Introducing Social WordPress Plug-In

Social is a new WordPress Plugin that’s bringing comments back! Social is designed to aggregate the conversation happening on your blog posts with the conversation happening in networks like Twitter and Facebook. Not only that, but it brings new meaning to the hub and spoke approach to social media marketing. Let’s take a look at how social works.

A little background to the Social Plug-In setup

Social is compatible with both single author and multi-author blogs. At the time of setup each author will visit their profile and link up their Facebook and Twitter accounts. Then similarly, visit the Settings area of Social and add your Facebook and Twitter account there too. You’ll also be asked for a Twitter Consumer key, which is really simple to setup. For that, go here and login with your Twitter account and complete the application details and agree to the terms. Twitter then will return OAuth settings; in those settings you’ll now have the consumer key.

While in settings, you can also build a standard message to be shared to Twitter and Facebook using the following tokens:

• {url}: Includes your post permalink
• {title}: Includes the post title
• {content}: Includes the post content
• {date}: Includes the post date
• {author}: Includes the post author name

Now that Social is setup, how does it work?

At the time of post creation you can set the “social broadcasting” rules—allowing you to turn on or off the automatic Facebook post or Tweet.

Once your newly created content has been published, Social will aggregate new comments via Twitter or Facebook automatically using built in cron job. You’ll see the newly found content is nicely integrated with your WordPress comments. See all comments in aggregate, or use the tabs to filter out comments, Tweets, Facebook mentions, and even pingbacks. If the published post has not received replies via Twitter and Facebook the continued aggregation for that post will stop.

MyTechOpinion

I’ve seen many different comment plug-ins come on the scene over the years. Some completely take over the native comments feature in WordPress and you loose control as a result. Social is different, you stay in control of your comments and get the added benefit of integrating the conversation of your content from other networks. I appreciate the clean layout and ability to filter out the channel that’s most interesting to you. Also really like the Twitter hover cards that appear as you hover over a users Twitter handle.

I’m also happy to report that the plugin creators have stated they are actively developing the ability for Facebook pages to connect via the plugin not just Facebook profiles. I’m also eager to hear when they’ll integrate Google+ into the mix.

Here is an example of what we’re talking about:

Authorship Markup is essentially a way for Google to connect authors with the content they create and then show what I’m calling Visual Search Cues in the organic results.  This is all done by using HTML5 microformats such as the rel=”me” and rel=”author” tags to identify your content.

How do I setup Authorship Markup with my Blog?

The first thing you’ll need is a Google Profile, which is already a good thing to have based on the fact it’s highly search optimized and Google lets you link directly from the profile to your website, blog, external social profiles and more.

TIP: Make sure that your avatar is “a good, clear headshot of yourself” and does not include a logo.  If it does, Google has said that they will not show it in the results.

To establish authorship of your content, you’ll need to complete two steps:

(1) Link the blog to your Google Profile
(2) Link your Google Profile to your blog or blog’s author page

Step 1 – Linking your blog to your Google Profile

You may have noticed, with WordPress v3.2, on your individual post pages the link from your name to the author page includes the rel=”Author” parameter. That’s awesome, and exactly what we need. All you’ll need to do is add a link from the Author page on your blog, to your Google profile. The link should be in this format:

<a href=”[profile_url]?rel=author”>Google+</a>.

Replace [profile_url] with your actual Google Profile URL, which will look similar to this: http://plus.google.com/107461963711346948468. Also make sure not to delete the ?rel=author parameter

If you prefer to use a button, use the Google profile button generator

Step 2 – Linking your Google Profile to your blog’s Author page

Next you’ll need to create a link from your Google profile to your blog or blog’s author page. Do that by visiting your Google Profile and selecting “Edit Profile”. Next click on the “Links” area located on the right-side of the screen and include a link to your blogs homepage, or if you are writing on a multi-author blog you can link directly to your Author page. Now check the box that reads “This page is specifically about me.”

One last thing…Google also recommends that after you’ve completed these steps you should complete this form.

MyTechOpinion

I can see this feature being a huge hit with content creators and even searchers, especially as search and social seem to be converging.  We’ll be able to spot our favorite authors easier, and with that we’ll also be able to reach out and connect from a search results set. It’s still unclear how quickly newcomers will be added to this new index, but I would highly recommend getting things setup from your end.

Here’s to seeing you in the search results!

Last week I started playing around with HootSuite’s new Custom Social Media Reporting module; and I was pleasantly surprised by it’s flexibility. The report builder includes over 30 individual report modules; allowing you pick the metrics you’re interested in tracking. Then once I had a finished product, sharing the report is a snap.

So what’s this going to cost me?

The HootSuite Pro Plan runs $5.99 a month and includes the ability to generate 1 custom report of your choice. (Note: the Ow.ly Click Summary Report is free). When you sign up, you’ll get the first 30-days free, and you can easily downgrade your account anytime during that period and you’ll never be changed. It’s worth noting that you’re credit for a report will not be used until you actually click “Create Report”. Also you can edit and modify your report at anytime, and that will not result in an additional cost. With the Pro account you’ll end up with 50 points redeemable in the reporting module.

Building your first HootSuite Social Media Report

From your HootSuite dashboard, click the “Analytics” link on the left-hand side of the screen. Now select “Custom Analytics” and you’ll see the options available to you. Notice the tab is divided into reports owned by you, reports shared with you, and reports still in draft mode.

By clicking the button titled “Create New Report” you’ll now have the option to choose from one of their prebuilt templates as a starting place. (Note: you can easily customize the report in a later step.) The HootSuite templates include: (1) Proposal Report, (2) Ow.ly Click Summery, (3) Google analytics, or even (4) Facebook Insights. For this example, I’ll use the start from scratch option.

As you begin to build your report, you’ll start by adding company logo and contact information. Next you’ll type a header description; something that describes the metrics to follow. Now you’ll start to add the modules you want to include. Each report module (except for Ow.ly) will use 5 points. Your Pro account will give you 50 points by default. If you need more points they can be purchased, but additional points are not as cheap as the first set.

Here are a few of the metrics we have available to us:

Email and Scheduling

Once the social media analytics report is set up, you can schedule daily, weekly, bi-weekly or monthly email updates. Having this information push out to you is extremely helpful, and will keep real estate partners up-to-date on all ongoing marketing efforts.

Don’t like your report, change it!

You can make tweaks to your report at anytime by removing modules; the points you spent will be immediately returned to be used on different modules. This could be helpful when you’re tracking the results of a unique marketing campaign or event.

MyTechOpinion

I really like the flexibility they’re introducing into their reporting module. Although I would like my initial 50 points (from the Pro Plan) to stretch a little further.. I didn’t like that the next jump up was to spend $50 dollars / month. I felt like the Google Analytics report was a waste of my credits, especially given the official Google Analytics reporting module will let me make an unlimited number of reports for free. That being said, I do like the ability to create my own custom report from scratch, and gather metrics from multiple social media platforms in one report.

If your actively using social media to market your real estate business, you should be measuring your results. HootSuite Pro is certainly worth checking out.  Besides, HootSuite has tons of other features and applications you should be aware of.

Make sure you let me know what you think of the new HootSuite Custom Reporting Module! Here are a few related resources:

That’s all changed with CardMunch from LinkedIn! This powerful iPhone app has quickly become one of my favorites. Its business benefit is huge, and right now you can download the app for free. (Android and Blackberry Users: CardMunch says they have a version for you coming soon.)

Enough already, what does CardMunch do?

CardMunch makes digitizing business cards efficient and email follow up a snap. Here’s how it works: use CardMunch to take a photo of any business card directly from the CardMunch iPhone app. Seconds later an image of the card is uploaded to CardMunch servers where it’s transcribed in real-time and then reviewed for accuracy by real people. Even hand-written text on the card is picked up and transcribed correctly. Once CardMunch has created the contact; it’s sent back to your iPhone. The whole process—start to finish—only takes a few minutes.

CardMunch can deliver a push notification to acknowledge the digitized business card has been successfully added back to your phone. After a quick review of the contact record, you can easily add the the new record to your iPhone contact database. (Even set this up to happen automatically once you trust the accuracy of CardMunch.) It’s also worth noting that the scanned business card image is added to the contact record as their photo for easy viewing later. Also for peace of mind, your scanned database is backed up via the CardMunch website.

CardMunch takes it further

Interestingly enough, I would have been thrilled to use CardMunch if that’s all it did. But they’ve built-in a few more amazingly powerful tools. If we were all extremely organized and had a little extra time, we would appreciate sending our newly added contact an email follow up. That’s exactly what CardMunch helps us execute. By visiting the “My Settings” area of your app, you can setup an email template that can be used to follow up with newly added contacts. Even forward your contact information as a vCard on the email template allowing your contact to easily add you to their database.

Also take your follow up a step further by sending your contact a “quick connect” LinkedIn request directly from the app.

MyTechopinion

After using this tool a lot over the past few days, I can honestly say that CardMunch is amazing but I can’t see it staying free forever. It’s extremely beneficial for real estate professionals who collect cards regularly. So next time you wrap up an open house, Broker’s Tour or get back from a conference with a stack of business cards take a few moments to spread-out the cards you’ve collected and quickly snap-off a photo of each. What you’ll get in return is the ability to proactively follow up with your contacts and save time in the process. Get started by heading over to the App Store . Please report back; I would love to hear what you think!

On February 10, 2011 Facebook announced page admins could start using iFrames as page tabs, displaying a maximum of 8 tabs at any one time. To see more than the default 8 tabs, users need to click “More” below the last tab to reveal anything hidden. Facebook also announced they were going to deprecate FBML and FBJS as the primary technologies for building Facebook apps. As of March 11, 2011, Facebook users will no longer be able to create new FBML apps and pages will no longer be able to add the Static FBML app.

So what does this mean for my Facebook Page Tab?

The future of Facebook Tabs looks to be centered on iFramed content, which leads me to the main reason for my post today.  Adding iFramed content isn’t difficult, but it does require a different set of steps to install compared to its Static FBML counterpart.  Let’s take a look.

Step 1: Create or identify the page to be iFramed into Facebook

For my example, I’ll show you a Streaming Video page I created for RPR. It’s pretty basic, just a .php file that includes live video streaming embed code from Ustream mashed with Facebook’s Live Chat. The Live Chat component will allow the viewers in Facebook to share their thoughts about what their watching, also posting a comment back to their wall. Of course this is just one example of what you could build, but using these steps you can bring just about any content into Facebook. It could be a custom neighborhood page, listings page, newsletter sign up, videos, anything you desire. Also because we’ll be creating an app, your page tab could even be installed by other pages if you would like. Just keep in mind for things to look good, your content should be no wider that 520px…we don’t want anyone to side-scroll.

If you would like to use my example and build a Ustream app in Facebook, download the source files here. You’ll need to update the uStream embed code with your own channels embed code. You’ll also need to add your APP ID to the Facebook Live Stream code. You’ll see I’ve documented the spots you’ll need to edit.

Step 2: Creating a Facebook Application

The first thing we’ll need when creating a Facebook app is to make sure we’ve already installed the Developer App. It’s used to manage the applications that you build in Facebook. If you haven’t already installed it, please do so now.  You’ll see something like the screenshot below. Choose “Allow.”

Once you’ve installed the Developer App, we’re ready to start creating the new application that will pass our iFramed content into a page tab.

Select the button titled Set up new app on the right side of the page.

Now enter a friendly name for your app and agree to Facebook’s Terms of Use.

About – Basic Information

Now we can start editing the important details of the app. You’ll arrive on the About tab, with the focus on “Basic Information”. Enter the name of your application, a brief description, the icon and logo. The icon will be used like a favicon on your Facebook Tab.

Moving down the page, confirm the correct email address is listed. Add any other admins, testers, or users to the application. Now we can move on to the Facebook Integration tab.

Facebook Integration

Canvas Page: Look for the Canvas section. Start by creating what is essentially a vanity URL for your application. This is the URL that someone will type to access the app directly. It’s also the URL you’ll access when you’re ready to add the application as a tab to your page.

Canvas URL: Now you’ll enter the URL of the page that you are framing into Facebook. Keep in mind the URL must either be dynamic or point to a directory. (HINT: Create a directory and make the .html or .php filed named index.)

Canvas Type: Select “IFrame”

iFrame Size: By default the tab will have a width of 520px; and a height limit of 800px. If your iFramed page exceeds those dimensions it will result in scroll bars being shown. Although if you do need more height, or would like to auto-select height based on your iFramed content, there is a simple workaround. For that, you’ll need to choose Auto-Resize (Note: Auto-Resize will require a few additional steps included below. It’s also important to note that I’m not using the Auto-Size option for my example app.)

Social Discovery: If social discovery is enabled, Facebook will display a user’s usage of your app in News Feed.

Tab Name: Enter the name you would like to see as a page tab. (Note: This can be overridden from the page itself.) Maximum of 16 characters.

Page Tab Type: Select iFrame

Tab URL: The page Facebook will use to pull content for your tab; which is relative to your Canvas Page. In my example it was index.php

If you selected “Auto-Resize” follow these steps, otherwise skip to Step 3 below.

The idea behind Auto-Size is that your application tells the canvas what size it should adjust to. To set this up properly we’ll need to initialize the JavaScript Library from our iFrame source page. This is done by adding the following code before your closing </body> tag. You need to replace YOUR-APP-ID with the ID of your newly created app. (Hint: You can find your app ID in the Core Settings of your newly created app.)

Next we’ll use FB.Canvas.setSize() to auto detect the height of your iFrame. Add this bit of code just before your </head> tag. (Note: If you would like to set a fixed size, see here. Or if you’re content size changes dynamically, try using FB.Canvas.setAutoResize. Be warned, I’ve seen a few bugs submitted to Facebook on this function.)

Step 3: Add Your New App as a Facebook Tab

Now visit the application profile page, which can be found by visiting the Canvas Page. This is the URL we created a few steps back on the Facebook Integration Tab.

Click Add To My Page. Facebook will display a dialog with all of the Pages you administer. Now select Add to Page to the right of the page you want your new tab to display on.

Now visit your page, and choose Edit Page. Select Apps and look for our newly added application and click Edit Settings and confirm your custom tabs display name. Now click okay.

Here is an example of what our page would look like with this app installed…

Over the last few years we’ve covered many different screen sharing technologies.  Some were bloated with heavy installs and others had the perfect feature set but were over-priced for the average real estate agent. Today we have an option that may just bridge the gap perfectly. Introducing Join.me, a FREE and simple screen sharing tool that can support a variety of needs whether you’re holding  a virtual office meeting with peers, reviewing homes with an out-of-town buyer, or even going over contract details with a busy seller.

Really? So how is Join.me different?

My biggest complaint about online meeting software is that typically the install feels overly complicated and users need to keep track of ID’s and passwords.  Join.me simplifies all that by allowing meeting owners to easily share one thing–the meeting URL.  The people you invite are not asked for anything…no email, no username…they simply click the link you’ve shared.  As for compatibility, both PC’s and Mac’s are good to go. Join.me employs Flash player 10 found in any of the current browsers.

You’ll know the meeting software has launched when the Join.me navigation bar appears front and center on your monitor. (See graphic below.) Each Join.me meeting can hold up to 250 people and comes with an optional audio bridge accessed by clicking the phone icon once you’ve logged into a meeting. Once you’ve dialed the phone number and PIN provided, audio support will begin.

If you need to chat with your viewers, you’ll select the “Quote” button to send the message.  It will display a chat window that lets you communicate with all attendees or you can target a particular user by selecting them from the list. Keep in mind if you’re sharing your screen, all attendees can see what you’re typing.

A few other standout features include the ability to share files via your meeting and to let someone control your screen. The file sharing utility could be truly valuable using the scenario I mentioned early. Say you’re meeting with an out-of-town buyer and you’ve shared your screen and started to review homes.  You’ve gone through each of the properties from your initial selection and now the buyer has selected a subset to see next week. Now you quickly render a Buyers Tour and immediately share the file. Now your buyer instantly has the packet of homes and details, and can save it to their computer for review later.

As I mentioned, you can also give a meeting attendee the permission to control your screen.  This will allow the attendees to actually click links, scroll and perform other actions as if they were on your computer. Of course as the meeting creator, you control who can use this feature and most importantly you can stop sharing control at anytime! In the unlikely circumstance that one of your meeting attendees becomes unruly, just click the people icon and select the “X” next to their name. That will remove them from the meeting.

Ok, I’m convinced. Let’s go through the meeting setup:

• Step 1: Visit Join.me
• Step 2: To host a meeting click the big “Share” button. The meeting software quickly will launch the share tool to the top center of your screen.
• Step 3: Copy the meeting URL to your clipboard or choose to send by email.

At the end of your first meeting you’ll have the option of installing a very lightweight application that makes it super easy to start meetings in the future.

Going PRO: If you like what you see with Join.me and want to take it a step further check out their pro version. That will allow you to customize your URL, schedule and lock down meetings, and provides better user management tools. The pro version is priced at $29/month.

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.

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!

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

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

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?

Live Blogging

Flickr Photos

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

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.Marketing Advertising Blog — VuManhThang.Com

[php]&amp;lt;script src=&amp;quot;http://static.ak.connect.facebook.com/js/api_lib/v0.4/FeatureLoader.js.php&amp;quot; type=&amp;quot;text/javascript&amp;quot;&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/script&amp;gt;[/php]

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:

[php]&amp;lt;script type=&amp;quot;text/javascript&amp;quot;&amp;gt;FB.init(&amp;quot;XXXXXXXXXXXXX&amp;quot;);&amp;lt;/script&amp;gt;[/php]

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

[php]&amp;lt;fb:fan profile_id=&amp;quot;XXXXXXXXXX&amp;quot; stream=&amp;quot;1&amp;quot; connections=&amp;quot;10&amp;quot; width=&amp;quot;300&amp;quot;&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/fb:fan&amp;gt;[/php]

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

[php]&amp;lt;div style=&amp;quot;font-size:8px; padding-left:10px&amp;quot;&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;http://www.facebook.com/mytechopinion&amp;quot;&amp;gt;MyTechOpinion&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; on Facebook&amp;lt;/div&amp;gt;[/php]

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.

[php]&amp;lt;iframe scrolling=&amp;quot;no&amp;quot; frameborder=&amp;quot;0&amp;quot; src=&amp;quot;http://www.facebook.com/connect/connect.php?id=XXXXXXXXXX&amp;amp;connections=15&amp;amp;stream=1&amp;quot; allowtransparency=&amp;quot;true&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;border: none; width: 300px; height: 600px;&amp;quot;&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/iframe&amp;gt; [/php]

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?

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.

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.

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.

*  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!

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