Technology for Real Estate
Last Wednesday (July 8, 2009) Facebook unveiled a new widget that lets users promote and showcase their Facebook Page on any website or blog. The widget comes with your Facebook page stream and fan avatars. This is Facebook’s 2nd widget; they also recently launched the Live Stream box to let anyone incorporate a Facebook chat box into their site.
If you would like to know how you get the Fan Box, watch this short video:
Moving beyond its blogging platform roots, WordPress is gaining in popularity as a content management system (CMS). With this shift in utilization, the system is being asked to host more complex websites. One such example is that of a membership site.
In real estate, there are numerous uses for a membership site:
Real Estate Brokerage Intranet – Share news, make documents and forms available for download, and post company meetings and events on the calendar (using one of our recommended WordPress calendar solutions).
Preferred Client Area – Add an area to your real estate website to share special information and services to clients who register. Can you say, “lead generation” or “client retention”?
Paid Content Site - Are you the next Brian Buffini? Have a sales strategy that is worth selling? Create a membership site with paid subscriptions.
Recently, my friend Rob Hahn posted a great article entitled “Design vs. Content: Design Wins!‘. And I wholeheartedly agree with him! How many times have you left a blog due to eye strain from small print or out of pure confusion from all the flashing ads and shiny objects strewn about! There’s no denying that design plays a major role in Website attraction! [Read more...]
The addition of an event calendar can add a lot of value to your website or blog. This is especially true for those real estate agents who maintain a community based site.
Posting information on events such as farmers’ markets, garage sales, club meetings and city recreation programs to a calendar makes your website community resource. A resource worth bookmarking, Twittering or sharing on Facebook.
If you’ve been unimpressed with the available chat applications for your blog, you’ll be excited to learn about TinyChat.
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.
If you are like me, you love WordPress for it’s extendability. Through the use of plugins, new features and functionality can be easily added. Because of this, WordPress is one of the best platforms to build a real estate agent website on.
While plugins can be a blessing, they also can cause problems with a website. This can come in the way of slow website performance or error messages.
One common error message experienced by those getting a bit “plugin happy” (activating a lot of plugins on a single WordPress installation) is that of the “Fatal Error: Allowed memory size…” error.
Lifestreaming might sound like something that occurs during your favorite reality TV show, but it’s actually the aggregation of your online presence in one central location or Website. It’s an effective way to organize and display your collective thoughts, ideas, blog posts, and social connections that you share online. There’s really no right or wrong way to lifestream since the content is comprised of your Web activity. But you can think strategically about how and what you choose to share in your lifestream, as well as where you make it available.
For example, here at MTO, we are very resource driven so we aggregate the delicious bookmarks from all three of us (Reggie, Chad, NikNik) into one fluid feed on the homepage. This way our readers get access to the ideas and articles we like in one place. In addition, we have chosen to lifestream a combination of both personal and professional Web content on our individual profile pages. My profile page aggregates my tweets, delicious bookmarks, Flickr pics, Viddler videos, and more! [Read more...]
Our very own Reggie Nicolay helped officially launched Cyberhomesblog.com today. Reggie hasn’t wasted anytime jumping into his new role as Director of Social Media for Cyberhomes. Yes, I may be a bit biased since I’m married to the guy. But the Cyberhomes Blog is more than just your run of the mill industry blog. Reggie practices what he preaches here on MTO, by demonstrating how design, content and social media strategies can make for a powerful and insightful online community.
Upon first glance, you’ll notice that Reggie integrated Facebook Connect, like what we’ve done here at MTO. FB Connect allows you to port your Facebook Profile right into the Cyberhomes Blog Community. This makes participating an optimal experience! You control your profile settings and how your comments and other resources are shared. [Read more...]
We dig into the real estate technosphere to bring you the trends, tools, and tips that make sense for your business. So if you're ready to learn, join the conversation.
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