and claim your free 2 GB of space.  Then go to Dropbox.com and install the software on each of your computers. Also visit the App Store and download the DropBox application for your iPhone.  That’s it, now just drop a file into the folder and voila…it will sync to your other Dropbox enabled devices.

Why we like Dropbox:

Dropbox is a simple solution to a real challenge we have with files in multiple locations. For those of you that work in teams, try using Dropbox to share and collaborate key files. Because Dropbox stores a copy of your files on their secure server, you’ll always have the most current version of a document with file recovery for accidental deletion.  If you need more than the 2GB of space, check out their Pro plan s starting at $9.99/month.

Dropbox also features a public folder for sharing files with outside users.  Each file in this public folder will let you link directly to them.

Cost

2GB = Free
50GB = $9.99 /month
100GB = $19.99 /month

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Here are some highlights of what’s new:

- See upcoming Events & Birthdays
- See Pages, post updates & photos to Pages you admin
- Write Notes and read your friends’ Notes
- Upload videos from an iPhone 3GS
- Upload photos w/Complete photo management
- Change your Profile Picture
- Zoom into photos
- Like posts and photos
- Full Facebook News Feed
- Visit links in a built-in web browser
- See all of your friends’ friends and Pages
- See mutual friends
- Easily search for people and Pages
- Make friend requests & fan Pages
- Quickly call or text your friends
- Create shortcuts to your favorite friends and Pages
- Chat with friends

What does this new Facebook app mean for you?

By now you should already know that Facebook has over 250 million users world-wide…the largest social network in the world. This new application brings all of that power into the palm of your hand.  For the first time this app lets users interact with Facebook they way they could from their computer.

Here are a few of my quick favorites:

A) I absolutely love this new ability to add shortcuts to my favorite people and pages. Here’s what you do:

1. Open the Facebook 3.0 app on your iPhone
2. Slide the main screen to the left. You’ll land on the shortcuts screen.
3. Click the “+” in the top left corner
4. Now search for a friend or page that you manage or read. Click the icon and it will be instantly added to the shortcuts screen.

B) Upload video or photos to your wall or a friend’s wall:

1. Visit the wall in which you would like to post videos or share photos
2. Click the camera icon the left of the status field
3. Follow the on screen prompts

(*Video is only for iPhone 3GS. Also for now you will not be able to preview the video you leave from the Facebook app. You will see a message however that they’re working on it. Looks like we can expect it in a future update.)

C) Use your Facebook lists with the Newsfeed:

1. Click the “News feed” icon
2. Now you enter the full newsfeed, click the “News feed” button at the top right
3. Now spin the wheel and stop of the list you want to view

Please reply here and let us know what you like best about this new app, and how will you use it?

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Live Blogging

Flickr Photos

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Now using the Ubertor website system, clients of the $57 and $77 website plans can upload videos to their website and display them using the Combustion Video player. The same videos can also be easily syndicated to YouTube and Viddler.

The Contest: Your Chance To Win!

As I was talking with Steve about this new feature, we decided to make it a little more fun and give away some sites for MyTechOpinion readers.  Here’s how it will work…

Any MTO  reader is eligible to enter. However, if you are already an Ubertor client this prize is not applicable to your current website package. But you do have the option to gift your prize to any colleague of your choosing not already using Ubertor. The first 50 readers to retweet this article will be entered into the contest automatically.  Then tomorrow, NikNik will add the first 50 retweeters names into a hat and pick 5 winners. Each of the 5 winners will receive a website for one year for only $1.00.  The package usually runs  $77/month for an annual value of $924.

Looking for a few Ubertor website examples? Check these out:

• http://www.sandiegocastles.com – Kris Berg
• http://www.ianwatt.ca – Ian Watt
• http://www.theuncommonagent.com – Mike Lefebvre
• http://www.harborsiderealty.com – Mike Cannuscio

*Winners below

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If you would like to know how you get the Fan Box, watch this short video:

Now out of the box, this widget may need some very small customization depending on how and where you implement. Maybe you need to change the width for a smaller sidebar or modify the widget because you already have Facebook Connect running on your site. I thought I would take a minute to share the each component of the widget.

Part 1
FeatureLoader.js.php is the main JavaScript file used in all Facebook Connect implementations and must be included for the widget to work. However if you already have Facebook connect running on your site, this script would be a duplicate and should not be included.Vu Manh Thang – I Am Superman

<script src="http://static.ak.connect.facebook.com/js/api_lib/v0.4/FeatureLoader.js.php" type="text/javascript"></script>

Part 2
The next line is a small piece of Javascript that tells Facebook the API key of your widget. Like the last script, it should be included on all uses except when Facebook connect is already being used on the page. If Facebook Connect is already implemented on the page, do not include this line:

<script type="text/javascript">FB.init("XXXXXXXXXXXXX");</script>

Part 3
This is the XFBML which is used to incorporate FBML in a HTML page. In this case to display the Fan Box.

• Do not change the profile_id, it is the unique id pointing to your Facebook page
• If you choose to include the stream, it will set stream =“1”. To remove the stream set to “0”
• If you choose to include fans, it defaults to connections=“10”
• Change the width (in pixels) as needed to fit your sidebar

<fb:fan profile_id="XXXXXXXXXX" stream="1" connections="10" width="300"></fb:fan>

Part 4
This is a link back to your Facebook page, and is not required for the widget to work properly.

<div style="font-size:8px; padding-left:10px"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/mytechopinion">MyTechOpinion</a> on Facebook</div>

If you would like to try the iFrame version of the widget, replace the XXXXXXXXXX with the API Key provided by Facebook for your Fan Box.

<iframe scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="http://www.facebook.com/connect/connect.php?id=XXXXXXXXXX&connections=15&stream=1" allowtransparency="true" style="border: none; width: 300px; height: 600px;"></iframe> 

MyTechopinion
Facebook pages are a great option for real estate professionals in terms of both enhancing brand recognition and becoming a trusted advisor. Think about the average fan, once they’re connected they have the opportunity to engage with you on a regular basis. But also realize Facebook pages take a lot of effort to maintain. Try sharing relevant information, resources and fun content on a regular basis. Then watch your insights and gage what your fans engage with most?

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For example, say you’re working with a homeowner moving to the Marina District in San Francisco California. They’ve been asking lots of questions about local attractions, so you sit down with them and search the area using Google Maps. Right mouse click the general area, and select “What’s Here?”  You’ll see a green arrow display like this:

Now look to the left-hand side of the screen, you should see the geographic name and a link to “Explore this area.” Based off the zoom level, Google will serve up the “most appropriate geographical entity at that point.”

Once selected the maps should fill with photos from the surrounding area.  To see more, select the “More photos” link on the left-hand side and all available photos quickly populate the map, something like this:

MyTechOpinion
This new feature is super cool and will certainly come in handy for anyone looking to investigate an area further.  To get the most complete mashup available, try clicking the “more” link located at the top right corner of the map.  From there you can add videos, Wikipedia, webcams, and transit information to the current view. If you want to take your search experience from Google Maps into Google Earth, you’ll aslo see a button included.

For those of you that want to participate in the user generated content, try Panoramio.

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TinyChat recently delivered version 2 of their chat product and I’m really impressed.  The application is extremely intuitive, which starts with a large text field prompting for a chat room name. Within seconds your new room is created.  But not before you’re given the chance to sign in using Twitter and invite other participants.  If you’re not using Twitter don’t fret; just enter your name to continue.

At this point the chat room has been created, now set a chat topic and select your privacy option.  By private it really means not listed on the TinyChat website.  If you need password protection, you’ll have to upgrade to the professional plan.  With that plan, you’ll also own up to 5 rooms, and broadcast in HQ video.

A TinyChat session can host up to 200 concurrent chat participants, and 12 simultaneous audio, video broadcasts.  The audio and video is really easy to operate. Click the big message the reads “Add live audio and video to this room” then approve the use of Tiny Chat to access your camera and microphone.  In our testing, we had multiple users streaming audio and video and I found the quality was equal to what I experience from Skype.

Other TinyChat features worth noting include:

• Share files via Flyupload
• Save chat transcripts
• Ban annoying users
• Embed the chat on your website or blog
• Share the chat room via Twitter, Facebook, or MySpace (or via any network by sharing the URL).

MyTechOpinion

I’m really impressed with the user interface of TinyChat.  I like that I wasn’t forced to install cumbersome software to initiate a chat session.  I appreciate the “ignore” link that moderators see next to each user’s update. If an unruly visitor joins the chat, use this feature to block them from participating. It’s also comforting to know that TinyChat works on Windows, Mac and Linux; using Firefox, IE, Safari, and Chrome browsers.

Real estate agents using this tool on a regular basis for online chat or webinars sessions may want to consider subscribing to the professional plan. As mentioned you’ll gain the ability to save room names-to protect your brand or keyword.

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TheClozing is based off the TechMeme format, but is classified as a real estate and business news aggregator.  This is done by gathering and organizing real estate news from major U.S. newspapers, magazines and publications with related articles from the social media world.  That’s where the real value comes in.  Viewers can read the mainstream stories, and then review related blogs for the back-story.  The site refreshes every hour, to provide new content.

You’ll notice high to the right side, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate is a top-level sponsor.  By sponsoring, they get their most recent post highlighted.  TheClozing still has room for additional sponsors, if you’re interested visit the about page for more info.

All in all, I like what Joe Ferrara (aka J.F. Sellsius) and Anthony Barba have done with the site. They’ve created an easy to read interface that links out to original posts.  You can bet I’ll be following this news source closely.

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*  32GB and 16GB storage ($199 and $299 price points to be maintained)
*  3.2-megapixel camera (up from the current 2-megapixel camera)
*  Video-recording and editing capabilities
*  Ability to send a picture & video via MMS
*  OLED screen
*  1.5 times the battery life of the current models
*  Double the RAM and processing power
*  Built-in FM transmitter
*  Apple logo on back will glow
*  Rubber-tread backing
*  Sleeker design
*  Built-in compass
*  Turn-by-turn directions

It’s easy to see how these new features are great for iPhone users, but how will they affect the average real estate agent?  Many non-iPhone users will argue features like mobile video and MMS have been on other mobile devices for some time now.  But the reality is that other devices are missing the slick yet extremely powerful interface of the iPhone combined with the flourishing iTunes app store.

Now video to the iPhone is not revolutionary. Obviously people have been jailbreaking their iPhones for some time now to setup services like QIK to stream video from their iPhone.  But as I said, they had to jailbreak the phone which is not sanctioned by Apple and equates to hacking the device.  Now, if this news is correct, all new iPhone owners will be able to capture and share video using the device they’re already using for leading social networking applications, GPS, mobile email, internet activities, etc.

My mind starts racing at all the possibilities for real estate professionals. Imagine harnessing the power of a lifestream to aggregate all your shared video, pictures, and content shared from this one device.  (See my lifestream here.)  Let me give you an example, you drive to your first appointment of the day and you arrive a few minutes early.  You realize the sunrise is exceptionally beautiful so you take a few minutes of video highlighting the entrance to the neighborhood and sports park. You tag and share the video. Now it’s immediately available for your network to see and archived on your blog/website via the lifestream.  Later the same morning you learn of a new downtown project that will be affecting local homeowners so you break out the iPhone and open your favorite Twitter application and share the news. That too, has been broadcast to your network and archived on you lifestream.  I think you get my point!

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Those real estate agents that authentically engage with their network will succeed in creating new and flourishing relationships across the Internet. Some members of your network may help your business in terms of promotion, referrals or even through a transaction. I can’t tell you which, that depends on you and your actions. Although we can help you by sharing strategies you can implement into your business immediately!

If you’re interested in learning more about marketing your business in Facebook, and you’re free tomorrow (April 21st, 2009) at 10am (pacific) please join us for a free webinar hosted by Cyberhomes.com.  The session will be led by @Nik_Nik and me @Cyberhomes.

Resources:

1. RSVP Here
2. Facebook Event Page

Here are some fun promo videos for the event. Please let us know what you think!
Facebook Strategy #17 – Authentic Messages

Facebook Strategy #24 – Business Pages

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So what’s it going to cost me?

Lovely Charts offers both a free and paid version.  The free product allows users to print or export as many charts as needed, however you can only save one editable chart. If you need to be able to save more editable charts, try the professional version.  It supports versioning and team collaboration with commenting.

Lovely Chart Resources:
Keyboard shortcuts
Screencast

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After previewing the site, I found many great ideas of how real estate agents have used ZingDing to promote their listings and rentals. Many have elected to include additional design elements like holiday themes-sure to get your sphere excited by your creativeness!

What does it take to build a ZingDing eCard?

Start by gathering all necessary photos and logos, then choose your desired music from the ZingDing library, add any desired effects (i.e. burning fireplace, snowfall, etc.), then input your properties details!

For distribution, the ZingDing eCards can be emailed out or embedded into a website/blog or even sites like Craigslist or Realtor.com.  If you choose email, ZingDing has a few ways to get your email list into their system.  To start you can upload lists from Outlook, or add one by one. Although you might also try sending yourself the eCard, and then forwarding it out to your contacts from your email client!

So what’s this going to cost me?

The ZingDing pricing is very attractive; a single eCard is only $9.95. Although if you expect to be sending these eCards throughout out the year, I would recommend subscribing to the annual package for $49.95. That includes unlimited use of all ZingDing eCards.

If you still have questions about ZingDing, try reviewing their forum.

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Both methods work, but I have an exciting new option for you that will render your documents into an elegant and flowing online publication. Issue has a launched a new free tool called SmartLook; and it’s very easy to setup. Start by visiting: Issuu.com/smartlook and add your domain name. Issuu then supplies some embed code to be included immediately above the </body> tag found at the bottom of your website pages.  If you’re using a blog …that will be your Footer file.

Once you have completed the setup, and a document is downloaded the first time, Issuu imports a copy of the document into your account. Once it’s uploaded, it’s then converted and will show up when clicked for all new visitors. If users need to download the file, not view it…simply right click the link and choose “Save As.”

See Issuu SmartLook Demo

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I’m hopeful that you can help me get Cyberhomes nominated.  I’ve setup VoteForCyberhomes.com and now I need you to visit the site and nominate Cyberhomes.

You can vote each day until midnight on December 10^th. If you have a few seconds…vote now!

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Also check out AgentGenius, they’ve covered another app called intersquash.com. This tool works slightly different, as it turns your RSS feed into a webpage that fits your iPhone.


iPhone Application Generator Demo from AppLoop on Vimeo.

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1. Notifu

Trying to communicate with a group can be difficult! Particularly with the increasingly busy schedules of today’s real estate professional. If you’re looking for a product to address this challenge, you need to check out Notifu. This free web application lets you send a message by Email, SMS, AIM, Gtalk, ICQ, MSN IM, Yahoo IM even phone to a group of people without having an account on those services. With phone calls, Notifu will deliver to any phone number worldwide by converting the text you’ve typed in a voice message. After the messages have been delivered, you’ll know who has received the message and who has not.

2. Twiddla

Twiddla is a free tool for online group collaboration with no limit to the number of participants you can invite. The interface is cool because it’s different than most. Right from within the canvas you can search a web page and mark it up with your colleagues. Markup tools include lines, shapes and text. It’s also straightforward to add images (.jpg, .gif, .png, etc.) and documents (.doc, .xls, .ppt, .pdf, .txt) onto the canvas.

3. DabbleBoard

Dabbleboard is a free whiteboard application that works well for group collaboration. This interface is simple yet powerful. Start by creating a new whiteboard/canvas. If you want to invite others, click Share + Chat. DabbleBoard supplies you with a private URL and email invite feature. Once the collaboration has started users can upload images, work with freehand tools and adjust colors. When the canvas is complete users can download the project in PNG format. Also make the canvas public, to get listed in the “Public library” and obtain embed code for use outside of Dabbleboard.

4. MindMeister

MindMeister is collaborative online mind mapping software offering both free and paid packages. The interface is simple and intuitive. If you’ve built mind maps before you know the shape evolves as you get going. Having a canvas that can be adjusted is very useful. I also appreciate MindMeister for integrating with various gadgets and extensions. They understand that when thought happens you may not be sitting in front of a mind map. These tools are designed to fit into life where thought happens. Tools include a Gadget for Google Gears, Windows Vista Gadget, Mac Dashboard, Yahoo! Widgets Desktop, browser extensions and text/email.

5. Snipd

The idea behind Snipd.com is that you can clip parts of the Web including text, images, and videos…then share with friends. It has certain Twitter like characteristics, but it’s for “snips” you collect across the web.

Start by adding their bookmarklet onto your browser toolbar. Then as you surf the Internet and come across interesting content you would like to save or share simply highlight the text or object and click the Snipd bookmarklet. Then add some brief notes or comments. Back on Snipd.com your account has been aggregating recent snipping’s. These snips will be available via a custom URL you set up.

6. Stixy

Stixy is described as an online bulletin board, but that doesn’t capture the power of this application. To start Stixy offers a clean interface that allows for the dragging and dropping of objects called widgets. These widgets come in the form of tasks, appointments, files, photos, notes, and bookmarks. These widgets can be placed anywhere on the Stixyboard. Stixy also supports sharing of Stixyboards.

7. Oovoo

Turn your phone conference into a video conference. Oovoo is a free technology that allows face-to-face conversations over the web. Invite up to 6 participants into an Oovoo session. If your goal is to produce an interview for your website or blog, try Oovoo and then export the video to your favorite video sharing site.

Outside of the video, Oovoo also has a chat client. It’s setup much like the others. They’ve also got the ability to send files to your connections.

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