jeff turner: A Thanksgiving Video Post - 11/22/07 08:20 AM
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jeff turner: Going To NAR With Utterz In My Pocket - 11/09/07 08:47 AM
The Best Test Is A Live Test In Real World Settings.As Teresa Boardman so kindly pointed out at The Real Estate Weenie, I jumped back on Twitter last night.
I had decided to stop using Twitter and last night someone I would not have expected to be using Twitter decided to "follow me" there. I couldn't resist. I had to see what they were tweeting about. And that was all it took. It appears the RE.net on Twitter has expanded... and I'm easy.
The next thing you know I'm following a link here and a link there and I was enjoying … (41 comments)

jeff turner: Auto-Reply Emails - Who Are You Trying To Impress? - 11/07/07 06:07 PM
Why are self aggrandizing auto-reply emails so prevalent?When email updates are sent to our clients, we receive thousands of automated replies in return.
Most of them are used to indicate they've received the email or are on vacation. Some of them (way too many), tell us the real estate agent is doing something like "helping someone achieve the dream of homeownership," or "busy with another client." This is true even when we've sent the email in the middle of the night. These are hard workers.
Did someone give a seminar somewhere that said consumers appreciate these chest-thumping automated messages? The numbers … (117 comments)

jeff turner: AR Tutorials - Flowing Text Around Images - 10/25/07 10:20 AM
Ana Connell - Burbank Real Estate Expert asked for this tutorial. And since she's not the first to ask me, I thought I'd get this one up as quickly as possible. Earlier today, she wrote:
"I would love to know how you type around an image that's been added to a post. I know it's possible because I see it all the time, just don't know how! I've noticed it in your and Laurie Manny's posts and really like the overall presentation it creates.
Right now I add an image and can only start my text either beside the image … (92 comments)

jeff turner: AR Tutorials - How To Add Links To Your Blog Posts - 10/18/07 02:47 PM
And How To Anchor Links ProperlyThe request for a video tutorial on how to add links to your blog posts came from several people, both in public and in private.
Once again, for many of you this may seem pedantic. But if people are asking, that means they don't know. And considering it's importance, it's best not to assume that people know. So, let's make this educational for more than just those who don't know how to link yet.
It's important to know more than the mechanics. It's important to know the right way to link as well.
If I want … (77 comments)

jeff turner: AR Tutorials - Adding Charts To Your Posts - 10/17/07 05:34 AM
More often than not, numerical data is best presented visually, in a chart. There's no question, a good chart can have tremendous visual impact and make boring data come alive.
So, a good 3d bar graph or pie chart can really help when it comes to illustrating numbers. Stephanie Edwards-Musa wanted to know if there was an easy way to get create chart graphics for inclusion in posts here on ActiveRain.
There is.
Google To The RescueThe recently updated spreadsheet application from Google has a very cool feature that allows you to export charts to an image file (PNG) to use … (85 comments)

jeff turner: ActiveRain Video Tutorial List - 10/16/07 12:14 PM
The ActiveRain Video Tutorial List Since holding open auditions for suggestions, many have submitted, both in public and private, their requests for tutorial videos.
Here is the list so far:
How To Make The Most Of Your Profile's Real Estate How To Add Widgets And HTML To Your Sidebar How To Copy And Paste
How To Add Links To Your Blog How To Flow Text Around Images In A Post How To Embed Anything In Your Active Rain Posts How To Add Your AR Blog Posts To Various Groups How To Create Image Links In Your Posts How To Create Custom … (106 comments)

jeff turner: AR Tutorials - Adding Widgets And HTML To Your Sidebar - 10/16/07 06:26 AM
The most common question asked of me by ActiveRain members is, "How do you get all of those widgets in your sidebar?"So, let's get this ActiveRain Video Tutorial about the Sidebars out the door.
This video covers two areas:
copying and pasting into your sidebar from outside sources, widgets, and creating your own html for your sidebar. There are lots of widgets you can add to your sidebar, like LibraryThing, which is one of my favorites. There are literally thousands to choose from at Widgetbox. Getting those into your sidebar is as simple as copying and pasting the code they give … (123 comments)

jeff turner: AR Video Tutorials - Making The Most Of Your Profile's Real Estate - 10/16/07 03:58 AM
This is the first in our series of ActiveRain Tutorials, so I thought we'd start at the beginning. I've set up a demonstration account for a fictitious agent named Ima Realtor. Hopefully the NAR won't make me change her last name. I like the way the name flows. :)
This video tutorial is not meant to cover every aspect of what you can or should do to make sure your profile is tuned to attract search engines. The goal is to illustrate how to utilize every inch of the real estate ActiveRain has provided to get the most from your profile content. … (57 comments)

jeff turner: ActiveRain Video Tutorials - A Call For Requests - 10/03/07 06:34 PM
Open Call For IdeasIt never fails. Each time I post one of my tutorial videos, like this tutorial on Picnik.com or this tutorial on how to embed anything in your ActiveRain posts, I get an email or two asking how to do something else on ActiveRain. It happened again yesterday. So...
I's time for a complete video tutorial library. I truly enjoy doing them, so don't be shy. As Sue Argue says, everyone starts at the beginning. There are lots of places on ActivRain where you can find written descriptions with photos, but sometimes it's helpful to see it in action. … (125 comments)

jeff turner: How To Add Some Depth To Your AR Posts - FREE! - 10/01/07 08:45 AM
A little while back I wrote How To Add Some Depth To Your AR Posts, but it was for MAC ONLY.
Jennifer Wilson, really wanted a way to do this on her PC, that was easier to use than Photoshop and she wrote a post about it. Well, since it's my fault that she is on this hunt, I felt it was my responsibility to find a solution that would apply to my PC using friends as well.
PICNIK.COMI've reviewed Picnik.com before, but haven't been back in a while.
I am delighted to tell you they have enhanced their offering and have added … (308 comments)

jeff turner: Real Life Is Better Than Virtual Life - 09/07/07 04:57 AM
I love the time I spend online with folks here at Active Rain. But each time I actually meet, live and in person, someone I've struck up a friendship with here online, I'm reminded of how much better real life is. Yesterday was no exception. I got to spend the entire day with John Novak and see how he presents Web 2.0 technologies. He does an excellent job explaining the benefits to his Keller Williams counterparts. I've spoken to John on the phone many times, mostly late at night, but being able to shake his hand and look him in the … (45 comments)

jeff turner: A Photo Widget For Mac Users Only - 08/25/07 05:28 PM
If you don't own a Mac, you can stop reading. You can't use what I'm about to describe. OK, now that all the PC folks are gone, us Mac lovers can chat a bit.
I found a great little trick today on the Realmac Software support pages. The trick was written for use in RapidWeaver, but it will work as a widget just about anywhere, including the sidebar here on ActiveRain. If you look at the sidebar on the right you're going to see a photo widget named "ActiveRain Photos." Does it look familiar? If you've ever embedded an iPhoto Web Gallery … (30 comments)

jeff turner: Will Video Kill The Virtual Tour? - 08/22/07 03:01 PM
The short answer: NO. The long answer: Definitely not. But to hear the new wave of video technologists talk, you’d think that all other media are officially dead. They’re telling us to throw away our digital cameras or be declared obsolete, even though these videos are just another form of virtual tour. These new videovangelists are even defying people to argue otherwise. I hate when people defy me to do things. Especially people who don’t know what they’re talking about and prove it every time they open their mouths. Bill Leider is not too fond of this kind of empty rhetoric … (186 comments)

jeff turner: Flyers, Distribution, RSS Feeds And Full Screen Play - 08/10/07 06:30 AM
We are announcing the pending arrival of several new features for RealEstateShows.com today. Many of you have specifically requested these features and I'm happy to say that most, if not all, will be launching on August 21 23, 2007.
Flyers And Distribution - Coming August 21 23, 2007On August 21 23, 2007 we will be launching the ability for you to instantly create and distribute a flyer from the photos and information already contained in your Real Estate Shows. Read more...

RSS Feeds For Each Show Category?Wouldn’t it be nice to display all of your Neighborhood Shows in the sidebar … (51 comments)

jeff turner: How To Embed TruliaStats Widgets In ActiveRain Posts - 08/09/07 08:33 AM
First, You Have To Delete Some Code.I received the following email from Gary Smith a little while ago:
"Perhaps you can assist with this. http://widgets.trulia.com/truliastats.htmlI'm able to embed, but no matter which size I choose there is some type of box that surrounds the entire AR blog posting section making it as wide as the screen and moves the right hand column of the blog down below the make a remark box.Trulia does say AR has a problem.Can you help?"Well, when I pasted the TruliaStats embed code into this post and saved to draft, I got the same result he did. So, … (44 comments)

jeff turner: Internet Ad Spending To Pass All Other Media By 2011 - 08/08/07 06:33 PM
This post should be titled, "It Was Only A Matter Of Time."Online Media Daily is reporting this: "Spending on Internet advertising will reach $61.98 Billion, and will surpass newspapers to become the nation's leading ad medium in 2011."
This is according to projections by the private equity firm Veronis Suhler Stevenson.
That was destined to happen. It was only a matter of time. What is perhaps more interesting in the report, however, is the consumer move to digital media away from traditional media. For the first time since 1997, there was a per capita decrease in the amount of time people … (21 comments)

jeff turner: 200,000 Points And Nothing But Great Relationships To Show For It - 08/07/07 06:30 PM
I stopped caring about the points a long time ago.It didn't take long to realize the the real value of this network went far beyond having my face move up the rankings. It's too simple to rack up meaningless points for that to even be a challenge, and lots have written about how to do that, so the points soon lost their appeal.
That's not to say the points don't matter. That's is clearly not true. The only folks who say points don't matter on ActiveRain are those who already have a lot of points. I'm not going to join that … (83 comments)

jeff turner: PLEASE STOP USING ALL CAPS! - 07/30/07 02:21 AM
THIS QUALIFIES AS A RANT. I SEE THIS PRACTICE ALL THE TIME, AND I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE.
YOU'VE SEEN IT TOO... AN MLS OR REALTOR.COM LISTING, A POST OR A DESCRIPTION IN A REAL ESTATE SHOW, AND THE ENTIRE TEXT IS IN CAPS.... LIKE THIS. HELLO? THIS SEEMS SO BASIC TO ME.
IT'S OBVIOUSLY NOT BASIC. I JUST FINISHED VIEWING A SHOW WITH A DESCRIPTION JUST LIKE THIS AND IT SENT ME OVER THE EDGE... AND THERE WERE NO PARAGRAPH BREAKS. THE STARTLING PART WAS THAT IT WAS PRODUCED BY A VERY GOOD REALTOR WHO OTHERWISE CREATES EXCELLENT SHOWS. SHE … (85 comments)

jeff turner: AR Tutorials: Embedding Anything In Your ActiveRain Blog Posts - 07/28/07 09:55 AM
Several clients have emailed me in the past two weeks asking how to embed Real Estate Shows into their ActiveRain blog posts. It works just like any other embed code, so I thought it was time to do a how to video on this subject. I'm going to use RealEstateShows.com embed code for this example, but, again, it works the same way for any HTML code.
I'm going to insert the embedded Show here:

And I'm going to insert the embedded video that illustrates how I did it here:

IT'S IMPORTANT TO SAVE TO DRAFT BEFORE SWITCHING BETWEEN WYSIWYG AND HTML!
As … (83 comments)