Inman News Beta: Same great news. Brand new site.

By NikNik · March 1, 2008 · Leave a Comment 

When it comes to Real Estate News, “Either you’re in or you’re out!”

It sounds much better coming from Heidi Klum. On Project Runway, Heidi and her A-list designer judges critique and praise the battling designers on their looks and designs each week. Advising along the way, “make it work!”

Well, this week Inman News revealed their new look at www.Inman.com. I was delighted to see their core theme “the first word in real estate” maintained and supported by impeccable construction and detail, with a fabulous color palette and logo to boot! Besides the new look, the Beta Inman site will boast new benefits for members.

News will continue to flow from Inman TV, the InmanBlog, the InmanWiki, and NOW via the NEW Blog Network! The Blog Network is a consortium of Real Estate industry bloggers which include (just to name a few): Transparent RE, FORUM, 4realz, Urban Digs, The Mortgage Reports, and MyTechOpinion. Yep, our real estate technology posts from here at MyTechOpinion are now available at Inman. This doesn’t sway our opinion of Inman’s new look…but rather raise our level of expectations. And with that, I’m proud to say, “Inman News Beta, you’re in…you may leave the runway!”

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Want Free Online Meetings For A Year? Then Read This!

By NikNik · January 4, 2008 · 5 Comments 

Yugma became one of the fastest growing real-time web collaboration services in 2007! Thanks to the real estate bloggers, and other online technology enthusiasts! But mostly the bloggers! And to show their appreciation, Yugma would like to give you a free year of their premium service valued at $99.50.To learn more about this program and how to get your sponsored Yugma account, check out the details on the Yugma blog. The window to request your account through the Yugma Blogger Program will be through the end of January, 2008. So if you are interested, get on it!

Yugma will also be upgrading their current services with new features and improved performance in the coming weeks. If you have not checked out Yugma’s online meeting tools, it’s worth investigating. It’s an affordable option for real estate agents, keeping you connected with your clients and colleagues!

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Dancing with the Bloggers

By NikNik · January 1, 2008 · 1 Comment 

Todd Carpenter asked me to judge his first annual “2007 Humdinger Award” contest along with Dan Green and Chris Lengquist. The entries were funny and the bloggers were fierce! As for the scores…you’ll just have to visit Blog Fiesta to get the true results. They are all superbly hysterical posts in my book. So if you haven’t already checked out these blogger funnies, start off your new year with a big giant smile and get to reading!DTPMMALF – Athol passes the “ass test”! I’m very impressed that he understands what’s really being asked of him. Plus it made great reading material for Reggie.

The Bubble Gum Interviews – Each and every one of them is oddly fabulous! Finally someone gets to the heart of what we really care about…you know…drag racing in Houston, Starbucks, arm wrestling Chuck Norris or Brittney Spears. Thanks Lani, I look forward to the next one!

The Honor is All Mine! – It sucks to be overlooked. Just an oversight on their part I’m sure. But can I buy you at beer at the next Beers & Bloggers so that I can say I know you now?

Ten Marketing Tips You Can Learn From A Prostitute - An amazing introspective article detailing the dualities between prostitution and real estate. Very motivating!

Business Goals – A plan is good. A plan with real expectations is even better. Some of us need to plan our “nice time”. Thanks for the tip!

Top 5 Reasons Why You Wouldn’t Hire a Penguin as Your Next Realtor® - Yes, I run into Penguins from time to time at the gym. They are always the ones ignoring the “no cell phones” rule and insist on talking on their cell phones as I’m running on the treadmill….take it outside already!

Please Don’t Destroy My American Dream – This actually brought back nightmares of my former neighbors who held weekly BBQ’s on the roof of their 7 bedroom home. They had dirt bikes too. (Which I don’t mind enjoying on occasion.) But not while the neighbors are making their own “Jack Ass” movie dragging themselves on crates down my front lawn.

Mademoiselle? Oui. La Spinster?…ZUT! - “Bella Donna” sarebbe la mia scelta!

What I’ve Learned in Two Weeks of Real Estate Brokers Classes - Get to the point already!

WordPressing their widgets into your Facebooks! - Perfectly hilarious and smart!

And, I’m looking for “Dancing with the Bloggers” contestants. Still working on the logistics of the venue…it may have to take place in my gym locker room. But if you own an iPod and you have a little shake left if your booty….you’re in!

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MyTechOpinion is heading to the New York Connect

By Reggie · November 22, 2007 · 7 Comments 

I’m excited to share with MyTechOpinion – Technology for Real Estate readers that I will be speaking at the Inman Blogger Connect this January in New York. I will be on the panel titled “Marketing Your Blog” on Wednesday January 9th. If you have not already purchased your connect tickets do so now, as the prices go up on 11/24/2007.

Please comment here and let me know if you will be attending.

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Meet the Bloggers at NAR

By NikNik · October 27, 2007 · 1 Comment 

Technology for Real Estate heads to Vegas! If you are planning to attend the NAR Expo in Las Vegas, be sure to stop by Booth #3444 and “Meet the Bloggers”! Damon Pace from Incredible Agent will be hosting an event to spotlight some recognizable real estate bloggers in an informal question and answer format. I’m thrilled to be on the schedule for Thursday at 4pm. So please join us! For more information visit Mike’s Corner.

Where: IncredibleAgent.Com Booth #3444 NAR Expo, Sands Convention Center Las Vegas

When: Wed 11 / 13 and Thursday 11 / 14

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Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle Your Real Estate Technology

By NikNik · October 15, 2007 · 5 Comments 

I’m often asked about new real estate technology, but I’m rarely (if ever) asked what to do with the old technology left behind. And if you are technological enthusiast as I am, then you may be upgrading your computer and other electronic devices as often as the seasons change. So, what do you do with your old technology? My kids love adopting my old Blackberries, MP3 players and computers. But eventually even they outgrow these devices…and I’m left with quite a pile of “e-waste”.

What is e-waste?
E-waste is electronic waste that includes computers, mobile phones, entertainment electronics like TVs and VCRs, fax machines, copiers, and any other tech items that have been discarded by their original users.

How does e-waste affect our environment?
The United States generates more e-waste than any other nation, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Electronic waste represents 2 percent of America’s trash in landfills, but it equals 70 percent of overall toxic waste. E-waste is of concern largely due to the toxicity and carcinogenicity of some of the substances if processed improperly. Toxic substances in electronic waste may include lead, mercury, and cadmium. Carcinogenic substances in electronic waste may include polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). These toxic chemicals can leach into the land over time impacting nearby communities and the environment. Incineration of e-waste releases heavy metals such as lead, cadmium and mercury into the air and ashes. Mercury released into the atmosphere can bioaccumulate in the food chain, particularly in fish - the major route of exposure for the general public. And sadly, the exportation of e-waste to poor countries is devastating to say the least. To learn more about e-waste exportation visit Greenpeace and watch this video.

So how can real estate professionals help?

1. Reduce, Reuse, & Recycle
   Many of these electronic products can be reused, refurbished, or recycled. You can reduce your generation of e-waste through smart procurement and good maintenance. Reuse still functioning electronics by donating or selling them to others that can use them. And recycle electronic items that cannot be repaired. You would be surprised how many local organizations will actually take your electronics for FREE if you just open your phonebook or do a little digging! In California, you can find a local organization that reuses or recycles electronics by searching the Electronic Product Management Directory (EPMD).
2. Support Green Technology
   Some large companies like Fujitsu have developed technologies to eliminate toxic chemicals by developing lead-free products. Additionally, Sony and Waste Management have partnered recently to launch the “Sony Take Back Recycling Program” to help customers safely recycle all Sony electronics, and even non-Sony products for a market-rate fee. Visit the Sony Electronics Blog to learn more.
3. Support E-Waste Legislation
   The United States Congress is considering a number of electronic waste bills including the National Computer Recycling Act introduced by Congressman Mike Thompson (D-CA). However, this bill has continually stalled. In the meantime, several states have passed their own laws regarding electronic waste management. California was the first state to enact such legislation, followed by Maryland, Maine, Washington and Minnesota. More recently, legislatures in Oregon and Texas passed their own laws.
4. Blog About It
   If you have a blog you have a great opportunity to inform others. This post was inspired by Blog Action Day! But you don’t have to wait until Earth Day to write about environmental issues facing your community and real ways you can help and improve your local sustainability.

Online Resources:

Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry
eWaste.com: Regional Computer Recycling & Recovery
Greener Computing
Make Me Sustainable

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Real Estate Bloggers Participate In Blog Action Day

By NikNik · September 30, 2007 · 4 Comments 

If you have been thinking about ways in which you can make a positive environmental impact, then I have a simple suggestion for you….participate in Blog Action Day.

What is Blog Action Day?
On October 15th, bloggers around the web will unite by publishing posts which call attention to our environment. Major blogs have signed up to participate, including Lifehacker, Dumb Little Man, and Lifehack.org. Real Estate blog friends include: RE Revealed, Agent Solutions and Every Kid Deserves a Yard.

How can I get involved in Blog Action Day?
The best way to participate is to publish a post on your blog which relates to an aspect of our environment that you are passionate about. For example, if your blog focuses on real estate technology then write about a new technology which makes real estate more environmentally friendly, or perhaps sustainable real estate practices. There are numerous articles on the web about real estate going green. Or check out the following ideas:

1. Smart Home Improvement
2. Products and services for an eco-friendly household
3. Realtors Go Green (businesses making a difference in their local area)
4. Homeowners Go Green: tips real people can do to make a difference everyday
5. Green architecture and changes made in housing developments
6. The Green Commute: lessening your fuel impact on the environment
7. The Green Roof: Urban dwellings establish green roof system
8. Solar Powered Credit for Homeowners offered by PG&E
9. Local Threatened or Endangered Species
10. Developers face eco-friendly rules for building

Register your blog
Before writing your post I urge you to visit BlogActionDay.org to learn more about this environmental call to action, as well as register your blog. The site is keeping track of all the blogs that have committed to participating. Visit http://blogactionday.org/commit to register.

Other things you can do
You can also participate in Blog Action Day by posting a banner on your site or by donating your day’s blog earnings to an environmental charity of your choice.

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Real Estate Bloggers: Increase Your RSS Subscribers with Facebook

By NikNik · September 12, 2007 · 6 Comments 

If you are a member of Facebook, you have most likely been hugged, poked, or even superpoked by now. With over 2000 applications available on Facebook, it can be a daunting task to uncover the ones actually worthy of installing. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for fun and interesting…and covet my iLike Music Expert status. But recently I’ve taken advantage of a fairly new application that real estate bloggers may enjoy and benefit from. The Blog Friends application allows you to share your blog and feed with your Facebook friends, and your friends’ friends.

With Blog Friends, you can:

1. Track blog posts made by friends—on topics that interest you
2. Display those blog posts on your profile page
3. Increase your network of friends with additional blog exposure
4. Increase your RSS feed count with RSS feed icons on Facebook

So real estate agents, if you are already on Facebook, this seems like a win-win application to take advantage of now! Viral marketing techniques are often criticized and the word “viral” alone calls out for hand sanitizer. That’s why I prefer the term “spiral”. Spiders work quickly and efficiently when making their webs, so why shouldn’t bloggers do the same. If a spider can utilize the wind to effectively to carry its adhesive thread…then its only fitting to make Facebook’s technology work for real estate bloggers. So consider installing the Blog Friends application and let the wind carry your thread.

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Email Newsletters for Real Estate Agents

By NikNik · August 29, 2007 · 4 Comments 

Real estate newsletters are a very popular form of communication. Email newsletters can be a great alternative for busy real estate agents who want to try another marketing medium, save on printing costs and reach a larger audience. Brand yourself as the local expert and offer community information. Include your latest listings and inform your clients with real estate industry news. A concise newsletter with several small informative snippets is the way to go! In addition, you can direct your subscribers back to your website and blog, as well as capture new leads. But before you can do all this, make sure you have collected, and continue to collect, email addresses and update your contact database regularly. There are a variety of online marketing websites that can help you take it from there. Try these similar, yet different marketing solutions on for size:

1. Constant Contact
   Choose from a variety of professionally designed newsletter templates. You’ll need to insert pictures, contact info AND your own industry articles. Cost is based on your email list size. So the range spans from $15 a month for a list 0-500, all the way to $225 for lists up to 25,000! You can also create unlimited surveys and invite participation from your email list or website visitors.
2. iContact
   iContact is an email marketing service that provides you with the ability to design a template, insert your content, send, and track email newsletters, RSS feeds, surveys, and autoresponders. Pricing starts at $9.95 per month for 500 contacts to $699 a month for up to 100,000 contacts!
3. MyNewlsetterBuilder
   MyNewsletterBuilder gives you the ability to incorporate multi-media within your newsletter: virtual tours, audio tours, rotating banner ads, and custom template design. Free 60 day trial. Offers additional services: website design, RSS Feeds Setup, SEO, and more!
4. EmailFusion
   If you have even less time to create content and you don’t mind spending a bit more, EmailFusion may be the answer for you. Besides having some amazing looking email campaigns, they offer professional pre-written content for your newsletter. And for those of us who prefer original content, you still have the ability to insert your own content. With EmailFusion, you can easily manage your subscribers and receive real time reports with detailed analytics. Pricing on their packages range from $39.95/month to $139/month, all include a $99 one time set-up fee.
5. Zookoda
   Great solution for real estate bloggers! Promote your blog and your brand! With Zookoda, you can send a daily, weekly, or monthly summary of your blog content. You can also manage your subscribers and enhance your blog with custom a subscription form. For those of you that know a little HMTL, use their Zootags to customize your newsletter. (Format your picture, logo, etc.) Oh, and did I mention it’s FREE! (BTW-We use it and we like it!)
6. Create your own with a Publisher template!
   This is a great option if you have an assistant or work in a team. And FREE! Create you own Publisher template and have your assistant fill in the local and community info, featured listings, etc. Bloggers, just copy and paste your blog content into your newsletter template. Send your email newsletter right from Publisher (File>Send Email>Send this page as message) and access your Outlook database! And for those of you that are using Publisher 2007, you can take advantage of their new email merge feature. Once you have set up a template, it’s just about plug and play!

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Know any real estate bloggers?

By NikNik · August 3, 2007 · 9 Comments 

Well, we sure do now! The MyTechOpinion team made their way across the bay to take part in the Inman Bloggers Connect festivities and conference. The usual suspects were present (Reggie, Chad, & myself). But in hopes of turning my business partner (and virgin blogger) onto blogging, I brought along my collaborator in crime, Sarah.

We arrived at the Beers & Bloggers party at the Thirsty Bear in San Francisco to find the shindig in full swing. There wasn’t much room to really work the crowd, so we corralled ourselves into a little corner up front and considered ourselves greeters. At any rate, it turned out to be a great spot, as Louis Cammarosano from HomeGain was the first to connect with us. As we suspected, Joe and Rudy from Sellsius, were a kick in the pants…literally!!! We enjoyed a few “small world” realizations as Trulia’s Jamie Glenn and I appreciated our hometown charm gone wild, and Pat Kitano and Sarah initiated a high school reunion for 2!

Joe and Rudy offered us a ride on the BlogTour bus to the Trulia party at John Colins …but we passed after they said Sarah could drive. After arriving safely (via Bill the taxi man), things turned dangerously hot upstairs with condo kings Tony from CondoDomain and Adam from Condo.com. Canada was well represented with pro bloggers Stephen and Mike of Ubertor, and Sara and Sheldon of The Edmonton Real Estate Blog. A special thanks to Stephen, as his out of town insistence on after party hot spot, The Clift, proved to be one memorable evening.

As for the conference the following day, we found Mary McKnight’s advice and tips to be on point. So I’m sure you’ll be seeing a lot more questions for post titles here in the future. Overall, it was great experience for enthusiastic real estate bloggers of any level. Sarah (our virgin blogger) came away with enough helpful information and inspiration to want to jump into the blogosphere with both feet! I’m sure she’ll have a few friends along the way to support her.

See more photos here.

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Real Estate Bloggers Connect in San Francisco

By NikNik · July 9, 2007 · 1 Comment 

Are you going to Bloggers Connect?

Just a reminder that the Inman Bloggers Connect Conference is fast approaching, so don’t miss this opportunity to meet and connect with real estate bloggers from around the globe! The main conference portion of this event takes place August 1 from 8:30-3:00 (Palace Hotel, SF), with topics including Finding Your Voice, Monetizing Your Blog, Show Me the Leads, Blogs and Social Networking, and more. You will also hear tips from top bloggers, as well as find out Project Blogger winners. So if you haven’t marked your calendars yet, you will undoubtedly do so to attend the party of the summer, Beer with Bloggers, July 31. Don’t miss this fabulous networking occasion where you’ll finally be able to meet your fellow bloggers face to face, and enjoy some refreshing beverages. So, will we see YOU there?

Click here to register.

TUESDAY, JULY 31

5-7 pm - Beer with Bloggers

WEDESDAY, AUGUST 1

8:30- 9:15 - Finding Your Voice
9:15-10:00 - Monetizing Your Blog
10:00-11:00 - Keynote: Sitting in the eye of a media storm: The Inside Story
11:00-11:45 - Show Me the Leads
11:45-12:30 - Blogs & Social Networking: Creating Virtual Communities
12:30-1:00 - Lunch Break
1:00-1:45 - Pump Up the Volume with Widgets, Blidgets & other Doo-Dads
2:00-2:15 - Project Blogger Winners Revealed
2:15-3:00 - 10 Tips from Top Bloggers

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Be My Blogger Valentine

By NikNik · February 14, 2007 · 6 Comments 

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