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A few Tech Tools for 2017 at Woodland Management Service

By
Real Estate Agent with Woodland Management Service / Woodland Real Estate, KW Diversified #1 in Forest Land Mgmt

A few Tech Tools for 2017 at Woodland Management Service  surface

We use so many tech tools here at Woodland Management Service that I could not imagine a day without these tools.

Some of these in the office including all the usual suspects and a few unique programs and tools that others are not likely to use or need.

Some out in the woods that may be beyond your average Buck Rogers types including complex data recorders, lasers, ultrasound, gis, gps, and even a few mainstream tools and apps.

And then there are the many tools and apps that allow us to be mobile everywhere, from my days and nights spent working for the church and the homeless, while getting my paperwork done at the same time.  To those tools that allow me to never miss a beat while traveling the wilderness areas of our country.

A few that I use daily and have for decades include Mindjet Mindmanager and GyroQ, great programs and very useful, but I have already written about them so tonight I will share a few others.

 

1. Surface Tablet

First lets start with the expensive tablet that I almost did not buy, but am glad that my staff convinced me to invest in, my Surface Tablet.

After working with an android tablet for years, and even with an Ipad once in a while, I was unprepared for how great a tablet could be when it can work interchangeably with my laptop.

Love this tablet, and take it everywhere.

It is with me out in the woods, on the road, at the homeless shelter, at Franciscans downtown, at Realtor Conventions, at Forestry workshops, by my bedside, and just about everywhere I go.

And the coolest thing about it is that it has ALL of my programs on it, and with the cloud apps, the file I was working on with my laptop is instantly available on the tablet.

Sure I could do this to a certain extent with my Android, but there was always a conversion factor in there that often screwed things up, slowed things down, and added a level of unreliability that always nagged at me.

And for contracts, this thing is the best with a real fine point stylus rather than the fingertip type styli that the androids and ipads had.

 

 

2. Youtube’s Slideshow maker

The second app is a simple one that I just discovered this year, but I am finding it quite useful for my social media needs, Youtube’s Slideshow maker.

Last year I had plans to make a few dozen videos, but never got around to shooting the video, editing the video, or uploading the video. 

So by the end of the year I had a grand total of Zero new videos out there generating great SEO for my business and other ventures.

By December I knew that something had to change, and I was noticing that many of the best videos out there were actually nothing more than slideshows with great transitions and presentation.

Perhaps this was the answer for 2017, turn my massive collection of photos into at least a video per week.

Before AR I had a pile of photos collected, some good some a bit grainy, but with AR I have stepped up my game and suggest to my staff that they take more pictures, and do the same myself.  So now we have thousands of photos collected, maybe even hundreds of thousands.

But you really cannot put much more than a few of these into a blog post before it gets sluggish so most of these photos never get out into the world.

But with constant reminders of the great SEO that a youtube video can add, I was ready to step it up by the end of 2016.

So this year I started out the first week looking for a slideshow creator, and the first place I checked had a great one, with music included.

With the Slideshow Creator at Youtube, I can create a video in less than 10 minutes, showcase a folder full of photos, and generate some really impressive SEO.

My goal for the year was 1 per week, and so far I am ahead of this goal with 12 in 8 weeks.

Maybe I will boost this goal to 75 or a hundred for the year.

 

Comments (11)

Troy Erickson AZ Realtor (602) 295-6807
HomeSmart - Chandler, AZ
Your Chandler, Ahwatukee, and East Valley Realtor

Bob - I have been considering purchasing a tablet for some time, and think that the Surface Tablet may be something that would work for me. Thanks for sharing this information.

Feb 28, 2017 12:32 AM
James Dray
Fathom Realty - Bentonville, AR

Good morning Bob.  I am in the transition from a PC to all Apple products.  One at a time but I'll get there.

Feb 28, 2017 04:28 AM
Sandy Padula & Norm Padula, JD, GRI
HomeSmart Realty West & Florida Realty Investments - , CA
Presence, Persistence & Perseverance

You caught me off-guard with this post, Bob Crane as I have never heard of these two Apps. Thanks! I will check them out today!

Feb 28, 2017 05:30 AM
Anna "Banana" Kruchten
HomeSmart Real Estate - Phoenix, AZ
602-380-4886

Wow Bob I didn't know about slideshow maker - what an awesome idea and great use of the thousands of photos most of us have.  Love it!

Feb 28, 2017 07:46 AM
Belinda Spillman
Aspen Lane Real Estate Colorful Colorado - Aurora, CO
Colorado Living!

These are great tools - but somehow I thought your tools would incude a chain saw....

Feb 28, 2017 12:18 PM
Bob Crane

Sorry, we are the guys out in the woods with computers, we leave the chainsaws to the loggers.

Feb 28, 2017 12:32 PM
Debbie Reynolds, C21 Platinum Properties
Platinum Properties- (931)771-9070 - Clarksville, TN
The Dedicated Clarksville TN Realtor-(931)320-6730

I use the slideshow on my listings and like the free use of music. That can get tricky. Just a suggestion, if you are taking the photos on a cell phone, turn the phone on its side and it will fill the frame on your slide show. 

Feb 28, 2017 05:30 PM
Elva Branson-Lee
Solid Source Realty GA - Atlanta, GA
CDPE - Atlanta Real Estate & Short Sale Agent

Bless you Bob Crane , I have the exact same problem with videos -- good intentions but no time to put in on the learning curve to shoot, edit, etc. I never knew about YT Slide Show Maker, but now I can check it out, and MAYBE get some videos up.

Feb 28, 2017 05:56 PM
Mick Michaud
Distinctly Texas Lifestyle Properties, LLC Office:682/498-3107 - Granbury, TX
Your Texas Lifestyle is Here!

Thanks for the overview.  I love being on AR.  There's so much to learn from others.  I can leverage others research and recommendations to shortcut my research time or better yet, target it better. 

 

Mar 01, 2017 08:36 AM
Sally Crane
WMS - Unity, WI
Woodland appraisal support.

It's amazing how much technology we use on a day to day basis.  Imagine just a few years ago  when we didn't have these tools - it's so much more convenient these days.

Mar 01, 2017 10:36 PM
Nicholas Crane
Woodland Companies - Cadott, WI
Managing & Appraising Forest Land

Where would we be without all these technology tools?  The videos are very good and are a great way to promote your work.

Mar 04, 2017 08:17 PM
Kasey & John Boles
Jon Gosche Real Estate, LLC - BoiseMeridianRealEstate.com - Boise, ID
Boise & Meridian, ID Ada/Canyon/Gem/Boise Counties

I have wanted a SurfacePro but didn't want to spend the money.  I have been less than impressed with the tablets we have gotten so far, maybe it's just because I have not gotten the right one yet?  Video hasn't been part of our plan, but it seems to me that for SEO reasons, even more than caring if anyone actually watches them, it should be...-Kasey

Mar 08, 2017 12:15 PM