mapping « 4realz Strategies

Tagged: mapping RSS

Dustin 4:01 pm on November 21, 2008 Permalink | Reply
Tags: assets, errol samuelson, Legal (15), lorna borenstein, loss, mapping, move (6), stock (5)

How much lower can Move go?

When I started at Move in May ‘06, the stock (and my options) was priced at slightly above $6. Today, I see the stock end today at $0.89, making for a very sad looking chart and definitive proof that I know nothing about timing my employment options. I’m also not particularly good at reading financials, but I do know enough to know that having a market cap of $136M when you have $140M in total assets (down from over $200M in total assets from last year) is not a good thing. I’d think they’d be an obvious take-over target except my guess is that many suitors would view the contract with NAR as more of an impediment to growth than an asset.

Which begs an interesting question… How much lower would the stock have to go before NAR steps in, realizes Russell’s dream and buys back operation of realtor.com from Move? My guess is that there’s a bunch of reasons this couldn’t happen, but still… It would seem that something will have to give at some point if the stock price keeps dropping.

On a more positive note for Move, they did win their patent case today that had to do with putting listings on a map (at least that’s how I remember the case being explained to me!).

Jim Reppond 4:23 pm on November 21, 2008 Permalink | Reply

Let’s see… that’s works out to a loss of just over 70% of it’s value since August 15th when it closed at $2.99. I know the market has tanked for everyone. But that says a LOT for the lack of confidence investors have in this company. It probably doesn’ t help to remember that back in 2006 when they were called HomeStore.com the former COO and CEO were convicted of investor fraud and sentenced to 15 years in jail. I’m assuming they are still in jail and not running the company again… right?
Michael Wurzer 4:36 pm on November 21, 2008 Permalink | Reply

Dustin, I’m not entirely sure but I don’t think that litigation is the major mapping patent case most have been focused on as that involves what has become known as the 989 patent.
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5032989.html

I’m not sure if the cases are related or not, but thought I’d mention it.
Dustin 5:19 pm on November 21, 2008 Permalink | Reply

Jim: There’s definitely new management since those troubles…
Dustin 5:20 pm on November 21, 2008 Permalink | Reply

Michael: I came in after the lawsuits had already started and did my best to stay away from them. Considering I’m not sure which patent this lawsuit refers to means I did at least somewhat of a good job not getting involved!
Jim Duncan 6:08 pm on November 21, 2008 Permalink | Reply

In all honesty, I’d love to see NAR look at, and show the membership, how feasible/expensive/cheap it would be to reclaim RDC.

How much closer to zero does it have to get? And what are Move’s options to earn profit other than advertising or “upselling” to the members/Realtors?
Loren Nason 6:17 pm on November 21, 2008 Permalink | Reply

woopideedoo!
A patent to put listings on a map
BIG F****N DEAL!

That patent is just as bogus as Amazons one-click patent

I should patent a special device that closes the traps of stupid patent lawyer scum.

It’s called Duct Tape
but my patent will be for STFU Tape its a special type of Duct Tape that makes people STFU.

Ok I feel better now
Irina Netchaev 10:03 am on November 23, 2008 Permalink | Reply

It’ll be interesting to see when NAR steps in and takes over. Once they do, how will they make Move.com more realtor friendly.

Move has been taking advantage of realtors for years. I’m not to sad to see them tank.

I am sad about the timing of your stock options. THAT SUCKS!!!!
Dustin 11:19 am on November 23, 2008 Permalink | Reply

It will be interesting… Mike Simonsen mentioned (in a tweet) that the stock could go all the way to zero… which is theoretically possible, but I just don’t see it. It also seems clear to me that if NAR would buy out Move, they’d have to spin off companies like Moving.com, Top Producer and Move.com (especially move.com since NAR likely has no place running the official website of the national association of new home builders.)
Jay Valento - Long Beach Real Estate 7:25 pm on November 24, 2008 Permalink | Reply

Buy it back and take it down…have the consumer go to the local market to find homes from happy real estate professionals that provide excellent content on their websites.
Dustin 7:33 pm on November 24, 2008 Permalink | Reply

Jay: Are you suggesting that REALTORS are a good resource for local listings and information?
Jay Valento - Long Beach Real Estate 8:40 pm on November 24, 2008 Permalink | Reply

Yes. Most of my clients don’t go to Realtor.com for anything. I have found listings on Realtor.com that are a year old…I am a little confused…I list a house. Realtor.com posts it on their website for free. Then, they turn around and ask me to pay for advertising….shouldn’t they be paying me for the opportunity to display my listing to their audience? It is quite crazy.
Dustin 9:06 pm on November 24, 2008 Permalink | Reply

Jay: You make a great point… I was just teasing you a bit with my question. Of course REALTORS should be the local expert and while I *could* make an argument for the opposite case, in general, I agree that the listings of all agents collectively are more valuable to realtor.com than the value of realtor.com to any one agent.
Kevin Tomlinson-Miami Beach Real Estate 10:14 pm on November 24, 2008 Permalink | Reply

The lower the better. Let’s get it back in our own hands.

Hey, do you think Realogy will make it?
Jay Valento - Long Beach CA Real Estate 10:57 pm on November 24, 2008 Permalink | Reply

I know you know Dustin….is there a place to post topic questions?
Dustin 11:42 pm on November 24, 2008 Permalink | Reply

sure… best place is to head over to the 4realz hotlist where you can post just about anything you like. I moderate new users, but only until folks get the hang of using the tool!
Dustin 11:44 pm on November 24, 2008 Permalink | Reply

Kevin: Don’t know enough about realogy, but the Notorious Rob recently made a great case for them being fine in the long run…
kravtee 3:27 pm on December 4, 2008 Permalink | Reply

The real 989 patent case has not been settled and no judgement has been made yet. The 989 patent case is much larger and more extensive than the one mentioned by the OP.

989 not only implicates Move but also NAR, RE/MAX, Realogy, the NHBA, and a host of other large corporations and individual agents.

A patent is a patent……..If I created something and was awarded a patent by the US government (no matter if you think it is legit or not the gov considered it legit when they awarded the patent) I would want the right to get paid if I felt my patent was stolen.

The question isn’t whether the patent is valid rather if the companies listed infringed. Part of the defense was patent validity but the judges already threw that defense out from what I understand.

Interesting stuff IMHO. Would I be surprised if those large corporations did so? Given their recent history of corruption, it would not surprise me at all.
Jay Valento - Long Beach Ca Real Estate 8:43 pm on December 4, 2008 Permalink | Reply

Maybe we can all pitch in and buy Move? Reorganize it. Perhaps you can add a Donations button to this post to raise money to buy them….
Robbie 1:22 am on December 5, 2008 Permalink | Reply

Frankly, the market is killing everybody. As of today, Move has actually done better YTD than Apple & Google (in terms of percentage loss in their respective stock prices).

Even more shocking, the company Market Leader (formerly known as HouseValues) has outperformed all of the above companies.

Move will bounce back, especially if Trulia & Zillow don’t become profitable before their money runs out.

Dustin 10:02 am on June 21, 2008 Permalink | Reply
Tags: heatmap, local (4), mapping, maps (5), move (6), neighborhood (18), Realtor.com (29)

Realtor.com Turns up the Heat and…

…I really like how they’ve mapped it out!

The Realtor.com team recently turned on a “heat map” option within their home valuation tool. Here’s a heat map of Ballard in Seattle where you can really see the detail of the more expensive areas (in particular the areas around the water!):

It’s clean, fast and well implemented. On my version of firefix (v 3) on a Mac, I’m not seeing the legend that others appearently can see, but that is the only hole I can find in the implementation.

To get an idea of just how detailed these maps are, it’s worth comparing to the previous implementation that exists on on the neighborhood page for this same area on realtor.com showing average neighborhood list price:

I think it is also worth noting that neither Zillow or Trulia have done much to bring the same level of detail to the maps… For example, Trulia’s heat maps are limited to the neighborhood level with boundaries…

And the option to display heat maps on Zillow no longer seems to be available (although I did find this page which shows what they used to look like on Zillow).

Anyway I love maps and think they can convey a ton of great information about neighborhoods and homes, so it’s great to see someone pushing the boundaries even if I’ve been giving the team a hard time recently for other issues (see realtor.com home values and realtor.com blog hack articles).

estewart6, Bruce Breger, Dustin and 2 others are discussing. Toggle Comments
- Drew Meyers from Zillow 10:49 am on June 21, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Dustin-
  You caught on to the fact that we lost our heatmap functionality — it happened when we switched over to Microsoft aerial imagery a couple months ago. We do think it’s a cool feature and will try to add the feature back at some point; it’s just a matter of prioritizing that work against the other features our development team is working on.
- Dustin 10:55 am on June 21, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  I’m glad to hear it is missing because I spent at least 10 minutes searching for it… I liked the heatmaps when you guys first launched but think the recent realtor.com implementation is even better so you guys might take a few queues from them when you go to rebuild the functionality!
- Jim Duncan 1:43 pm on June 21, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Dustin – I never thought I would read that line – “take a few queues from (Realtor.com)” – Ever.
  
  And I like the maps, too; ‘course it’s ridiculously and irresponsibly inaccurate for my market, but still … that’s why it’s “alpha” I guess.
- Dustin 2:59 pm on June 21, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Jim: I couldn’t resist!
- Bruce Breger 12:01 pm on June 22, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Dustin,
  
  Never thought I would say this but Realtor.com nailed it. Best I have seen out there. They are starting to get it and with their hands on relationship with Realtors, their information will be accurate. Great post.
  
  Bruce
- estewart6 9:23 pm on June 22, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Anoteh
- estewart6 9:26 pm on June 22, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Oops, shoot for backspace and you get Enter…
  
  What I meant to say was another great tool that I’ve been using for real estate searches, etc. is the website by PropertyMaps. It has been an incredible tool. Another good thing is that they teamed up with RealtyTrac for foreclosure information.
Dustin 12:33 am on June 11, 2008 Permalink | Reply
Tags: blogging (121), chat (4), cms (5), economy (13), education (12), Events (5), Inman (11), Inman News (13), listing (66), listings (21), management (4), mapping, maps (5), real estate (168), speaking (8)
On the hunt for new real estate marketing tools!

The great folks at Inman News have asked me to put together a 15 minute presentation at SF Connect this year… and I’m downright excited about it. The title of my presentation: 50 Technologies To Help You Survive the Downturn.

I’ve got some huge shoes to fill in that both Jamie Glenn of Trulia and Brian Boero of 1000watt have given versions of this presentation at recent Connect Events… and their presentations were top notch.

The Plan?

I’ve been given 15 minutes to talk about 50 technologies… Let’s break down into what that means in terms of the amount of time I have to explain each technology. Fifteen minutes is 900 seconds. Given the fact that I at least have to introduce myself and let my audience know I’m available for speaking gigs, I’ve already blow 30 seconds right there… Combined with the fact that I’ll need at least two 10-second water breaks, I’m down to 850 seconds or 17 seconds per technology!   I’m known for speaking fast, but the pressure is really going to be on!

I Need Your Help!

Real estate agents: Do you have a favorite tool or technology that has become indispensable at making your business operations more efficient?   My preference is online tools, but I’ve have to find 50 of them, so I’m honestly not very picky at the moment!

Real estate tech providers: Do you have a tool you think is worthy of being featured at SF Connect?    Let me know, but make sure I can “sell” it 17 seconds or less! I make no promises, but again, I’ve got to find 50 tools in less than 50 days, so I’d appreciate any help you can give!

My Bag of Tricks

Here’s an outline of the previous presentation.

Jamie Glenn:
- Listing Sites (12 sites)
- Social Media (9 sites)
- Multimedia (15 sites)
- Communication (7 sites)
- Blogging (9)
Total: 52 sites! Plus, his last slide through in 9 “bonus” resources!

Brian Boero:
- Things that will help you work smarter and cut costs (10 actions)
- Things that let you engage customers and prospects in new ways (8 actions)
- Things that will help you grow your professional network (3 actions)
- Blogs you should read (and watch) (7 actions)
- Market smarter – and cheaper (6 actions)
- New advertising opportunities (5 actions)
- Technologies that help you leverage your knowledge (3 actions)
- Things that shrink space and time (3 actions)
- Technologies that help you meet the neighbors (4 actions)
Total: 49 actions. Although much to his credit, each-and-every “action” included at least one technology tool and many of them included multiple tools!!!

I have both presentations in front of me, and I can tell you that they both did an excellent job of providing a wealth of information in only 15 minutes!

My Presentation

Lucky for me, I still have over a month! Unlucky for me, I just typed out all the notes I’ve taken to date and I have only 33 technologies listed that are appropriate for the title: “50 Technologies To Help You Survive the Downturn.”

Here’s an outline of how I grouped the various tools, concepts, websites so far (but note, I’m positive the final outline will be MUCH different):
- Online Marketing Basics
- Publishing Tools
- CRMs
- Inspiration
- Analytics
- Listing Syndication
- Listing Tools
- Connecting with Consumers
- Connecting with Professionals
- Video Podcasts
- Communications
- Identity Management
However, rather than bias you’all by starting with my list of sites I would include (or listing out the websites from the the previous presentations), I’d LOVE LOVE LOVE to hear some of the tools, techniques and technologies that you think would be worthy of being included in this list!
Links for Geeks - June 11th | GeekEstate Blog, Joseph Bridges, Mike Rozell and 21 others are discussing. Toggle Comments
- Brad Coy 1:26 am on June 11, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  http://box.net/
  
  http://highrisehq.com/ and/or http://www.37signals.com/
  
  http://www.picnik.com/ used with flickr
- Dan Green 4:39 am on June 11, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Bring the Blog (http://www.bringtheblog.com) could be a worthy inclusion. It’s the “Associated Press for Weblogs”, helping real estate and mortgage professionals fill their pages each day with relevant and timely content.
  
  Disclaimer: I am the company founder and principal owner
- Joseph Bridges 9:11 am on June 11, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Dustin,
  
  That sounds like a great opportunity and I bet you can cover each in 16 seconds if you really had to Some technologies that my brother and I use on a regular bases for our work:
  
  1. Get Response – automatic e-mail follow-up. Not our standard procedure but good.
  2. Top Producer – I know you like them and we continue to use them for our CRM software.
  3. Website Platforms – We really like two when it comes down to it and we know you have used both (Diverse Solutions & Top Producer)
  4. TextMyMLS – This is a great new marketing tool we have been testing with great results. People can text from their phone and get information on their phone. More information at http://www.TextMyMLS.com. The owner is a great guy (Randy) and you can also speak with Christian Stefferud who is the CA rep we deal with and he is at http://mastermymarketing.blogspot.com/.
  
  Those are few that we use and thought they might add to some discussion for you and for your work.
- Jon Strum 10:29 am on June 11, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  I think that Retaggr (http://www.retaggr.com) represents the ultimate web 2.0 business card. It could fit into your “Online Marketing Basics”, “Connecting with Consumers” or “Connecting with Professionals” categories.
  
  I just posted a write-up on this new company and why this is a “must have” for real estate agents on my blog at http://www.LARealEstateBlog.com. Instead of repeating myself, I’ll invite you to check it out!
- Steve Jagger - Ubertor 11:10 am on June 11, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Hi Dustin,
  I’m obviously quite biased, but Ubertor would be an excellent addition to your list.
  
  I would also suggest Google Adwords and the Flip Video Camera including Vimeo, YouTube and Viddler.
  
  Thanks and I hope all is well.
  Steve
- Dustin 11:50 am on June 11, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  thanks everyone for the suggestions! I’ve also been getting a few more on both email and friendfeed! In particular, on FriendFeed, Brad Coy added http://box.net/ http://highrisehq.com/ http://www.picnik.com/ to the mix.
- Dustin 11:52 am on June 11, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Jon: I just signed up for retaggr yesterday and was impressed with some of their features… However, from a marketing point of view, I think the one thing that is going to limit their growth is that like MyBlogLog, website owners have to activate/install the service for it to be viable… and there isn’t the obvious, quick benefit to website owners that MBL gives. Nonetheless, it is a really interesting service!
- Joseph Bridges 11:52 am on June 11, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Dustin,
  I must be having a few issues as I left a comment twice that didn’t take. Anyway My brother and I really like
  http://www.TextMyMLS.com. They are a text to phone service that has tested well for us and others. Great service (Randy the owner) and the CA rep is Christian Stefferud.
- Dustin 11:56 am on June 11, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Joe: Your comments were eaten by the Akismet monster, but I just released them! So was Brad Coy’s comment (#1)… which takes the sting out of my last comment!
- James Shiner 1:21 pm on June 11, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Hey Dustin,
  
  We (ZIPVO) will also be at Inman Connect – wow it’s coming fast!
  
  Just wanted to recommend our site, http://www.zipvo.com, for inclusion in your presentation. We allow agents to enhance, broadcast and share themselves and their listings through videos, PhotoVideos, blogs, news and profiles for free.
  
  - James
- Dustin 1:35 pm on June 11, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Thanks James for reaching out! You’re definitely in an interesting space!
- Joseph Bridges 2:12 pm on June 11, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Dustin,
  
  Thanks for that. I was sure that I was going crazy with the comment not showing up.
  
  -Joey
- Joseph Bridges 2:18 pm on June 11, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Dustin,
  
  Not sure if you had a chance to check out the Interview that you did with my brother and I over at our blog. The post and interview can be found at:
  
  http://internetrealestatesuccess.com/2008/06/04/interview-with-dustin-luther-of-4realz-rcg/
  
  We are also going to be having Mark Landowski of BeatYouThere.com on shortly as well.
  
  We are also looking forward to getting a few more interviews lined up so if anyone has a website, product, etc and is willing to get asked a few questions we can set something up.
- Jay Thompson 3:41 pm on June 11, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Software (not sure if that counts)
  
  BlogJet – makes posting to multiple WP blogs easy
  
  SnagIt – the *best* screen shot/image capture tool on the planet.
  
  Paint.net – open source photo editing tool. Very powerful (Gimp is good too)
  
  NVU – open source HTML editor
  
  Just about anything by CoffeeCup (FTP, HTML
  
  Online “tools”
  Point2 NLS – syndicate listings to multiple sites with relative ease
  
  Jott
  
  Social networking: You know the standards, Twitter, Twhirl, Flickr, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pownse, etc.
  
  FriendFeed has rapidly become indispensable
  
  The best reputation mgmt tool out there is still Google Alerts
- Ben Goheen 3:49 pm on June 11, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Not sure if this is already in your presentation, but Trulia’s Publishers Platform is an amazing way to have the power of their search right on your website.
  
  http://www.trulia.com/publishers/platform/
  
  We’ve set it up on our site under the search tab:
  
  http://www.myhome.tc
  
  You can also display stats & trends for individual cities:
  
  http://www.myhome.tc/communities
- Dustin 6:06 pm on June 11, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Joseph: I did see the interview… I had every intention to blog about it, but things have been more than a little nuts lately! Thanks again!
- Dustin 6:07 pm on June 11, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Jay and Ben: All really good stuff! Thanks! Just as I’d hoped, I’m getting all kinds of great ideas today!
- Max C 6:21 pm on June 11, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Maybe furnished 3D floor plans for $10 each?
  http://www.metropix.co.uk/mtpix/3d-floor-plans.aspx
  
  Easy to explain in 17 seconds at least
  
  Or a 3D model in Google Earth for $20, e.g.
  http://content.metropix.com/p/844684m
- andrew 9:48 pm on June 11, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  it might be a good idea if you get a pitch from the creators so that you will have a concise pitch – this will take out the guess work for you since you will be up against the clock. 17 seconds is long enough but how will the listeners be able to remember 50.
  
  I cant make it since I will be away, kinda sucks!
- Justin LaJoie 9:58 pm on June 11, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Google Docs – So you can get to your documents from anywhere.
  http://docs.google.com
  
  Diverse Solutions dsSearchAgent – Mapping MLS IDX Solution that works with any website or blog. Makes your website useful.
  http://www.diversesolutions.com/dssearchagent-idx-solution.aspx
  
  Apple iPhone – Stay conneected where ever you are. Just wait for all the 3rd part applications to start rolling in.
  http://www.apple.com/iphone
  
  docstoc.com – Free document repository
  http://www.docstoc.com
  
  A Toyota Prius – 48 MPG – Save some money so you can stay in business.
  http://www.toyota.com/prius-hybrid
- Dustin 11:07 pm on June 11, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  All great stuff Justin! I especially like the addition of a Prius!
- Linda Slocum - Santa Clarita Realtor 7:41 am on June 12, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  For hardware, the Fujitsu ScanSnap is a must-have. It scans dual-sided documents in a single pass into pdf format, and does it quickly.
  
  SnagIt has already been mentioned here, but be sure to upgrade to the newest version to take advantage of the added features.
  
  Top Producer must be used correctly to be included here, not just as a database system. The automated lead follow-up system works well, and it can be linked to the Diverse Solutions IDX.
- Dustin 12:36 pm on June 12, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Thanks so much Linda!
  
  I really like the idea of including great multi-media devices… and the whole CRM issue definitely needs to be addressed. So much to cover!
- jaygt 4:26 pm on June 12, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Then there is the single most powerful tool of all…. Wordpress.
- Jay Thompson 4:33 pm on June 12, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Huh. Apparently I was still logged into WP.com from this morning’s blogging seminar. Hence the “jaygt” as my name in the comment above.
  
  Ironic in that I was lauding WP….
  
  But annoying that it just keeps you logged in and jams your WP username into any WP.com blog you comment on.
  
  None the less, without WordPress, I’d be starving. Canadian buyers help too, but they really aren’t a “technology tool”.
- Joseph Bridges 9:43 am on June 13, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Dustin,
  
  You can still blog about the interview, we don’t mind
  
  Joey
- Brad Coy 12:59 pm on June 14, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Google apps for sure.
  
  I think Tumblr is also a great tool for brokers/agents to use as an inner office microblogging platform or personal blog platform for those who want to keep a blog that’s much more pain free than WP.
  
  http://www.tumblr.com/
  
  I have been doing this for a while, but I think Maxsell is doing a much better job.
  
  http://maxsell.tumblr.com/
- magnus 1:09 pm on June 15, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  1. snagit (http://www.techsmith.com/screen-capture.asp)
  Just brilliant screen capture tool, so easy and yet powerful. If you start using it, you will use it 20 times a day…
  (saw that Jay also recommended it)
  
  2. Google Docs
  instead of post it notes, scrabble your thoughts in a doc and you will have it when you need it, regardless where you log on
  
  3. Google reader, rocks
  
  4. a hosted Content Mgt Service for your site
  
  5. a ’simple, but straightforward’ YouTube video to introduce yourself on the site
- Joseph Ferrara.sellsius 2:32 pm on June 15, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  The only tool that lets you track “offline” advertising, the Sellsius Link.
  
  http://www.sellsiusrealestate.com/html/popup_sellsius_link.aspx
  
  (Disclosure: I am the principal)
  
  These are all free (except where indicated):
  
  Grandcentral.com (one telephone number for life)
  Skype.com
  jott.com (voice to email/text message. Now gets feeds)
  propertyshark.com (where available. Makes Z look like a guppy) (not all free)
  ereal anlayzer http://tinyurl.com/4fl98r (investor tool)
  faststonecapture (THE best screenshot tool)
  meebo (online chat)
  zamzar.com (online file conversion. love this)
  tweetbeep (twitter alerts– set to your market keywords)
  meetup.com (F2F social networking via the net. Meet the fleshy avatars and see what a looks like)
  HomeGain (Buyer Link & Source4Sellers tools) (not free but works)
  GOOG 411 (free 411)
  dimdim.com (online conferences. share desktop)
  yourli.st (email reminder service)
  oovoo (video conferencing)
  drop.io (private sharing of files, doc, pics, video. Great)
  
  I’m tired of typing. If you’re stuck for 50 call me, I’ve got lots more.
- Dustin 2:39 pm on June 15, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Thanks again everyone! I’m inundated with great ideas and loving it!
- Kurtis Holsapple 11:28 am on June 16, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  PlugMyListing.com can cover many of these needs (syndication, listing tools) and more. I am the Director of Technology so any questions you have I can easily answer.
  
  Other tools:
  -Mozilla Firefox (IE tab to work with IE pages)
  -Mozilla Thunderbird/Lightning Plugin with Google Calendar plugin
  -Open Office for office suite
  -Google Android
  -Google Maps API
  -Linux?
- Dustin 12:50 pm on June 16, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Thanks Kurtis!
  
  I’m definitely going to dive a bit more into sydication tech for agents over the next few weeks… and I’m positive I’ll reach out to you at that point!
- John Rowles 2:48 pm on June 16, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Here’s a radical idea: Use technology to make things more simple (iPod, iPhone, Google), instead of more complex (any RE search tool that requires you to view a tutorial to figure it out).
  
  We build IDX sites that are powered by Google Enterprise search technology. Our visitors can search for real estate the same way we know that at least 60% of them search for everything else — by googling it.
  
  Brian just mentioned us on 1000WattBlog last week:
  
  http://www.1000wattblog.com/2008/06/best-of-my-inbo.html
  
  and you can find out more at :
  
  http://www.MainRhode.com
- Elena 6:14 am on June 17, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Dustin, maybe «How to» videos and guides will be useful too
  http://www.instructables.com
  http://www.howcast.com/
  And Russian “SkilloPedia” for example
  http://skillopedia.ru/catalogue.php?id=31
- JeffX 2:51 pm on June 24, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  RateSpeed Dustin!!
  
  ratespeed.com
  ratespeed.com/blog
- Dustin 1:01 am on June 25, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Jeff: Gotcha!
- Duke Lane 3:06 pm on June 25, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Okay, since you’re taking input from us those of us hawking stuff(!), let’s go with video slideshows with English voiceover on about 80% of the listings on your site. That’s 80% of ALL of the listings, not just your own (or your broker’s) … and that’s based on an approximate percentage of those that have three or more photos.
  
  The typical website has fewer than 1% of the listings with virtual tours, mainly because so few agents actually do them, and few brokers have more than 5% or 10% of any given market.
  
  Since the videos are completely computer-generated (using existing photos and textual data from MLSes) and the scripting is fully IDX compatible, they can also be used as a virtual tour on the MLS (unbranded) and, because they’re in an actual video format, they can be pushed to YouTube, etc., and boost your website ratings.
  
  And face it: if you have a speaking video virtual tour on almost EVERY listing on your site, don’t you think people are going to come back just for the “cool?”
  
  Here is the first site under development (ignore the fact that they’re saving space by not putting listing photos there): http://psjr3.beta.richweb.com (main website is psjr.com if anyone’s moving to Virginia!).
  
  To see vids on YT, check the channels PruRichmond01 thru -05 (only their listings).
  
  Yatahey! from the “vendor class” …!
- Mike Blaney 10:39 am on June 30, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Dustin:
  
  Joining in with some of the other biased contributors I recommend a company I founded called http://www.inboxfx.com. We provide custom email stationery with live links back to your website and it works from any MLS so you can send branded property listings. Works with a Blackberry or any other handheld devices. Makes your email look professional and it stands out in the inbox.
  
  Mike Blaney
  http://www.themarketingguy.wordpress.com
- Dustin 12:22 pm on June 30, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Interesting Mike! Thanks for the tip.
- Mike Rozell 11:07 pm on July 1, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  I saw this post and thought it wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t chime in with an excellent tool that I have been utilizing for the past several months. They offer a Web 2.0 marketing platform for agents and brokers; all in one place. Including: Dedicated Listing Websites, Syndication to Classified Sites, Online flyers, Branded to You. Fully loaded Wordpress blogs for Real Estate, Networking and referral marketing Market research through polls and much much more… http://www.realivent.com I highly recommend Realivent because I completely rebuilt my real estate business using their platform. You can see part of what they did for me at http://www.MyLifestyleRealtor.com
  
  Mike Rozell ~ Renton Realtor
- Joseph Bridges 7:32 am on July 5, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Mike,
  
  Realivent is a great company. We have had great feedback from agents who have used them and they are nice guys as well. I really like their affordability.
  
  –Joey
Dustin 2:46 am on April 30, 2008 Permalink | Reply
Tags: commissions (6), consumers (15), foreclosures, FSBO, listings (21), mapping, MLS (25), real estate (168), Redfin (20), REO (2)
Redfin releases a genuinely interesting update!

According to their press release, they are now commingling MLS, FSBO and Foreclosure listings on one map… and this has me scratching my head!

Are they allowed to do this? Isn’t this type of commingling of listings against MLS rules?

Notice the purple and pink icons… Those are REO (foreclosures) and FSBOs, respectively (green icons are MLS listings).

I have four ideas about how they are able to get away with this:
1. They found a loophole in MLS agreements that let’s them commingle listings (but I would find this hard to believe).
2. They got buy-off from all their local MLS organizations (but I would find this hard to believe)
3. They have reason to believe they can win this battle in the courts… (maybe a DOJ brief in support of this or something similar?)
4. They just don’t care about the rules and believe that consumer support for this feature will be so great that they’ll risk MLS fines.
None of these scenarios seem likely to me. What am I missing?

With that said, I REALLY like how they are approaching the foreclosure data. I’ve received a few press releases recently from real estate search sites that “announce” they are now publishing foreclosures on their site. However, inevitably, when I tested out the feature, the sites were just regurgitating RealtyTrac data that required consumers to pay a fee to get the actual address of the property. Redfin is providing the address.

Also interesting, someone from Redfin let me know that they are going to phase in a flat-fee buying option in order to accommodate these new listings types.

I want to send my congrats out to the Redfin team for pushing the boundaries yet again. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, they’re working pretty darn hard to deliver features and tools that they think will do a better job serving their customers.

UPDATE:

There’s some debate in the comments about whether there are local MLS rules against commingling of data, with some people claiming it’s just a misunderstanding that the data can’t be commingled. However, someone (who wished to remain anonymous) send me the following email which demonstrates that for at least one MLS where Redfin is commingling data, the rules are pretty clear:

Check it out: http://www.imrmls.com/centsite/idx_policy.htm

“4.13. Listings obtained through IDX must be displayed separately from listings obtained from other sources, not including information provided by other MLSs.”

What that says to ME (having experience with MLS rules) is that MRMLS doesn’t allow FSBO properties side-by-side with MLS listings.
property bulgaria, Matt Goyer’s Real Estate Blog » Blog Archive » Redfin Gets Foreclosures and FSBOs, Joseph Bridges and 8 others are discussing. Toggle Comments
- Richard Dale-Mesaros 3:34 am on April 30, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Congrats to RedFin for pushing the envelope! I guess their challenge will be to make this available nationwide as fast as possible. We’re looking for this kind of service to add to our member offerings, but even with RealtyTrac, their coverage is spotty in certain areas (eg: New Hampshire).
  
  The next big goal for RedFin will undoubtedly be free access to MLS comparables for the general public. The NAR is clinging onto this data by their fingernails…. I wonder how soon they’ll loose their grip on this, too?!
  
  Yours with boundless enthusiasm,
  
  Richard
  
  Chief Deal Weaver
  http://www.BlackWidowNetwork.com
- Jan 7:08 am on April 30, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Actually windermere.com has been “commingling” listings for years. Go look for listings in Long Beach, WA, to see both NWMLS and RMLS.
- Ellie at Redfin 9:56 am on April 30, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Glad you like the release, Dustin! As to your question about co-mingling listings, we researched that one pretty hard. We found that what the rules actually require is that we clearly mark the source of a listing, such as with different color icons for non-MLS listings and clear messaging on the listing itself. We’ve done that, because we don’t want to misrepresent a listing as an MLS listing if it isn’t.
  
  Also, if a listing is both a for-sale-by-owner home and is in the MLS (perhaps it’s an old FSBO listing, or the seller is trying both approaches), we show the MLS listing first by default.
  
  And finally, thanks for noticing that you get the address with foreclosures. We looked at a few ways of doing this and really didn’t like the idea of teasing searchers with a foreclosure, only to send them off to a fee-based site to get the address.
- Jon 11:55 am on April 30, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  What we’ve found is most MLSs specifically note “This MLS’ Listings may ONLY be commingled with other MLS’ listings.”
  
  However after reviewing NWMLS rules, I don’t see anything of that sort. Seems (for now) redfin is in the clear. UNLESS other rules implicitly apply to data in a Member’s (Broker) site in general (ie. Framing rules).
- Anthony Longo 1:30 pm on April 30, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  We launched this on our site back in January. Not quite as detailed however we did a deal with Foreclosure.com and Forsalebyowner.com and have those listings fed to our site daily.
  
  We were unsure of the commingling issue so we dont pull onto the same page/map…rather you have to perform separate searches.
  
  Check it out at http://Boston.CondoDomain.com click on search and you can see you can search for: New Developments, Exisiting Buildings, Full MLS, Foreclosure, FSBO and even Auction.
- For Sale by Owner Center 10:51 pm on April 30, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  We caught wind that our FSBO listings were appearing on Redfin searches via the Redfin press release and with further research found one of our Long Beach CA listings included ( http://www.redfin.com/CA/LONG-BEACH/307-LOMA-AVE-90814/home/7602890 )
  
  I personally think it’s great for the consumer but part of the reasoning to move forward is for the PR attention they may get from a possible MLS that file complaints which would make Redfin appear even more pro-consumer.
- Jessie B 11:50 pm on April 30, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  This is from the Redfin press release…
  
  “Consumers’ first question of any real estate site is whether it shows all the homes for sale,” said Redfin Chief Technology Officer Michael Young.
  
  I 100% agree with the above statement and it’s exactly what is driving the development of our beta site.
  
  Although other sites have claimed to do this… I think it will be very interesting to watch how the re.net will react to this.
- Andrew 12:00 am on May 1, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  there is no rules against this whatsoever. the only site that cannot mix fsbos is realtor.com. they have an agreement with NAR that does not allow this. Google tride to strike a deal with NAR but since they were not allowed to mix listings Google said forget it.
- Joseph Bridges 3:13 pm on May 2, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  I think providing customers with the latest data is extremely important and real estate professionals and MLS organizations should take note and make sure that they give the customers what they want. MLS’s that give the consumers all the data first will provide more value to their real estate agents who pay them dues. After all it is in the best interest of the consumer and the agent that they get to see ALL properties that meet the buyers criteria. While the rest of the redfin model may be up for debate their committment to data to the consumer is great.
- property bulgaria 6:23 am on May 8, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  What we’ve found is most MLSs specifically note “This MLS’ Listings may ONLY be commingled with other MLS’ listings.”
  
  However after reviewing NWMLS rules, I don’t see anything of that sort. Seems (for now) redfin is in the clear. UNLESS other rules implicitly apply to data in a Member’s (Broker) site in general (ie. Framing rules).
Dustin 2:39 pm on April 24, 2008 Permalink | Reply
Tags: DotHomes (2), Google (39), mapping, maps (5), realestate.com (2), Trulia (54)

Google’s Street View for everyone…

DotHomes, Trulia, and RealEstate.com (and I’m sure others) have added Google’s Street Views to their home search tools. Despite all the press releases flying around about this feature, the real innovation is on Google’s site since everyone is just tapping into their stuff and becoming ever more tied to the Google mapping solution.
Dustin 12:07 am on April 9, 2008 Permalink | Reply
Tags: mapping, real estate (168), Trulia (54)

Trulia integrates Google’s street view photos into…

…their home search.

I think it is a great move by Trulia and outsourcing the task of collecting and organizing this task to Google has some obviously benefits over doing it in-house. Collection/hosting costs are huge, but so are the potential legal headaches associated with being the original publisher of this information.

Dustin, Overland Park Real Estate, and In the News - Google + Trulia = True View - Trulia are discussing. Toggle Comments
- Overland Park Real Estate 8:42 pm on April 9, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  This is only the second time I have seen StreetView used on a real estate website (the first on a national site). Trulia seems to be working hard to make a name for themselves, Zill-who?
- Dustin 9:09 pm on April 9, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  No doubt Trulia has been doing a great job staking out a claim to a large swath of online real estate search.
Dustin 3:38 pm on March 7, 2008 Permalink | Reply
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The 1st 4RealzEd event was yesterday and…

I think I’ve recovered enough now to actually post about it!

Despite our best efforts to be prepared, the day started off a bit rough with a nearby mudslide taking out power in our building in the morning (meaning no hot coffee and no projector) and a 9-car pileup on a nearby freeway slowed me down tremendously. AHHH

So, to say it started rough would be an understatement… But once it started, things seem to get on a roll quickly.

I started with an overview of consumers expectations in a web2.0 world to set expectations for the day… Jim followed up with presentation on optimal features and design for a real estate website. Then it turned back to me for a presentation on social networking… lunch… then another presentation by me on creating value through blogging about communities. And we returned for the day’s finally with Jim giving a engaging presentation on measuring and tracking marketing results to ensure a positive ROI.

All around, it was a wonderful day! And, maybe they were just being nice, but the attendees who talked with me said only good things about the education.

Because I promised attendees I would give them a list of all the sites I mentioned in my presentations (so that they wouldn’t have to ask me to spell out each URL), here is the list for everyone’s benefit.

Consumer Expectations in a Web2.0 World:
- Expedia, Travelocity, Kayak, Trulia, Rain City Guide, RealCentralVA, Amazon, Netflix, del.icio.us, Firefox, Zillow API, MySpace, LinkedIn, Altos Research, Property Shark, Market Snapshot, Homethinking, Redfin, Realtor.com, Zillow, Google PageRank
Engaging in Social Networking to Earn Clients
- MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, Inman News Community, Zillow Discussions, Trulia Voices, ActiveRain, Google Reader (feed reader), AnnaLuther.com (RSS feed of listings), Mobile Reader
Using Blogs to Build Communities
- WordPress.com, Top Producer Blogs, Yahoo Mail, moving to seattle post, Real Estate Tomato, RealCentralVA, 4realz.net, Notorious Rob, Grow-a-Brain, Northern Virginia RE Guide, Altos Research blog, NELA Live, REagent in CT, St Paul Minnesota, FOREM, Blog Calabasas
I wasn’t tracking the sites that Jim mentioned, but there were not nearly as many of them in his presentations…

And thanks again to all the bloggers who have helped spread the word about the event, the sponsors who helped us keep the price low and all the attendees who made the day possible!

I received some incredible feedback from all three groups, which is going to lead me to make some changes to the upcoming events (I’ll announce those early next week!). Great stuff all around. Thanks again to everyone!
Learning, learning, learning… « 4realz.net, Dustin, Laura-LosAngelesRealEstateTalk.com and 14 others are discussing. Toggle Comments
- Jay Thompson 3:46 pm on March 7, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Congrats Dustin! Mudslides and pile-ups aside, I’m sure it was well worth it for the attendees. Sounds like a great program.
  
  But next time, you should slip some Phoenix real estate blog in there somewhere…
- Dustin 3:56 pm on March 7, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  So very true!
  
  At one point I list “reasons blogs work”, and I use different examples from RCG posts… During the presentation I came to the conclusion that I had too many RCG screenshots, so my plan is to redo that section to bring in some other great real estate blogs… and I can only imagine there will be at least one Phoenix blog included!
- toddwcarpenter 4:29 pm on March 7, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Congrats Dustin. I saw your twitter yesterday morning and had to laugh. Great that it all came together.
- Athol Kay 4:51 pm on March 7, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Wow, that’s some heady list to be included in with. I appreciate it!
- Mike Farmer 4:53 pm on March 7, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Congratulations!
- TimJ 5:04 pm on March 7, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Congratulations on surviving your first event. You’re off to a great start! (except for the little mudslide and traffic thing).
- Doug Willis 6:28 pm on March 7, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  I was one of the attendees yesterday. Jim and Dustin provided a wonderful presentation and experience. If you are thinking of blogging, you must go. Seeing Dustin is like, well, “having Moses personally escort you on the arc”.
- Dustin 8:26 pm on March 7, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Thanks to everyone!
  
  And a special thanks to Doug! I’m planning to send all the attendees an email with a link to this post, but I hadn’t made it that far yet, so it is awesome that you followed up already! I just played on your site a bit and noticed that your site looks pretty darn good and includes a great cast of contributors. You’re already ahead of the game!
- Richard Dale-Mesaros 8:28 pm on March 7, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Hi Dustin,
  
  Glad to see you’re getting out there and enlightening the world about the new social networking. Things are moving at such a fast pace in this arena and we appreciate folks like you who are keeping us in the loop. 2008 is certainly going to be the year of the niche social network, as we’ve already been seeing with our own site for real estate investors.
  
  Keep up the good work!
  
  Richard
  
  Chief Deal Weaver
  http://www.BlackWidowNetwork.com
- Dustin 8:29 pm on March 7, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Athol,
  
  I used one of your Bad MLS photos posts to talk about the benefits of using humor… and the slide alone was effective. Everyone had a good chuckle! So credit goes to you for creating a fun resource for us all!
- pasadenaviews 7:50 am on March 8, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Dustin, this class was everything I hoped for and more. As always, you did a tremendous job making sense of Web2.0. Jim’s presentation on what a website should have and the ROI gave me a lot to think of. I have a slew of next steps to incorporate. Keep up the great work and I look forward to more classes. THANKS to you both!
- Jim Marks 9:00 am on March 8, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Dustin,
  
  You are superman… Good job getting this post and all the links up… It is Saturday morning and I am just getting my feet back under me… with a weekend in Vail… I thought I would check your blog to get the news!
  
  I gotta admit that the Mudslide was the first time I have ever seen you sweat! but we worked it out!
- monikamcgillicuddy 9:09 am on March 8, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Sounds like it all worked out in the end. I wish I could have been there to see you guys in action.
- Marlene Bridges 10:07 am on March 8, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Dustin – What an awesome day of mind expansion. You and Jim were fully prepared. You gave us so much information in the morning that I was on the edge of my seat taking notes as quickly as I could. When it was time to break for lunch I was shocked that so much time had passed. Then after lunch you guys packed in even more.
  
  Dustin, you demystified, clarified, and confirmed things I knew, things I thought I knew, and things I’d wondered about. In today’s market, we simply don’t have money to burn. I absolutely thought my money for the day was well-spent. You valued our time and there was no “dead air”. You and Jim did such an incredible job. BTW – I drove three hours to get to there (enjoyed the scenery on the 405 and saw things I usually sail by-the mudslide affected the freeway, too) and I’d do it again in a heartbeat to hear what you have to say.
  
  Thanks also to the great sponsors. Events like this one simply can’t happen without sponsors. Thank you for carefully choosing relevent sponsors for this event. I can’t wait to get my Altos Research up and running on all my websites!
  
  Looking forward to the next 90 days of learning and to future events like this one to build up my Web 2.0 muscles.
- Dustin 11:52 am on March 8, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Irina, Monika and Marlene: Thank you so much for the kind words about the presentation! Everyone at the event was wonderful, inquisitive, attentive and understanding. A perfect audience!
- Naia 12:02 pm on March 8, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Dustin and Jim: As an attendee who showed up a few minutes late (15-30?), I can tell you that by the time I showed up, you were handling it all well, and I had no sense of crisis.
  
  To all future attendees: The workshop was well worth it! Balanced and useful across a variety of speakers: Dustin, Jim, and the 5 minute presentations by the three sponsors.
  
  Dustin and Jim, I was thinking that you were served well by your experience at tracking communication across communities. I think it made your planning for this event strong because the parts of the live event LINKED together well—even while each participant was able to keep their identity and provide their own expertise. That’s a hard thing to do well in live events, and you succeeded.
  
  Naia
- Naia 12:03 pm on March 8, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Oh, yes. …btw, count me in for the 90day expansion of your training.
- Dustin 12:33 pm on March 8, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  You’re on Naia! And thanks so much.
- Missy Caulk 7:40 pm on March 8, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Sounds like fun, mudslides, car pile ups and all, but no coffee, I draw the line there.
- Ubertor 4:56 pm on March 9, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Congrats Dustin. Sounds like a great event.
- Laura-LosAngelesRealEstateTalk.com 11:47 am on March 10, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Wow! It seems like the event was a huge success. What is the 90-day expansion training? Is it only available to people who attended this first event?
  Cheers to new adventures!
- Dustin 12:26 pm on March 10, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  Laura,
  
  The event was definitely a lot of fun.
  
  In terms of the 90-day course, it is an idea that I shared with the first attendees and it involves me walking them through social networking and blogging over a 90-day time period. And, yes, I did offer it free to all attendees…
  
  Once I get the system down, the plan is to open the course up to anyone who is interested (most probably for a fee).
Dustin 4:56 pm on February 28, 2008 Permalink | Reply
Tags: Legal (15), mapping, move.com (20)

The worst part about the mapping patents…

…that won’t go away is that I have to believe that people (at least at ESRI), were doing this stuff long before the patent was filed (i.e. databasing and retrieving listings from a map!).

Robbie, and loren nason are discussing. Toggle Comments
- loren nason 8:13 pm on February 28, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  What a bunch of crap the lawsuit is. All they are is a bunch of Patent Trolls.
  
  Hmm i’ve figured out a way instead of looking at a piece of paper that has a list of properties on it for sale i’m going to look at a printed map that has pushpins marking the houses for sale.
  
  Maybe I should apply for a patent.
  
  Now if the software that does the crunching had something spectacular that nobody else does i think you could patent the code, but not the idea of looking at a map.
  
  I hope they lose.(the patent trolls that is)
- Robbie 10:41 am on February 29, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  This nice thing about this patent is that it was filed in 1989 and issued on July 16, 1991. Since 1991 is before June 8, 1995, this means that patent will remain in effect until the 17th anniversary of its issue date.
  
  That means 17+1991 = July 16, 2008 = the patent expires this summer.
  
  Also, there’s the issue of prior art to consider as well, but I’m assuming given the date of the patent, there is no prior art to be found. Mapping in the late 1980s, as I recall, was non existant on PCs until CD ROM drives became cheap around 1992. (Although, ESRI probably had something on mini-computers or UNIX workstations back then)
  
  Otherwise, some big player, such as NAR probably would’ve filed a request to the USPTO to invalidate the patent by now.
  
  The more interesting question how the patents filed by Redfin, Zillow, Trulia, or some large broker or RE.net company with it’s own patent portfolio will handle this. Will they turn into trolls? (Unlikely, but stranger things have happened)
  
  On the plus side, patent trolls usually sue companies with money first, so most of us can wait until the dust clears.
Dustin 2:20 am on February 22, 2008 Permalink | Reply
Tags: blogging (121), consumers (15), Google (39), mapping, Marketing (77), Microsoft (8), neighborhood (18), real estate (168), social network (57), Trulia (54), web2.0 (22), Yahoo (17), Zillow (61)

Going way back before I took my job at…

…Move, I landed a 30-minute meeting with Dan Rosensweig (COO of Yahoo at the time), where I tried to convince him that I should lead up a team for Yahoo to build a platform that would help real estate professionals market themselves at a local level using the various tools Yahoo had in-house (at the time, it was something like Yahoo 360, Flickr, upcoming, local business reviews, maps, listings, etc.).

Dan’s strongest argument against such a platform was that I should prove out the concept first by doing it myself since almost all of these platforms had APIs (and theoretically, he was right, but I was looking for a regular paycheck!).

Anyway, I only remembered this story after reading Joel’s post about Seth Godin’s new product: SquidZipper.

Even two years after my call with Dan, the market for providing a free, quality, and local marketing platform for agents is still largely undeveloped… and while one of the real estate focused verticals like Trulia or Zillow could theoretically fill this niche, it still seems like such a no brainer for one of the big guys like Google, Microsoft or Yahoo to take a page from Seth’s playbook and create a niche-specific platform for their various tools!

Seth’s platform is a great idea… but it is still missing the one thing that could really make a platform like this work: an abundance of consumers!

tracytc, Why I never read Seth Godin. | REMBEX Blog Fiesta, and Ben Martin, Va Assn of REALTORS are discussing. Toggle Comments
- Ben Martin, Va Assn of REALTORS 7:02 am on February 22, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  So true. I’ve never understood the appeal of Squidoo, and obviously I’m not the only one. For hyperlocal content, blogging still seems like the way to go.
- tracytc 9:37 am on February 23, 2008 Permalink | Reply
  
  From where I sit, Seth has his finger on the exact pulse of consumers and how they behave. They’re going to sit down at a search engine to look for their hyper-local information, and guess what is going to come up? My hyper-local, hyper-focused SquidZipper page, especially because it will link to my hyper-local blog and my hyper-local Squidoo Lens, all of which will point back to my hyper-local SquidZipper page.
  
  Oops! Now that I let the cat out of the bag, I’d better actually head over and set it up. =-D
Dustin 6:07 pm on February 21, 2008 Permalink | Reply
Tags: mapping, search (51)

Joel lists 10…

…great real estate search sites.

I added the PuSHPress plugin that’s sup… (2)
- Dustin: Total pipe dream… but with pubsubhubbub, it would be entirely possible to build a...
- Loren Nason: sweet
Publishing from my phone??? (3)
- Val: Hi Dustin. I enjoy reading your blog. Another app I think you may find of interest is from...
- Dustin: sweet! You’re gonna keep me busy all night playing with apps!
- Joel Burslem: A couple more that I would highly recommend: Reeder (http://reederapp.com/) –...
“How likely is this person to send me business?” (5)
- Dustin: You’re very welcome… Gist is definitely not the easiest tool to get...
- Peter Casale: Dustin – after reading your prior post “Screw consumers” I...
My last post got me thinking about a pol… (1)
- Paul: I’ll answer this from the perspective of a real estate investor. I bring my golden...

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