Usually we talk about some cool new text messaging company or system, but today we’ve caught wind of an interesting new trend with Generation X.Baby names inspired by texting and web 2.0.
Yep, you read that right, a study by McCrindle Research on the top 10 baby names in Australia found an interesting trend among Generation X.They found that parents are now opting to give their new babies names that are unique and stand out, especially in the online world; using such things as phonetic spellings, hyphens, and apostrophes.The spellings for these common names are coming from new forms of communication such as text messaging.Who knew that when you sent the message “jzn, were u @?”, that a few years later you might actually meet a “Jzn” (sounds like Jason).
Social analyst Mark McCindle of McCindle Research explains one reason for the increase in texting-inspired names as individuality.Parents wanting their kids to be unique offline and online, often only picking names that have domain names available or “Google well”.In light of this new trend, I put together a list for all of you soon to be parents looking for a “unique” name for your kid:
Web 2.0 Inspired
Yadel
Avazzy
Trilith
Texting Inspired
Jzn (Jason)
Jaymz (James)
Suzi (Short of Sussan)
Got any more web like or texting-inspired names?
HouseFront is a real estate search and house value tool, providing real estate professionals and buyers and sellers with valuable information on over 100 million properties via HouseFront.com and by text messaging any address to ‘HOUSE’ or 46873.
Connect with buyers and sellers through HouseAds. HouseAds is HouseFront’s multi-platform, geo-targeted, real estate advertising system allowing real estate professionals to advertise via Web Banner Ad, Mobile Marketing, and our Customer on Demand system using a Google-like bidding process.
Property tax law varies from state to state, but general assumptions can be made throughout the nation.As property values fall, some homeowners might assume their taxes will go down with it.This is generally not the case, while your taxes may go down a little, they won’t be plummeting at the same rate your home value is.
Here’s an explanation why.Property tax is based on county need and home value; road repair, libraries, schools, and fire departments all need money to operate (no matter how much your home is valued at) which is where your property tax dollars step in.Each year these different organizations estimate how much money they need in the coming year (the exact percent increase is usually capped by voters), that number is then divided among the properties in the county.Again, that’s very simplified.
Your home’s value comes into play when the assessor sets the tax rate based on how much all the homes in your county are worth against how much money is needed by public services.Aubrey Cohen of the SeattlePI puts it best:
“…if a library district needs $100,000 this year and its district has a total property value of $100 million, its tax rate will be $1 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, meaning a bill of $200 on a $200,000 home.”
Here’s where it all comes together, and why home values don’t mean lower taxes:
“If [the library] needs the same amount of money next year, but values declined 10 percent, the assessor would raise the tax rate to $1.11 per $1,000 of assessed valuation.”
Meaning your house is worth less but you still have to pay the same amount (or more) to keep public services up and running.One way your taxes could decline is if your particular neighborhood was hit hard with falling prices and others stayed steady or increased.Your home’s value against others in your county is the determining factor in how your property tax fluctuates.
While Cohen’s example is targeted at Seattle’s tax code, his points are still well received and generally universal.If you thought the lowering of your home’s value was bad and looked for lower taxes to be your silver lining, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it’s probably not the case and can even be the opposite.
HouseFront is a real estate search and house value tool, providing real estate professionals and buyers and sellers with valuable information on over 100 million properties via HouseFront.com and by text messaging any address to ‘HOUSE’ or 46873.
Connect with buyers and sellers through HouseAds. HouseAds is HouseFront’s multi-platform, geo-targeted, real estate advertising system allowing real estate professionals to advertise via Web Banner Ad, Mobile Marketing, and our Customer on Demand system using a Google-like bidding process.
Finishing our two part series on Texting Gone Wrong is scams. Last week we talked about spamming and the negative affects it has on the texting industry (Text Spam). This week we're focusing on texting scams and shady business practices.
Premium Texting
What does text messaging cost? Usually around $0.15 to $0.20 per message sent or received. What if the next time you looked at your bill you saw a message that cost $0.50 or $1.25. This type of SMS is usually labeled as a "Premium Text Message". Services such as your daily horoscope, weather, sports scores or more can cost upwards of a dollar per text, be careful of these services when you sign up.
Monthly Fee's
Want a free ringtone, or wallpaper? Simply text the number 1 to 55555.
Advertisements like that are one of the many ways companies get you on premium text messaging rates. If you're not careful, these very same ads can also charge a per month fee on top of premium texting fees, hitting you twice with expensive hidden charges.
Scams
Both premium texting and the monthly fees that companies try to pass on to consumers are usually hidden in fine print at the bottom of ads, mixed in with legal jargon to better disguise the charges. Making matters worse are service providers, officially putting the burden on the consumer to cancel or deactivate these services/charges once they are discovered. If you can't remember where or what you signed up for it can be a long cumbersome process, not to mention these companies don't want to be found or make it easy for you to cancel.
It is illegal for companies not to display pricing information if they themselves charge anything for their service besides standard texting fees. "My child did it" is not an excuse carriers or these companies accept, so be weary of those commercials you see on TV with fun animations and the words "TEXT to ####" running across the screen as those are the pinnacle of overcharging for texts. Look before you leap text at the fine print at the bottom of the screen and you might save yourself a couple of bucks.
Bob Sullivan of The Red Tape Chronicles equates the rise in SMS scams to the problem telecoms had in the 90's with 1-900 numbers. If carriers don't keep these companies in check texting could go the way of the 900 number, riddled with scams and sneaky services charges.
HouseFront's SMS service is completely free of charge, Text any address to ‘HOUSE' or 46873 and only standard text messaging rates apply. Companies like HouseFront offer consumers innovative text messaging services that provide convenience and access to information while on the go. Spamming and texting scams effect consumers trust in text messaging, dwindling innovation and use.
For a great list of innovative (spam/scam free) texting companies check out our Text Thursday Series.
HouseFront is a real estate search and house value tool, providing real estate professionals and buyers and sellers with valuable information on over 100 million properties via HouseFront.com and by text messaging any address to ‘HOUSE’ or 46873.
Connect with buyers and sellers through HouseAds. HouseAds is HouseFront’s multi-platform, geo-targeted, real estate advertising system allowing real estate professionals to advertise via Web Banner Ad, Mobile Marketing, and our Customer on Demand system using a Google-like bidding process.
Wifi, WiMax, Bluetooth, GSM, our world is becoming ever increasingly wireless. At the end of 2007, experts estimated there were 3 Billion people with mobile phones, and predicted by 2009 that number would reach 4 Billion. Being wireless and having access to information on the go is becoming easier and more essential than ever.
One growing sector of wireless is mobile search, quickly becoming an important tool. Nielsen reports that in the third quarter of 2007 the US had 46 million people using search functionality on their mobile phone. The two most popular search methods include voice (dialing 411) closely followed by SMS (text message searching).
With 80% of consumers starting their home search online, it is important to note that homebuyers are also engaging offline. 100% of consumers go out into their market at some point to look at individual homes or particular neighborhoods. Getting in front of consumers who are out and about is invaluable. Mobile search offers real estate professionals the means to stay top of mind with consumers while they are out house hunting.
HouseFront has been offering consumers one of the only mobile real estate search services via text message (text any address to ‘HOUSE’ or 46873) since early 2007. By the end of that year, HouseAds was launched, offering real estate professionals access to mobile advertising and the ability to get in front of consumers via mobile real estate search. For more information on this growing market segment check out HouseAds.
HouseFront is a real estate search and house value tool, providing real estate professionals and buyers and sellers with valuable information on over 100 million properties via HouseFront.com and by text messaging any address to ‘HOUSE’ or 46873.
Connect with buyers and sellers through HouseAds. HouseAds is HouseFront’s multi-platform, geo-targeted, real estate advertising system allowing real estate professionals to advertise via Web Banner Ad, Mobile Marketing, and our Customer on Demand system using a Google-like bidding process.
This isn’t the longest list we’ve ever had but none the less it’s Monday and it’s time for some celeb real estate news, enjoy this week’s Hot Properties.
You may not have heard of Glibert Alder specifically but I’m sure you’ve seen his work. Alder has produced a great deal of Hollywood hits spanning his career, noting more recent films such as Superman Returns, Constantine, Starsky and Hutch, House on Haunted Hill, and even producing some TV shows such as HBO’s Tales from the Crypt. Gilbert is making the Hot Properties list this week for putting his Beverly Hills home on the market.
The home features around 6,000 sq. ft. with five bedrooms and six bathrooms. The property sits on 1.59 acres of land with ocean views and a private sun deck. The home is located within a private gated community where such celebrates as John Stamos and Mischa Barton also reside.
Bon Jovi’s lead guitarist, co-songwriter, Richie Sambora has been making some notable real estate purchases within the past few months. Back in December of 2007 Sambora bought a 5,500 sq. ft. home from fellow rock star Slash in the San Fernando Valley area, more recently Sambora has purchased another new home in Calabasas from baseball star Randy Wolf (San Diego Padres).
Sambora’s most recent home features seven bedrooms, eight bathrooms, a ballroom style entrance with double oak stairs, a media room and of course a game room. The large mansion though sits on less than 1 acre of land.
To catch up on all celebrity real estate news check out our other Hot Property Series.
HouseFront is a real estate search and house value tool, providing real estate professionals and buyers and sellers with valuable information on over 100 million properties via HouseFront.com and by text messaging any address to ‘HOUSE’ or 46873.
Connect with buyers and sellers through HouseAds. HouseAds is HouseFront’s multi-platform, geo-targeted, real estate advertising system allowing real estate professionals to advertise via Web Banner Ad, Mobile Marketing, and our Customer on Demand system using a Google-like bidding process.
Have you ever wondered how much information is on the WWW?
Well a study by IDC tried to answer that question, using a complex formula they put together an estimation as to how much information is on the Internet. What they came up with is that in 2007 there were 281 Billion gigabytes of information on the Internet. That breaks out to 45 gigabytes per person (worldwide).
Not only are there 281 Billion gigabytes (or 281 Exabytes) of information on the Internet but there is more information on the Internet than there is digital storage in the world. By 2011, the study estimates that only half of all information on the Internet will be stored…(yeah, I KNOW). That leaves the rest floating around in cyber space. How’s that possible? Well here’s the way some experts break it down:
In New York City there are more cars than parking spaces, but it’s not always a problem because there are always some cars being used and driving around, thus freeing up space for those that need to park. This is the same way the Internet’s information works (in a very simple form), as some of the information is always being used and “in transit”, freeing up room for information to be stored. In other words, there is going to be a lot of information in the future just simply being transmitted over the Internet (movies, TV, music), not necessarily stored all at the same time.
As I post this blog today I’d just like to point out that I contributed 28 KB of information (with this blog) to the Internet. I’m quite proud of myself. Let me know what you think about all this, post a comment and add to my information contribution.
Looking for interesting sometimes humors blogs to read on Friday, check out our Happy Hour Blogs.
HouseFront is a real estate search and house value tool, providing real estate professionals and buyers and sellers with valuable information on over 100 million properties via HouseFront.com and by text messaging any address to ‘HOUSE’ or 46873.
Connect with buyers and sellers through HouseAds. HouseAds is HouseFront’s multi-platform, geo-targeted, real estate advertising system allowing real estate professionals to advertise via Web Banner Ad, Mobile Marketing, and our Customer on Demand system using a Google-like bidding process.
In this two part series, I’m going to talk about two key problems in the SMS (text messaging) industry affecting growth and innovation; spam and shady business practices.
Spam
Let’s first start out with some numbers. In 2006, 800 million spam text messages were sent, in 2007 that number increased to 1.1 billion and is expected to reach 1.5 billion this year. That calculates out to six unsolicited text messages per cell phone user in the US. The worst part is, it’s not an even distribution, some users get no spam and others a ton.
Obviously, service providers have it in their best interest to block spam messages, especially with messaging rates at $0.15 per message. Verizon reports that it blocks over 200 million spam messages a month (A MONTH!), at current rates that saves consumers $30 million in would be text messages. Without some kind of a text-messaging plan, spam messages can hurt your pocket book. As carriers increase messaging prices, every bit of spam hurts the text messaging industry that much more (turning consumers off to the technology).
Privacy
Text spam also affects companies looking to add SMS functionality to their product line because of increased privacy concerns. For example, HouseFront created the real estate industries first SMS property search (text any address to ‘HOUSE’ or 46873). HouseFront never sends unsolicited messages, and never sells or gives out user’s information. Consumers who have experienced spam are weary of trying new texting services, and offering up their cell phone number. The less spam consumers receive the more emphasis you can expect to see on services like HouseFront’s.
To view safe, spam free text messaging services check out our Text Thursday Blog, offering up great companies that provide SMS services (like ours) free of charge.
HouseFront is a real estate search and house value tool, providing real estate professionals and buyers and sellers with valuable information on over 100 million properties via HouseFront.com and by text messaging any address to ‘HOUSE’ or 46873.
Connect with buyers and sellers through HouseAds. HouseAds is HouseFront’s multi-platform, geo-targeted, real estate advertising system allowing real estate professionals to advertise via Web Banner Ad, Mobile Marketing, and our Customer on Demand system using a Google-like bidding process.
No, they aren’t all living under one roof but it’s almost like they were, with all three of these celebrities at one point owning this mansion. Kristie Alley lived in the home in 1997 when she sold it to Katey Sagal, who then proceeded to sell the home seven years later to Charlie Sheen. Sheen only held the home for two years when it was sold off to its current owner, who is now selling the home again only two years after buying it (Phew!). With such a rich history, it only seems right for the home to go to another who’s who in Hollywood, keeping its celebrity home status alive.
As for the home itself, it features almost 9,000 sq. ft. with seven bedrooms and seven bathrooms. The mansion sports a recording studio, media room, wine cellar, gourmet kitchen, along with his and her baths in the master suite. The outside property features a pool, fountains and a guesthouse with gardens.
Sean Hayes is most notably known for his role as Jack on NBC’s hit show Will and Grace. Mr. Hayes has recently decided to put his Los Angeles home on the market. The house was purchased by Sean in 2001, and features 5,765 sq. ft. with four bedrooms and five bathrooms. The home sits on .46 of an acre and contains a separate guesthouse and pool out back.
Everyone has heard of Frank Sinatra, a little less known though is his son Frank Sinatra Jr. (who is also a singer). Sinatra Jr. has recently purchased a new property, adding to his long list of real estate transactions. His new property is 7,000 sq. ft. with six bedrooms and seven bathrooms. The home also contains a chef’s kitchen, media room, office (with separate entrance), and here’s the real kick in the head kicker an elevator that leads to a three car garage. Outside, the home sits on .35 of an acre with a pool, spa, waterfalls and patio with a fireplace.
Teri Polo’s got quite a Hollywood rap sheet, appearing in many hit television shows (The West Wing, The Practice, Frasier) and a couple break out roles in movies (Meet the Parents). With a thriving career, Polo is moving out and presumably moving up; putting her Manhattan Beach home on the market. The home has over 3,000 sq. ft. of room, with five bedrooms and four bathrooms. Inside the house are cherry wood archways, plank beams, a chef’s kitchen and a fireplace in the living room and master suite. While the home has more than enough room to stretch your arms out, the property itself only sits on .10 of an acre, leaving only enough room out back for a fire pit.
To catch up on all the celebrity real estate news check out our Hot Properties section of the blog.
HouseFront is a real estate search and house value tool, providing real estate professionals and buyers and sellers with valuable information on over 100 million properties via HouseFront.com and by text messaging any address to ‘HOUSE’ or 46873.
Connect with buyers and sellers through HouseAds. HouseAds is HouseFront’s multi-platform, geo-targeted, real estate advertising system allowing real estate professionals to advertise via Web Banner Ad, Mobile Marketing, and our Customer on Demand system using a Google-like bidding process.
Back in September 2007, HouseFront announced an initiative to become the real estate industries first moon property search and valuation tool, changing our name to MoonFront (name change still pending). We also announced a competition that is set to run through 2025, where the first person to search a property on the moon by texting any address to ‘HOUSE' or 46873 would garner top prizes (HouseFront changes name to MoonFront).
We placed such a long shelf life on our competition because until recently there was no cell phone signal that reached the moon. Well, we hear that NASA has officially announced their intention to build MoonLite; a link between astronauts at the lunar base station and Earth. The system will have the blazing fast speeds of 3Kbps download and 2Kbps upload; making it possible for astronauts to check the value of their lunar base station on HouseFront via text message.
NASA plans to have the system up and running by 2012, in light of this news HouseFront has decided to move up the MoonFront competition to 2013 as surely someone will have won the competition by then. Good luck everyone.
HouseFront is a real estate search and house value tool, providing real estate professionals and buyers and sellers with valuable information on over 100 million properties via HouseFront.com and by text messaging any address to ‘HOUSE’ or 46873.
Connect with buyers and sellers through HouseAds. HouseAds is HouseFront’s multi-platform, geo-targeted, real estate advertising system allowing real estate professionals to advertise via Web Banner Ad, Mobile Marketing, and our Customer on Demand system using a Google-like bidding process.
Searching the Internet, we all do it every day. Whether you're looking for real estate or a Betty Crocker cookie recipe, the best (only) way to find things on the Internet is to search... Who wants to type in www anyways? I use Firefox as my default browser, and love using the built in Google search bar. Instead of having to leave the page I'm on, I simply type what I'm looking for and I'm brought right to my search results, couldn't be quicker.
Here at HouseFront we've brought that same quick search ability to the real estate game. Using either Internet Explorer or Firefox (the two most popular browsers on the Internet), you can now optimize your real estate search experience. The following tutorial explains how to add real estate search to your Firefox or Internet Explorer search bar.
2. Click on the Google logo next to your search bar (Google is the default search for FireFox)
3. You will see the option to "Add HouseFront Search", clicking that will add the ability to quickly look up properties without having to navigate to HouseFront.com. Instead, you will be taken directly to the property details page of the address you searched.
Internet Explorer 1. Adding real estate search to your Internet Explorer search bar is almost identical, except you click the magnifying glass (in the top right corner) and then pick the option "Add Search Providers", you will then see the option for HouseFront Search.
Adding HouseFront Search allows you to look up detailed property information on over 100 million homes instantly, no matter where you are on the web...who could ask for more; give it a try, let us know what you think.
HouseFront is a real estate search and house value tool, providing real estate professionals and buyers and sellers with valuable information on over 100 million properties via HouseFront.com and by text messaging any address to ‘HOUSE’ or 46873.
Connect with buyers and sellers through HouseAds. HouseAds is HouseFront’s multi-platform, geo-targeted, real estate advertising system allowing real estate professionals to advertise via Web Banner Ad, Mobile Marketing, and our Customer on Demand system using a Google-like bidding process.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
;)
;)
