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:
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.
Real estate technology blogger Matt Rains has created a new and useful SMS widget for your website or blog. The goal behind this widget is simple, allow visitors to connect with you quickly. And you’ll receive the phone number of the online individual reaching out.
Consumers move fast these days and they want immediate attention. The powerful element behind text messaging…is its immediacy. It’s also proving to be the way in which many communicate.
According to Nielsen, the average mobile subscriber in the US sent and received more SMS text messages than mobile telephone calls during Q2 2008.
Oh, how I love back to school! Not just because I have kids, I was a teacher, and can’t get enough school supplies from Target. Actually, those are exactly the reasons I love back to school. But this year, there is one more reason for real estate agents to get excited about back to school. Education.com wants to give you helpful hyperlocal school [Read more...]
If you’ve been clamoring for an up to the minute mortgage rate widget for your real estate blog….it’s time to dry your eyes and head over to Zillow. There you’ll find four brand new Mortgage Rate Widgets that you can freely leverage for your own blog. If you’re looking to foster greater online interaction via your blog community and provide readers with a knowledgeable tool, this may be just what you need. Not only are these widgets radiating rates…but they look nice too!
If you thought the Mortgage Rate Widget was the only new candy in Zillow’s goodie bag, it’s time to reach in for a second helping. Did you feel that? It’s Zillow’s FREE co-branding! With it, your blog readers will have access to Zillow tools and features while being reminded who sent them there in the first place. With
Zillow’s co-branding individuals or companies can utilize this free service just by adding any of the following to their blog or Website: individual Zillow URLs, mortgage rate widgets, links generated by the Zillow API, new profile badges.
Here’s how it works:
Before you can take advantage of Zillow’s free co-branding, you need to take care of the following: (1) sign up for a Zillow account, (2) add a Zillow URL to your blog or Website and (3) include the following code at the end of your Zillow link “/?scrnnm=YourZillowScreenName”. Then, when readers select the Zillow URL on your blog and a new Zillow page opens, you’re picture, contact information and link to your Website will appear at the top of that page. Wherever your blog reader travels on Zillow during that session, your branding will follow too. Click here to learn more about Zillow Co-Branding.
In this market, any edge, ledge, step stool or leg up you can get to boost your blog community and market freely to your target audience is worth checking out. And if you’d like to get up close and personal with the Zillow team AND you’re planning to go to REBarCamp and the Inman Connect, you won’t want to miss Beer with Bloggers. The venue is Café Du Nord (from 6-8pm), which just happens to be right above REBarCamp on July 22, 2008. See you there!
Are you looking for a value add for your real estate blog or Website? Many widgets promise the world (MORE READERS), but sadly many fall short of maximizing their intended goal. When it comes to adding valuable content and tools to your blog, try a widget that compliments your niche. Just don’t try them all.
Many agents rightly focus on a niche or specific target market when it comes to blogging. So, why not add a widget that provides local content, events, and even property listings. Hyperlocal aside, even adding a news widget with a larger content scope (say, nationwide) adds value to readers who check both local and national market info.
When thinking about adding a widget to your blog, you may want to ask yourself: (1) Does this widget provide helpful information? and (2) Does this widget foster interaction and build your network?
Property Search
Give consumers a home search tool they will come back for [Read more...]
You may have noticed our new “Recent Reader” widget from MyBlogLog. If not, take a look. The design has been updated and now you can access additional information about your readers. When scrolling over a reader avatar a flyout box will appear with reader details. You can then find out more about your visitor by easily clicking through to their MyBlogLog profile and community pages. The new widget is also infused with a quick link for adding visitors to your contacts. In addition, MyBlogLog readers can simply add themselves to the site’s community by selecting the “add” button at the bottom of the widget.Currently, MyBlogLog offers a choice of seven colors and 2 layouts for your widget. You will need to adjust the flyout box based on your blog layout. There are a couple of known glitches:
MyBlogLog has plans for those of us who prefer optimum customization and promises we’ll be able to upload our own skins very soon. Also, stay tuned for major changes on your MyBLogLog profile. In the coming weeks, your profile will be getting a facelift and new integrated features….taking your profile from static to dynamic!
Getting Started: To update your “Recent Reader”widget, go to your MyBlogLog community page and click on the “widgets” link under your community description.
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!
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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