real estate shows: Opening The Mobile Blogging Bag Of Tricks - 06/24/08 11:09 AM
My mobile blog fest begins tomorrow morning at 4:00 AM.
That's when the entire Turner family, six kids and two parents, will head off on our annual road trip to West Virginia. I blogged all along the way last year on our CA TO WV... AND BACK AGAIN blog. This year I'm doing it again, only I'll be using as many new technologies as I can to chronicle our journey.
The main tool this year? Utterz.
Most of the posts created on our famiy travel blog will be generated using Utterz. I'm confident I'll be able to show a number of … (46 comments)

real estate shows: Happy Memorial Day - 05/26/08 04:59 AM
Happy Memorial Day to everyone on ActiveRain!

My country,’ tis of thee,
sweet land of liberty,
of thee I sing;
land where my fathers died,
land of the pilgrims’ pride,
from every mountainside
let freedom ring! … (21 comments)

real estate shows: Imitation May Be The Most Sincere Form Of Flattery, But... - 02/25/08 05:49 AM
Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but forgetting to erase the author's name is just not smart. However, it is humorous.Watch this.
Imitation Is Certainly Flattery, But This Is Funny from respres on Vimeo.
… (43 comments)

real estate shows: A Valentine's Day Present I'll Never Forget - 02/14/08 01:43 AM
Five years ago today, the idea behind Real Estate Shows was born.
It wasn't until two weeks ago, during a telephone interview with The Internet Marketing Center, that I recognized this milestone was approaching. When the interviewer asked me how Real Estate Shows got it's start, I realized that the timing of our Valentine's Day greeting templates was a wonderful coincidence. I've told my Valentine's Day story many, many times, but I've never written about it. This seems like the right time.
What happens when you don't hire a videographer for your wedding?
You end up with no wedding video. I know … (66 comments)

real estate shows: Holiday Greeting Themes Now At Real Estate Shows - 12/07/07 09:38 AM
Warm Wishes This Holiday Season! This time of year always makes me stop and think about what is important in life. It forces me stop and count my blessings. It gives me pause to think about the world as I'd like it to be. And it gives me the opportunity to send greetings of hope and joy. We can make this world a better place. This Holiday Season, I look to all of my friends and family for inspiration to do more. And from our family to yours, we wish you Happy Holidays. Donna Realtor

There are some know ActiveRain ebedding … (33 comments)

real estate shows: Utterz Launches Holiday Greeting Templates - 12/07/07 08:21 AM
… (12 comments)

real estate shows: 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)

real estate shows: 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)

real estate shows: One Hotel Room - Two Blondes - Three Cameras - 07/31/07 11:57 AM
Put Them All Together And What Do You Have...Just this silly blog post that's really about photo technology. :)
Yesterday I mentioned in a comment that I was arriving in Oakland at 11:20 and Laurie Manny asked if I wanted to cab it to San Francisco with Roberta Murphy. Well, of course. 60 minutes into my visit to San Francisco and I'm already alone in a room with two blond women. My wife was thrilled. :)
So, why do they look so pissed? Here's why. Roberta, when you get a chance, post your version of the bathroom photo in the comments. I … (63 comments)

real estate shows: 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)

real estate shows: 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)

real estate shows: It Was A Strange Day On The Radio - 06/04/07 06:36 PM
I Had Never Been On A Radio Show Before, So I Had No Idea What To Expect.
I certainly didn't expect the Santa Clarita Business Hour to be punctuated by reports of a suicide attempt on the 14 Freeway. (Click here to see my behind the scenes video)
I certainly didn't expect that the segments I was recording would be punctuated by reports from the steps of the Capitol Building in Sacramento. 
I certainly didn't expect to be sandwiched between a Senator and the Secretary of Education.
However, It did make for some interesting moments off the air and some interesting … (30 comments)

real estate shows: Sellsius Lets The Cat Out Of The Bag - 04/03/07 07:36 AM
Well... we did give them a heads up. :) 
New features will be launched tonight at RealEstateShows.com.  Chief among them is the ability to embed a YouTube video in your Shows, so they can be included where ever your Shows go... including Realtor.com, and our new Panoramic Player for panoramic photos. Here is a complete list of the upgrades taking place:
YouTube Video: You can place a YouTube video inside your Show and retain your branding and all of the other information related to the Show.Panorama Player: A new way to view wide, panoramic shots.RealPing Integration: RealPing customers will be able to … (29 comments)

real estate shows: A Day At The Museum | The LA County Museum of Natural History - 01/21/07 09:25 AM
For my money, whether you're a child or an adult, one of the best ways to spend a day is at The Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History.
I recently took my children for the day and I was as mesmerized by the displays as I was by their reaction to them. While the stuffed animals, bones and statues don't literally come to life as they do in the recent movie "A Night At The Museum," they recreate the natural environment in ways that feel very, very real. If you'll allow yourself the freedom to imagine, to be a child for … (23 comments)

real estate shows: Newspapers Are Good For Something! - 12/04/06 09:05 AM
The demise of real estate classified advertising is well known. (And I'll admit I am trying to hasten their demise.) Several posts (Here is one by Chichi Ahia) in the past week have talked about advertising budgets and where you should be spending your money. It's evident from all the numbers, and from the comments on the posts, that advertising a listing in the newspaper is not necessarily going to give you any bang for your buck. According to NAR, only 3% of home owners surveyed found their home as a result of a newspaper ad. 
That said, newspapers can be your … (27 comments)

real estate shows: Reach Your Buyer's Network of Family & Friends - 11/29/06 06:11 AM
You know there is no way to guarantee that your clients are going to run and tell their friends and family about you... no matter how great of a job you do for them on either side of the real estate transaction. You can't force them to do it. But on the buyer side there is a way to insure that they will email their friends. Create a "just moved" presentation about their new home. Do it in an evocative way. Make it emotional. 
Here's a fact. I've never purchased a home that, at the time, I wasn't proud of. I look … (21 comments)

real estate shows: If You Can't Fix It, Feature It! - 11/28/06 10:31 AM
Dawn McCurdy came up with a creative way to sell a home that needed a lot of work. She used honesty and the "Mission Impossible" theme song from our Just For Fun music library, to give this real fixer-upper a great marketing piece. She decided not to take a "this house doesn't deserve a Show" approach to marketing the home.
"We were all talking about why we shouldn't put photos of it or showcase it as it is in such need of repair," Dawn said. "Then, we thought, why not. When you advertise something as needing work, the first questions buyers … (14 comments)

real estate shows: Highlight Your Expertise And Educate Your Clients - 11/28/06 01:06 AM
It's important to highlight every skill you have when trying to set yourself apart from the masses. Using Internet tools to create presentations that highlight thoses skills in an evocative way is critical. People want to connect with you and your message. They don't want cold presentations. Find the right tool for you and use that to create presentations that truly set you apart from your competition.
ActiveRain member Sarah Cooper and Pat Murphy, of Coldwell Banker Advantage in Hurricane, West Virginia, showcase their expertise to better capture their client's attention in the education process.
View Their Educational Show Here
Sarah writes, … (11 comments)

real estate shows: Reach The Network Only Your Children Can Reach - 11/28/06 01:00 AM
When we saw this show we said, "Yes! That's perfect. She really gets it." Julie Eichacker took some time away from selling and went to the Valentine's day party at her child's school. She, of course, took her camera so she could capture the moment. When she got home, she put together a show for the class.
Then she gave the link to the teacher to send home with her students... to give to their parents! This is just a great idea. The teacher, students and parents will enjoy it and the parents won't be able to keep themselves from sending … (30 comments)