Technology for Real Estate
If you have an iPhone, then the new Regator app will rock your mobile world! And if you’re a lover of informative news and a sharer of all things great…you will undoubtedly be excited to find out this app launches today!
Regator.com is online hub of hand-picked blogs representing numerous content areas. Basically, you can search for and find quality blog posts on just about any topic. [Read more...]
I remember just 3 or 4 years ago I could count all of my favorite blogs on one hand. It was easy to keep up with all the useful content. But obviously with the growing popularity of blogs and other online content all that’s changed. While this evolution took place, many of us turned to websites that aggregate useful information like TechMeme. Although if you find yourself in the real estate niche you’ve noticed that we’re often forgotten, so that mainstream content can take center stage. That is, until I ran into www.theclozing.com
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.
I love bling! And not just to wear; I love it on all my blogs and networks. In fact, I had Reggie hook up my ActiveRain sidebar to match the MyTechOpinion Blog v1. So naturally, I was excited when Brad Carroll informed me I could customize my Active Rain Blog layout. With so many sites to maintain on the Web, this is a great way to brand yourself and provide consistency among all your blogs and networks.
To learn how to customize your ActiveRain blog, click here.
If you are a real estate agent with a passion for technology and great marketing tips you should consider attending one of the upcoming 4Realz Internet Marketing Seminars. (Especially if you live in the SoCal region!) 4Realz featured speakers, Dustin Luther and Jim Marks, promise to share great marketing advice for real estate agents. I have witnessed Dustin in action several times. He has a great way of breaking down complex issues and helping you focus your time and effort in real estate marketing activities that get results! They currently have three seminars scheduled for Southern California (room for only 100 participants at each location).
The type of material they plan to cover in the full-day course includes (1) quality website features and design, (2) engaging in existing social networks, (3) building an online community with blogs and (4) tracking and conversion to maximize return-on-investment.
The seminar costs $149 for a full-day course. This includes a light breakfast , full lunch, and 8 solid hours of valuable real estate marketing advice! Click here to register and check it out for yourself!
With over 100 million blogs on the Internet, how do you discern which ones make it to your Google Reader. Blogged.com is “better blog” directory and organizer. The authors and editors of Blogged scour the Internet and blog submissions to identify “better blogs” for different content areas and award each a score. Editor reviews are provided by professional editors who evaluate a blog based on the following criteria: Frequency of Updates, Relevance of Content, Site Design, and Writing Style. The closer you are to 10, the better the blog you have. Use keywords to search for blogs and see if your blog made the cut!
MyTechOpinion was contacted by Blogged recently because they had given us an excellent score of 9.7! When searching for “real estate” we are currently the top rated blog. For business, we rank in the top 6 just under Seth Godin and SEO of the Sea. And for technology, we are #7 right under the Google Blog!!!! Thanks Blogged….MyTechOpinion greatly appreciates your opinion!
Part II: The Windows Experience Index
What is the Windows Experience Index?
“My computer is a 5.5. Yours is a 4.8. My computer is way better than yours!”
This just might be the future of technology bragging on the elementary school playground.
The Windows Experience Index is a technology, native to Windows Vista machines, that assigns a numeric value to the performance of a computer. The higher the number, the faster that computer can perform common tasks.
Windows Vista runs 5 different tests to determine the performance of the processor, memory, graphics, gaming graphics and primary hard disk. At the conclusion of each test, a number (from 1 to 5.9) is assigned to that component.
The most important of those numbers is whichever is the lowest. That number becomes the Windows Experience Index Base Score. For example, my monster of a desktop ranks 5.9 for 4 components and 5.5 for the fifth. That makes the system’s base score a 5.5.
When you discuss a Windows Experience Index score, it is the base score that you concentrate on since it is the limiting factor for performance.
The Windows Vista Team Blog offers a comprehensive look at the Windows Experience Index.
How can a real estate agent use the Windows Experience Index for making technology purchases?
Besides bragging rights (notice how I shamelessly included my base score), what good is the Windows Experience Index to a real estate agent? The Windows Experience Index will simplify every real estate technology purchase you make.
New Computer Purchases:
Purchasing a new computer is a confusing task. How do you know what processor to buy? Is the upgraded video card necessary or a waste of money? The list of questions that will flood your mind when you are buying a new computer is virtually endless.
The Windows Experience Index allows you to ignore clock speeds, dedicated memory and all of that technical mumbo-jumbo. Just look at the Windows Experience Index scores to tell you how that system performs.
Microsoft claims that a computer with a base score of 3 or higher will be able to handle any standard business applications. I see this as a bare minimum.
The real estate industry has become so multimedia driven that a base score of 4.5 or better is advised. The future of real estate technology lies in video presentations and audio files (podcasting). These technologies need a higher base score.
The good news: the price difference between a 4.5 and a 3.0 computer can be only a couple of hundred dollars.
Upgrading a Computer:
As I mentioned in my last article, I don’t recommend upgrading a computer to Windows Vista, it should be purchased with it already on the system. You may be in a situation, though, where you purchased a Windows Vista that just isn’t meeting your performance needs.
The Windows Experience Index identifies what components are holding your system back. I worked on a system with a base score of 2.1. Every other index score was at least a 4.1. By replacing the video card with a more powerful model, that awful 2.1 base score was increased to a 4.1.
Purchasing Software:
Ever look at the minimum hardware requirements for a piece of software? Those requirements will usually list minimum processor speeds, video card processors, amounts of RAM, etc.
Software manufacturers are changing this practice by using the Windows Experience Index number instead. In the future, the software you buy will clearly state that any Vista machine with a base score of 4 will meet the minimum requirements.
A little known tip for increasing your Windows Experience Index number.
According to Microsoft, once your computer is assigned a Windows Experience Index number, that number won’t change unless you upgrade your hardware components. I have seen to be not true.
When Windows Vista was first released, most hardware manufacturers had a difficult time writing Vista-compatible drivers for their products. The delivery of my own system was delayed by a month due to a delay in the release of a sound card driver. Even after I got the machine, my video card drivers were considered a “beta” version.
Over the course of the past year, hardware manufacturers have greatly improved the performance of their components on Vista through the release of updated drivers. This means that by updating the BIOS and drivers for your chipset, video card, sound card and other components on your system, you might see your computer’s base score increase (along with the performance of the machine). This is especially true of Vista machines bought in the first half of 2007.
To see if you can increase your Windows Experience Index base score, visit your computer manufacturer’s downloads page and install any updates that apply to your system. To assist you, here is a list of download page links for the most common computer manufacturers:
HP / Compaq Drivers and Downloads
Recently I was invited to the Inman Connect in New York to speak on a panel about “Marketing Your Real Estate Blog”. As you may know this can be a tricky topic. Please enjoy this video:
Remember that marketing your real estate blog will come in many forms. Here are a few more ideas:
‘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.”
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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