Trading Down - 06/19/07 12:22 PM
Just came across a great post by Marc Davison on his 1000watt blog, that asks why is it that at a time when American consumers are buying more and more luxury products at premium prices, the real estate brokerage innovations are all happening in the discount arena.  … (4 comments)

Top 5 resource sites for designers - 06/14/07 05:10 PM
Because to be successful in real estate in 2007 you must have some design tricks up your sleeve.
"To start it off let me post my top 5 list: 1. http://logolounge.com - Logo collection for inspiration categorized by keywords and industry. Pay site. 2. http://sxc.hu - Free stock photo exchange site. 3. http://dafont.com - Free fonts. 4. http://brandsoftheworld.com - Logo collection for download. 5. http://tuaw.com - Apple blog with news about Mac software."
This list was created by Ivan on his Creative Bits blog. 
… (5 comments)

My answer to "New Comment" problems - 06/14/07 03:38 PM
I love ActiveRain (duh), but the problem I am having is that the more I participate the more wrapped into it I become.  Before I know it, I am following four or five active blog posts and my email inbox is going crazy with New Comment notices.  This presents a problem with me because my email inbox essentially directs the flow of my life.  When a new email comes in, I do what I can to review it and respond to it immediately.  Well you can see where I am going with this; 100+ notifications of New ActiveRain comments in a … (14 comments)

And Zillow goes head to head with Trulia - 06/14/07 03:05 PM
It's not like this wasn't seen coming a mile away, but it is interesting how many of the real estate web 2.0 companies are starting to enter each others turf.
"Soon, we will be launching the capability for brokers to automatically upload active listings for free to Zillow,"
Next thing you know Zillow will be making some type of mortgage play... 
… (6 comments)

Crazy things happen when you're blogging - 06/13/07 03:17 PM
If you have nothing better to do with your time, check out the Iamfacingforeclosure blog created by Casey Serin.  A very trippy blog, that according to it's hater'z encapsulates everything bad about the real estate bubble.
Here is an interesting quote from a CNET article published today about the blogger: 
"A CNET News.com reader appears to have footed the bill for the Australia trip. In an e-mail message on June 2, that reader offered to pay $1,000 to keep the blog going--and apparently followed through. Serin wrote in follow-up message four days later: "That guy WAS for real. A true supporter. Crazy things … (0 comments)

Operant Conditioning (Email & blog addiction) - 06/13/07 02:55 PM
Am I addicted to email?  If not I am most definitely addicted to my rss reader.  According to behavior psychologists I get the same type of rush or high when I receive a new email, or discover a new blog post in my rss feedreader, as gamblers get when they receive a slot machine payout or win a pot in poker. And this addiction is killing my productivity. 
According to Michael Shanks, an archaeologist and a professor of design at Stanford University, "Primary conditioning mechanism" is the inclusion of relatively small payouts in slot machine gameplay. These small payouts provide positive … (6 comments)

Bloggers Connect & Project Blogger Podcast - 06/11/07 07:12 PM
I can't wait for Bloggers Connect in July. It is a one day prelude to the annual Inman Connect San Francisco conference which is always a highlight of my year. Most of the AR development team is going to be there and Matt and me will be present to award the winners of Project Blogger. I also believe Matt and/or myself will also be speaking on some of the panels.
In case you haven't heard of Inman Connect SF, it is basically like the Navy Seals version of the National Association of Realtors annual convention. Pretty much everyone behind the cutting … (10 comments)

Real estate agents are not the gatekeepers - 06/11/07 06:35 PM
It always irks me when I hear the phrase the "agents are the gatekeepers"! That is ridiculous.  The lead generators are the gatekeepers.  The agents are the information.  To me the future of real estate marketing is all about communicating local market knowledge as far and wide as possible.  Pat Kitano has been providing the most consistent coverage on this fundamental change in real estate marketing. If I was an agent or managed a real estate brokerage I would be betting the farm on this upcoming trend.
Check out Pat's post he published today on this
… (13 comments)

Continuous Partial Attention - 06/11/07 06:16 PM
Now that I have officially renamed my ActiveRain blog to something that more matches my state of being, I can start blogging more in line with the way God made me.
I have 9 windows open on my 30" display, I don't have the time - I mean attention span - to write out lengthy well thought out posts.
For about a week or so, I have been experimenting with a service called tumblr.com and I have found the tumblr style of blogging to be much more natural for me.   So I have decided to give that style a go … (17 comments)

Browser based photo editor - I am in love - 06/11/07 05:59 PM
Picnik is a new free program that allows you to upload and edit your photos directly within your browser.  I have seen a few of these types of programs in the past, but nothing comes close to this one.  
(Try out the "boost" filter, under the Creative Tools tab)
… (5 comments)

Blog Tour USA Podcast (Joel Burslem, Rudy Bachraty, Caleb Mardini) - 06/07/07 07:49 PM
powered by ODEO
Recently I had the opportunity to participate in a conference call with Rudy Bachraty (Sellsius), Joel Burslem (Inman News), and Caleb Mardini (ActiveRain) about an upcoming blogging promotional tour being conducting by Rudy and Joe from Sellsius called Blog Tour USA.
Please forgive my lame discussion moderating abilities. I am no Barbara Walters, thats for sure! But it still should be a fairly interesting listen.
An item that wasn't covered as well in the call as I would have hoped was the "The New Faces of Real Estate" sponsorship option. This sponsorship program allows individual real estate agents … (8 comments)

Do it yourself cheap and easy professional picture - 06/05/07 04:51 AM
Although, I assume it is debatable whether or not my profile picture would be described as professional, that in fact is the picture I will show you how to replicate in less than 10 minutes from start to finish with a built in computer web cam.
Step 1:  Get dressed in professional attire. (Note, I work from home so getting me to put on a shirt and tie was a stretch.  Dress pants would have gone way over the line.)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Step 2:  Take a bunch of pictures to select from.  Some of them may turn out bad.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Step 3: Select … (33 comments)

 

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