RealBird Integrates with Street View API
By Reggie · March 29, 2008 · 10 Comments
Zoltan of RealBird clued me in to Google’s release of their new Street View API Thursday. Meaning developers can now integrate street view maps with ease. You can bet this API’s popularity will surely explode in real estate websites as buyers will appreciate the convenience of previewing neighborhoods from remote locations.
Realbird has already begun taking advantage. You may remember we talked about manually embedding these maps. Well not anymore, Zoltan has integrated the new API in with RealBird’s Listing Websites.
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Tags: street maps, Google, maps, api, real estate, street view
Does Google have the perfect Gadget for your Real Estate blog?
By Reggie · January 3, 2008 · 3 Comments
Over the Holidays I took some time to look closely at Google’s new Gadgets for your blog. I was very surprised to see how many gadgets were out there. These Gadgets are the same offered on the popular iGoogle. I immediately thought about the real estate agent looking to add a bit of flare to their blog by providing relevant data to their geographic area. Many of the Google gadgets allow the blog owner to customize results by zip code.If you are more interested in using Gadgets for your own self promotion, you could always develop your own.
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Tags: api, Google, real estate, real estate agent, MyTechOpinion, customize
The Night Before Christmas Blogger Mad-Lib
By NikNik · December 24, 2007 · 12 Comments
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a Phoenix Real Estate Guy was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the Blog Fiesta with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The Incredible Agents were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of RSS Pieces danced in their heads;
And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter’s nap,
When out on the FoRUM there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to 4realz I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the MetroWest Homes
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature RE Tomato, and eight tiny reindeer,
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than Maxsell his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;
“Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Ubertor and Vixen!
On, Comet! on Cupid! on, Sellsius and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!”
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with 3 Oceans, mount to the sky,
So up to HomeGain the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of the Green Mortgage Group.
As I drew in my hand, and was turning around,
Down the chimney Transparent Pat came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of Agent Solutions he had flung on his back,
And he looked like Jeff Turner just opening his pack.
His eyes — how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it Revealed his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.
He was an AgentGenius, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his Creative Agent and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his Rain City Guide aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;
He sprang to his sleigh, to HelpMyAgent gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
“Happy Christmas from MyTechOpinion, and to all a good-night.”
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Kyte Offers Online TV Technology for your Real Estate Business
By Reggie · August 25, 2007 · 4 Comments
Video has been reshaping the Internet, and it’s no different for your real estate business. Think back to your listings online, what do consumers want? Enhanced content…right? They want multiple photos, home tours and now video. So the same could be said for real estate information on your website. A text-based story would work, but imagine an article with video and photo support. Could you prove your point better? Could you also brand yourself better? I believe so!
Introducing Kyte.tv; their technology will allow you to create your own FREE real estate TV channel and broadcast it to the world. Your TV channel can include still photos, slide shows, video, music, voice and instant polls to help enhance your online presence and in turn, provide you a competitive edge in your real estate business. You may choose to include videos outlining industry trends, steps towards home ownership, the selling and buying process, real estate investment, or even showcase local attractions & hotspots. Of course you would also include video tours and photos of your listed homes for maximum appeal. Why not also invite colleagues such as your preferred lender to talk on evaluating loans, and improving credit. The ideas are limitless.
Once your TV channel is built, Kyte will allow you to embed it on your website, blog or even Facebook. Then every time you update your TV channel using the KTYE.tv interface, your website and blog will be updated simultaneously. Kyte has also integrated chat technology, allowing your audience to leave comments promoting your website community.
If you are interested in leveraging the latest in Internet TV technology for your real estate business don’t wait; create your own channel today!
A few other companies providing similar TV channel technology:
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Tags: api, MyTechOpinion, real estate, technology, YouTube
SpotIt brings Community Interaction to your Real Estate Website
By NikNik · August 10, 2007 · 10 Comments
Do you want an easy and quick way to enhance the content and value of your real estate website? Well, SpotIt—a new solution offered by OnBoard, may have just what you need. SpotIt is a “plug and play” Web 2.0 solution that allows consumers who visit your website to vote on their favorite local “spots”. Instantly turn your real estate website into a social networking community by giving visitors the opportunity to create their own categories and vote on them such as “Best Date Spot” or “Best Neighborhood for Kids”. SpotIt utilizes OnBoard’s huge store of community, amenity and school information and brings it to you via the SpotIt API or hosted page templates. SpotIt’s easy integration will give your real estate website a more significant presence on the web, as well as increase traffic. This fabulous community tool combines pinpoint mapping and local opinions to give your website visitors “real” information regarding hot spots in their area. Now your real estate website can promote you as a local expert and facilitate the community dialogue that will get you noticed! Check it out!
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Google Mobile Maps Technology Utilizes GPS
By Chad A. Johnson · July 29, 2007 · 2 Comments
I have been a huge fan of the Google Mobile applications ever since Reggie reported on the service in his post, FREE Google Maps for your Mobile Device. I use it to get driving directions, find businesses and check traffic conditions. It truly is an indispensable program for anyone with a compatible smartphone.
Yesterday, I upgraded to the latest version of Google Mobile Maps for the Blackberry 8800 and got a pleasant surprise. This latest version takes full advantage of the Blackberry 8800’s GPS functionality. Now, when I open Google Mobile Maps, it shows me my current location (within 3 meters)! This is huge, especially for someone without GPS technology in their car. I can now search for an address or business (by name or business type) and get turn-by-turn driving directions from my current location.
The Blackberry 8800 comes with a navigation application installed, Telenav. While Telenav probably has its strengths, it requires a paid service. The $10 per month fee is not much, but the average real estate agents has so many subscription fees for different services and memberships that it can really add up at the end of the year.
While I have only mentioned the Blackberry 8800 (AT&T), those with the new Blackberry 8830 (Verizon), Blackberry 8800 (T-Mobile), Samsung BlackJack, Helio’s Ocean and other GPS enabled phones can take advantage of this great new functionality, as well.
To get the Google Mobile Maps application, go to http://mobile.google.com/ from your smartphone’s browser. Download the Google Mobile Maps Tip Sheet here.
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Real Estate Agents with Verizon: It’s Time to Upgrade
By Chad A. Johnson · July 3, 2007 · 5 Comments
For you technology savvy real estate agents, the Blackberry 8830 World Edition is Verizon’s first Blackberry device to offer the new trackball navigation, brilliant screen and multimedia functionality. Based on the now 3 month old Blackberry 8800 model, the 8830 will appear virtually identical except for the device’s silver enclosure. The only real difference between the 2 models is that of the 8830’s more advanced network capability. As the “World Edition” moniker would imply, Blackberry 8830 can be used overseas. The 8830 can also access the Verizon EV-DO network, giving the Blackberry 8830 faster web browsing than that of the Blackberry 8800 which is limited to Cingular’s EDGE network.
While the new Blackberry 8830 World Edition doesn’t have the ultra compact size or 2.0 megapixel camera of the Blackberry Curve, it is still an outstanding smartphone device. It is also surprising to see Verizon offer the new Blackberry device so quickly after AT&T introduced is sister device, the Blackberry 8800. It took then over a year and a half to follow-up AT&T’s (Cingular’s) Blackberry 8700 with their own Blackberry 8703e. By the time Verizon customers had that device, it seemed out of date.
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Tags: real estate agent, MyTechOpinion, blackberry, iphone, real estate, api
Real Estate Agents Catch the Curve
By Reggie · June 19, 2007 · 1 Comment
Real Estate agents, I have a phone for you! Introducing the compact Blackberry Curve (8300). The Curve supports a full QWERTY keyboard, making it an exceptional phone for business and personal use. As with past Blackberry devices, it is strong in email, calendaring, tasks and notes. But now they’ve also added some fun multi-media tools. The new curve features a 2.0 megapixel digital camera with 5x Digital zoom and built-in flash. Not necessarily the technology to take high-quality real estate photos, but it will surely prove to be handy in life. The Curve will also allow you to carry your real estate podcasts, or personal MP3 playlists on a Micro SD card. I picked up the 2 gig version for $49. You’ll also appreciate that Blackberry finally went with a standard size headphone jack. Again perfect for work or play.
Real Estate agents working as part of a team may appreciate the Blackberry Messenger. It facilitates an instant chat-like session with your contacts. The major benefit Messenger provides is not waiting for emails to be sent and received. With Messenger you can also easily attach images and sound files without being technology savvy.
The Curve may also prove useful when you need unexpected access to the Internet…the MLS for example. Simply connect the Blackberry Curve to your computer and it will work as a tethered modem to power your laptop with broadband internet.
Best of all these features are packed into a case 4-inches tall by .6 inches deep.
Take a look at the Blackberry Curve 8300 here.
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Tags: real estate agents, real estate agent, technology, MyTechOpinion, api, real estate
SCHOOL SCORES & MORE (Part 1)
By NikNik · January 20, 2007 · 3 Comments
Identifying Informative School Resources for the Real Estate Industry
Before getting married, having kids and jumping on the real estate band wagon, I was once a first and second grade teacher. For 5 years, providing a challenging program with options for all learning styles (oh, and making it fun) was my goal. I woke up every morning excited to share new learning experiences with my students. I lived and breathed education as I know many dedicated teachers who spend countless extra hours prepping and planning do. And now being a parent of 2 toddlers, I look forward to sharing those trials and tribulations of homework, projects, field trips and of course, first days with them. But the whole process of selecting a school for your child can be confusing and scary, and also give you a big fat headache!
Because many of my realtor clients know my background is in education, I am frequently asked about a particular school, district, and of course….THE SCORES! Let’s face it; when it comes to real estate, buyers with school-age children want homes in nice neighborhoods with great schools. We all want the best for our kids. But how do you really know that the school is “great” and what is really best for our kids? Taking school scores into consideration is definitely one way to go. Most states have websites you can visit to get the latest school scores for a particular school, district, county, etc. The scores can be great indicators of how well a school is performing, as well as the progress a school is making from year to year.
In California, we give a group of tests known as the “STAR” tests which give way to an overall school score number on the API (Academic Performance Index). If a school scores 800 or above on the API it not only meets the state target, but the school becomes desirable for parents. A score of 900 or better, and parents start camping out front before open enrollment. The problem I run into with providing parents and clients with only the school scores is that often they don’t understand how to read and interpret them, and scores are really only one piece of the puzzle.
School districts are usually required to provide a district report card to inform parents and the community about their academic performance. However these brochures differ widely from district to district, sometimes only providing a glimpse of what parents are interested in. Fortunately, the Internet offers plenty of websites that provide in-depth school profiles. School profiles provided by websites like http://www.greatschools.net, http://www.schoolmatters.com. and http://www.schoolwisepress.com, offer reports with detailed information about teachers and students, class size, socioeconomic factors, as well as academic performance scores and student proficiency in various academic areas. I can’t tell parents enough to examine all the facets of a school’s environment and program before making a choice for their child. Not all children learn the same way and schools vary in their strengths and weaknesses so the best approach is get all the info you can and then visit the schools you are interested in. In School Scores & More (Part 2) I will provide a deeper analysis of online school profiles, discuss buyer anxiety about schools, as well as offer tips for visiting schools.
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Create a Google Toolbar Button for Your Real Estate Blog
By Reggie · December 24, 2006 · Leave a Comment
Google’s Toolbar is very popular and they’ve made it easy to add your blog articles to your reader’s toolbar. All we need to do is make a custom button feeding off your RSS feed. This button not only makes visiting your blog easy with a one click shortcut, but it also itemizes your recent topics.
Start by opening notepad, and copy the code below into the new notepad document:
<?xml version=”1.0″?>
<custombuttons xmlns=”http://toolbar.google.com/custombuttons/”>
<button>
<site>http://www.YourSiteHere.com</site>
<title>Your Title Here</title>
<feed refresh-interval=”3800″>http://www.Site.com/feed.rss</feed>
<description>Enter your brief description here</description>
<icon mode=”base64″ type=”image/x-icon”>Insert base64 output here
</icon>
</button>
</custombuttons>
Now we need to make a few edits to customize the Google button for your blog.
Start by editing the bold areas of the code above:
- Replace http://www.YourSiteHere.com with your blogs URL.
- Replace Your Title Here with the title of your blog.
- Replace http://www. Site.com/feed.rss with the path to your RSS or ATOM feed. Keep in mind Google requires RSS 2.0 or Atom Feed 0.3/1.0 XML.
- Replace Enter your brief description here with a brief description of your blog. This description works like a tooltip, and pops out when a user moves their mouse over your button.
- Now you need to think about the icon you would like to use for the toolbar. (Hint: images with 24 bits of color –RGB work best.) Once you’ve identified the icon or picture you’ll use, click here to convert your image to base64. Then copy the code it produces, and paste it over the text the reads Insert base64 output here.
- Now its time to save the notepad document we’ve been modifying. Click “File” then “Save As.” Now give the file a friendly name and add .xml after the name. For example, I named my button MyTechOpinion.xml.
Great, you’ve customized everything you need for a working button. Now you can do a few things:
- Upload the xml file we just created to your server. (My Example: http://www.mytechopinion.com/google/MyTechOpinion.xml )
- Add a link on your blog that adds the button to your reader’s toolbar. Here is what the link should like: Add MyTechOpinion to Your Google Toolbar
- Submit it to Google’s Custom Button Gallery
To visit the Google Toolbar 4 API Documentation, click here.
To view the MyTechOpinion button and related Real Estate articles, click here
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Google Tools for Real Estate Professionals
By Reggie · November 22, 2006 · Leave a Comment
I was “Googling” (verb: to search Google) last night when I stumbled across a great page on none other than Google’s website. The page was titled “Google Tools for Real Estate Professionals”. It’s devoted to Realtors trying to get the most out of Google’s far reach and innovative services. The page contains helpful links to:
- Google Base for maximizing exposure to listings
- Adwords for website promotion and traffic building
- Maps for displaying listing data and office directions
- Google Earth for publishing 3D satellite imagery of listings
- Local Business Center for updating your contact info used by Google (Including phone number for new call feature I wrote about last week.)
- Sketchup for creating 3D models of listings.
One stop shop…
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How can Trulia help my business?
By Reggie · August 3, 2006 · Leave a Comment
Have you heard about the new Trulia Real Estate Search? Inman recently announced Trulia as the “2006 Most Innovative Web Service“. Trulia connects home buyers directly with brokers through their online interface offering a “mashup” of interactive neighborhood and satellite maps, homes for sale, multiple search views, and market trends to help the home search process.
ENOUGH, How can Trulia help me?
By displaying your listings with a link back to your website. Trulia indexes real estate information from various website feeds into their easy to use interface. Learn about starting your own feed to Trulia by clicking here. (* Note: If you do establish a feed, each listing must have complete data and an image.)
If you are feeding properties to Trulia, you may want to use some of their free tools. Trulia offers an Integrated Search Box, Trulia Map, Home Roll (Newsest homes on Trulia) and a XML RSS Feed of results pages. Take a look at their map plugin below:
Trulia Provides Local Information
When it comes to relocation info, Trulia has done a wonderful job of dynamically linking all of the best locations in one easy interface. Take a look at the California Real Estate Guides, he is a Snapshot of San Francisco. You’ll view sales trends with graphs, schools, census information (i.e. crime, houshold income, travel times.) local maps, community Organizations, attractions, parks & recreation, entertainment, news & media, and government.
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Tags: real estate search, map, trulia, api, real estate, maps
