Elixir Technology BLOG

Content RULES! WARNING

Murali Vasudevan (Elixir Addons) — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 12:59:35 -0700

Recently I wrote about auto tweeting cheap gas price on my ActiveRain Blog.

Since then I have been auto tweeting many more usefull info like mortgage rates, stock market indices, WalkscoreTM, Weather forecast and Real estate market forecat at the Twitter account elixirinc.

Based on popular demand, I have also started auto tweeting sports scores and news including NBA, NHL, NASCAR, Tennis, FIFA World cup, NCAA March madness etc at elixirbot.

I even ended up creating a dedicated account for MLB fans!.

Also have started tweeting events, bargains, charity activities etc at elixirpost

Content RULES! Use it wisely with Social media and see your fan base growing, online leads soaring eventually adding to your bottom line;)

Be warned! Some times you may realize that you can't handle the additional business yourself and may end up expanding your office, hiring helpers and secretaries which is not bad after all;)
Cheers!
Murali
www.elixiraddons.com

Are you using the FREE MLS tools?

Murali Vasudevan (Elixir Addons) — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 02:20:00 -0700

Recently when couple of realtors approached me to add MLS listing URLs to their web pages, I realized that not many realtors are making use of this FREE service from their MLS.

Here are the links I added to the web site of Rod Johnston

1) Map Search

2) Standard Search

3) My Listings

4) Office Listings

Make sure to do the same with your MLS also so that you don">

Zonna Dilag did the same to make her website more attractive.

Needless to say, both are extremely happy with the new leads they are getting;)
Cheers!
Murali
www.elixiraddons.com

SoCalMLS Members Sign up for Your Free News Letter NOW!

Murali Vasudevan (Elixir Addons) — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 19:15:34 -0700

If you are a real estate agent with SoCal MLS, here is a great offer you don't want to let go!

Go to the following site and sign up for your FREE monthly news letter.

http://www.hten.com/dispSignup2.cfm?market_id=3245

You can customize your newsletter by adding links to your web site, and to your MLS listings and MLS search as shown below.

You can get these links from your MLS. I also strongly recommend adding these links to your web site as well just like Rod Johnston at http://www.rodsrealty.com

Also check out the following pages to view map search and more...

Map Search

MLS Search

Here is a complete working news letter I created for a realtor Rod johnston http://rodsrealty.housingtrendsenewsletter.com

Home evaluator link will also help as lead generator.

This tool will also create email you can use to notify your customers when the newsletter is ready.

This also has arcive options.

Awesome to give away for FREE!

cheers!

Murali Vasudevan

http://www.elixiraddons.com

How to Get Twitter Widget for Your Web Site?

Murali Vasudevan (Elixir Addons) — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 21:48:19 -0700

Widgets to display Twitter updates on your website or social network page

See my widget in action!

Step1:

Step2:

Select My Website link from the left which will take you to the following page.

Selecting Facebook option will let you create Facebook integration so that your tweets will be automatically posted on your Facebook Wall. I will cover this in a different tutorial.

Step3:

Click on the Profile Widget link from the above, which will show you the following page.

Specify your twitter User Name and click Test Settings button below. This will show you the tweets as shown below.

If you like this widget, click the Finish & Grab Code button. Go to Step 7 directly.

Step4 (optional):

Click on the Preferences link from the above, which will show you the following page. Use your graphics skills here and try different options. Click Test Settings button to view the result.

Step5 (optional):

Try different options. Click Test Settings button to view the result as shown below.

Step6 (optional):

Click on the Appearance link from the above, which will show you the following page. Again, be creative! Try different options for the background color, text color and links. Click Test Settings button to view the result.

If you like the final widget, click the Finish & Grab Code button. Copy the HTML to your web site (this is simple HTML code). You are done!

See my widget in action!

Twitter Profile Organizer for Spring Cleanup

Murali Vasudevan (Elixir Addons) — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 11:44:27 -0700

If you are like the majority Twitter folks, you try to follow every one on Twitter hoping to make them follow you.

If this works, you will become instant celebrity and you are on your way to Hollywood.

In reality, this is just an imagination as many of you have experienced.

Well, help is on the way. Here is what you need to do.

Go to this site and type your twitter userid. http://www.elixiraddons.com/twitter/mutual.php

This will create three groups of your friends and followers as explained below.

Category1: Followers you are following back (mutual followers) - You may be surprised to see how small this groupo is!

Category2: Followers you are not following back. They are like you, trying to follow the world. You can look at their profile one at a time by clicking on the image and decide whether you want to follow them. You may have to login if you are not already logged in.

Category3: Friends who are not yet following you.You can send them reminder to follow you one at a time.

At any time, you can click on an image to view more details like Twitter name, number of followers and friends. From the detail, you can also access their profile to request them to follow you or you can follow them.

I will be adding more features to this depending on the feedback, like automating following/reminding others without going to Twitter.

Meanwhile, keep using this tool, spread the word and send me your feedback.

Good luck!

Murali Vasudevan

www.elixiraddons.com

Tweet Cheap Gas Prices around your area

Murali Vasudevan (Elixir Addons) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 21:06:48 -0800

Here is a tool to Tweet Cheap Gas prices around your area!

This can tweet Regular/Plus/Premium Gas prices for a selected ZIP codes at specified intervals! Rain or Shine - this will work 24X7 for you and your clients!

Cheers!
Murali
www.ElixirAddons.com

Trim URL to post MLS listing on Twitter!

Murali Vasudevan (Elixir Addons) — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 01:09:58 -0800

Here is a URL shortening tool I built to post long URLs on Twitter where there is a 140 char limit.

This is the original URL to show the MLS listing:
http://idd.homeseekers.com/scripts/detail.asp?_account=idd&_em=1&_org_id=carets&mls_property_id=P702989_SOCAL&_sponsor_org_id=CASOCAL&_agent_public_id=PRODJOHN&_sponsor_office_id=0067

Here is the shortened version
http://www.elixiraddons.com/demo/snip.php?u=rodmls1

Cheers!
Murali Vasudevan
www.elixiraddons.com

Website Addon to manage Newsletters!

Murali Vasudevan (Elixir Addons) — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 18:38:40 -0800

Website Addon to manage Newsletters! http://www.elixiraddons.com/news/

Whenever you get a new newsletter, upload using this Addon
You will get a link you can place in Facebook, Twitter or on your web site. This will be short enough to fit within the 140 character limit. Her is a sample URL from a realtor
You will also get a widget you can place on your site to show all newsletters!
See the widget in action at RodsRealty.com

Cheers!

Murali Vasudevan

http://www.elixiraddons.com/news/

Walkscore on Facebook!

Murali Vasudevan (Elixir Addons) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 23:06:37 -0700

Find walkable places to live! Find walkability of any address by locating nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks, etc. See how easy it is to live a car-lite lifestyle. This is a Facebook application I built using Walkscore API >>> http://apps.facebook.com/walkusa/ A very useful tool for realtor to rate a neighborhood or property you want to sell! If you are a realtor, show the Walkscore of your properties on your Facebook wall! Feedback and suggestions are always welcome!

Show off Home valuation charts on your Facebook profile - using eZcharts!

Murali Vasudevan (Elixir Addons) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 17:06:14 -0700

An essential tool for Realtors! A must if you are in the housing market planning to buy or sell house!! Get Home Price or Percentage change graph using eZcharts for any zip code within the Unites States. Save the chart in your Facebook Profile or in the Boxes tab and share with your Friends. If you are a realtor with Zillow account, you can even co-brand the chart using your zillow ID before storing in your Facebook profile! Get it Now! Feel free to provide feedback if that can improve this tool! Note: I used Zillow API to create this tool.

Craigslist advertising Tips - A must for Realtor Marketing!!!

Murali Vasudevan (Elixir Addons) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 20:14:07 -0700

Recently realtor Rod Johnston asked me to help him with two issues while placing ads on Craigslist.

1.How to add more than four pictures of the property? Craigslist built-in feature only allows to upload max four.

2.How to re-post an ad without having to upload the pictures again?

The answer is quite simple. You use HTML tag to point to the pictures stored elsewhere (like photobucket.com). This will let you show as many pictures as you wish and will make re-posting a breez!

Check out the following real life Craigslist ads. The links we posted before were not correct. Following should work. In fact they all Rock in time for Grammy!
First Ad
Second Ad
Third Ad

These are created as follows.

Email your pictures to an address we setup with photobucket.
We will create CraigsList ad using these pictures similar to the one above. Thumbnail images are clickable which will open full size picture.
Since we don't upload the pictures to CraigsList, reposting the ad is a snap!
Also, there are no limits to the number of pictures (even though we think four is a reasonable limit).
Contact us if you need help creating similar ads!

Cheers!
Murali Vasudevan
Elixir Addons

Zestimates on Google Map for any city within USA

Murali Vasudevan (Elixir Addons) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 15:14:22 -0700

Here is Zestimates mapped on Google map for any city in USA. http://www.elixiraddons.com/zillow/regions.php

You can also select a different state, county or city to further drill down to see more local Zestimate.

Has color schemes to highlight Zestimates above (red) and below (green) the average value for the selected region.

This is done using Zillow API.

Murali
www.elixiraddons.com
API Integration Specialist

Neighborhood Information charts using Cyberhomes API

Murali Vasudevan (Elixir Addons) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 12:14:20 -0700

Recently one of my realtor friends Paul Paterakis called me.

He was planning to revamp his site and asked me about adding Neighborhood Information charts to his site. According to various surveys, this is one thing consumers are looking for.

Here is the page I built.

Here is his site with my page

regards,
Murali,
www.elixiraddons.com,
Realtor Technology Expert

Online Property Tax appeal using Zillow/CyberHomes APIs

Murali Vasudevan (Elixir Addons) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 23:09:29 -0700

Here is a site I created for Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and SanDiego county home owners!

This site will list comparable sales in the neighborhood. Properties sold close to Jan 1, 2009 are shown at the top since this is what the assessors need for the appeal.

This also generates the appeal PDF form automatically filling in all the details based on the county the property belongs to!

This was created using Zillow API to list comparable sales.

Here is another similar site I created using Cyberhomes API. Check out these and see which one is better, Zillow or CyberHomes!

Murali
www.elixiraddons.com
API integration Expert

Mortgage rate chart Widget for various states

Murali Vasudevan (Elixir Addons) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 22:58:40 -0700

Here is a widget to display a chart to show current mortgage rates Vs last week rates for any state in US.
By default, this shows the rate in the state from which the customer is surfing.

See more widgets

Murali http://www.elixiraddons.com

Online Property Tax appeal (Prop 8) for California home owners

Murali Vasudevan (Elixir Addons) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 20:27:34 -0800

Here is a site I created for Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and SanDiego county home owners!

This site will list comparable sales in the neighborhood. Properties sold close to Jan 1, 2009 are shown at the top since this is what the assessors need for the appeal.

This also generates the appeal PDF form automatically filling in all the details based on the county the property belongs to!

This was featured on Cyberhomes blog this week!

Search Twitter - find Tweets from Twitter

Murali Vasudevan (Elixir Addons) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 12:11:29 -0800

Twitter is catching up like a fire! Here is an addon to find Tweets from Twitter. Do you think adding this to your web site will help attract more visitors? You can do the following four different searches.
Tweets containing word
Tweets from user
Tweets to user
Tweets referring user

School locators for realtor sites

Murali Vasudevan (Elixir Addons) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 01:14:56 -0800

Here is a School Locator for families planning to purchase homes in Arizona. Since families would like to see the school district and the schools, locator like this one is a must for any relator web site.

I created the AZ locator using the directory info available for download from Arizona Department of Education. This is stored in my database which provides the engine for the search feature. The search feature is created using PHP (one of the many programming languages avialable like Coldfusion, ASP, Java, Perl, Python).

From the search result, you can get the details of the school and the test scores by linking to Arizona Department of Education site.

I have similar locators for California and Nevada also.

Here is a Google mash up for California school locator.

Please check these out and let me know if you would like to have it added to your web site.

CyberHomes-Zillow-Trulia widgets for realtor web sites

Murali Vasudevan (Elixir Addons) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 19:22:03 -0800

CyberHomes provides two options to add home valuation details to your web site.

Co-branding is the easier option I haven't yet tried. I will do this shortly.

Second option is using PHP as shown here. This also provides properties comparable to the one you are looking for including the price change during the previous months. You can also search for a property.

Previously I have shown how to add Zillow widgets to your web site.

In general, these widgets are provided free for you so that you can add content to your web sites without having to spend time and money to own and keep these data accurate and updated. These contents, if properly used, can attract more visitors to your site which in turn can help increase sale!

As demonstrated here, there are options to keep visitors from going to Zillow if you create those capabilities for your site. This will require advanced programming though.

I also have a similar demo for TRULIA widgets.

Check these out and let me know what you think.

California school locator for potential home buyers (AZ and NV too)

Murali Vasudevan (Elixir Addons) — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 20:40:32 -0800

Here is a School Locator for families planning to purchase homes in California. Since families looking for houses would like to see the school district and the schools, this is one thing any relator web site should have.

I created it using the directory info available for download from California Department of Education. This is stored in my local mySQL database which provides the engine for the search feature which is created using Coldfusion (one of the many programming languages avialable like PHP, ASP, Java, Perl, Python).

From the search result, you can get the details of the school and the test scores by linking to California Department of Education site.

I have similar locators for Arizona and Nevada also.

I always look for opportunities to utilize my technical expertise to resolve practical issues. Created another version of Google mash up for California school locator. Check it out and let me know your thoughts.

Please check these out and let me know if you would like to have it added to your web site.

I will give free six months trial for the first 10 responders.

ZILLOW widgets for your web site!

Murali Vasudevan (Elixir Addons) — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 22:57:06 -0700

Check out these Zillow widgets and decide whether you can benefit from these.

As demonstrated here, there are options to keep visitors from going to Zillow if you create those capabilities for your site. This will require advanced programming though.

I also have a similar demo for TRULIA widgets.

I don't endorse any of these. I just play with popular technology and try to demonstrate it to others in my spare time.

If you have any suggestion for reviewing new technology, feel free to contact me.

Do you really need a web site?

Murali Vasudevan (Elixir Addons) — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:44:55 -0700

In realtor industry, there are two distinct categories.

Most of them have a web site doing nothing for them. They have it as a bragging tool. To put on their business cards. To paint on their cars! To brag about during chamber mixers and business network gatherings. Not to feel like a left out if some one finds out you don't have a web site!

These are cookie cutter sites offerred for as low as $20 per month. There are no reason for the potential buyers or sellers to visit these sites, let alone return. Online marketing is not a term these group knows or cares about. For them a name sake web site is all one needs! Most of these people get clients by word of mouth.

It is interesting to see how many realtors still haven't changed their way of doing business to utilize the internet. These people do make steady income and don't grow their business.

However, they seem to be happy (which is all that matters when it is time to say Bye).

Then there are the minority. Who sells million dollor homes. They have big budget web sites maintained by trained professionals. You throw money to get money back, I guess?

They grow their business so much, finally they are overwhelmed by it. When the economy tanks, these folks are hit hardest. Life is stressed out. Finally ending up in a hospital!

That leaves the big question.

Who really needs a web site?

TRULIA widgets for your web site!

Murali Vasudevan (Elixir Addons) — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 00:02:13 -0700

Recently ran into this web site. This has cool widgets you can add to your web site to attract more traffic and improve the search engine ranking of your web site.

Watch a demo of widgets I created for Cerritos, CA. Add these to your web site NOW!

Instant Info and Instant Leads using Text Messaging.

Murali Vasudevan (Elixir Addons) — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 01:01:19 -0700

House4Cell provides real estate agents with an innovative, affordable way to deliver instant information on their listings, while capturing valuable lead information.

Using the "text messaging" prospective buyers send a 1-word code to a special number. Within seconds, the homebuyer receives a message back (along with property photos!) with a description of the property, and the homebuyer's phone number is captured and sent immediately to the agent for follow-up.

If more information is needed, the home buyer can receive additional information via e-mail or FAX.

House4Cell rate plans currently start at $29.99 for three listings.

Watch a Demo

Prevent email spams using CAPTCHA IMAGE

Murali Vasudevan (Elixir Addons) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 21:35:24 -0700

Did you ever wonder why you are getting those spam emails?

Well here are two possibilities and a way around them.

1) Most likely you have a contact page for your customers to fill their information. The contact page can be used by spammers to send you those emails too. To stop these kinds of spams, you use CAPTCHA image on the contact page. You can see it used on this site when you try leaving your comments to a blog. You are asked to type in what you see in an image. Spamming tools (robots) cannot see the image thus stopping them from spamming you.

Here is a free, elegant tool to implement CATCHA image.

Here is a working example I built for a site. You need PHP knowledge to implement this.

I have explained it all in my blog.

2)Second possibility is embedding email address on your web pages which is harvested by spiders.

These can be tricked by dynamically creating the email address using Javascript which cannot be seen by these spiders.