The advent of the Internet created new opportunities & new challenges.  A few expressed concern that this medium would eliminate the role of agents and brokers in the home purchasing and selling process. It soon became obvious to everyone that consumers would continue to find value in real estate professionals because these agents & brokers knew the business and could help the consumer navigate the tricky real estate process. And just as listing aggregators began to find a home on the Internet, mobile tech tools popped up.  These tools gained momentum among real estate practitioners, and tools like e-mail, digital cameras, virtual tours, laptops, GPS and PDAs proved to be popular among agents and brokers who used them as a way to keep up with the way consumers used technology to shop for and sell homes.

Now that we are a decade into the 21st century, listing placement and mobile tech tools are coming together. Today, smartphones have taken a leap and put home listings in the palms of our hands.  At the drop of a hat, the consumers sitting in your car may ask to explore other ‘homes for sale’ in a given neighborhood.  And the information you need is accessible instantly.  That kind of access is hard to beat.  But, what if you—as a real estate professional—were armed with a device slightly less bulky than a laptop but larger than a smartphone to help with a listing search on the go….would you use that tool with clients? Or in sales presentations?  This question comes to mind in response to Kindle’s recent announcement about a limited release of its SDK.  It sounds like they are laying the groundwork for an app store.  And then, of course, there’s the iPad.   These devices may lend themselves to clever ways of presenting listings in the future.

“Bah, humbug! Another device to carry?” Many may say that, but you might want to think of it this way: in an era where differentiation is key, what might that client think when they find out that their house can be viewed via an app on one of these e-readers?  Or that they can search for a house that way?  Picture this:  someone sitting quietly on a train, on their way home, can use an e-reader to navigate home listings.  They come upon the property that exactly fits their criteria, and then finds you.  This is not that farfetched.  With the development of new technology, the question becomes, “What’s next for real estate listings?”

Of course, no tech tool could rival a real estate professional’s knowledge, integrity, & network.  But technology tools could bring them and their listings closer to the consumer.

For your consideration:

 Home Buyer & Seller Profile (2K8)

Technology Topic Field Guides

REALTOR.com iPhone App 

Your Future Clients

With that in mind, I’ll be discussing some of the most popular tools in detail over the next few months.  Our blog and newsletters will be filled with advice and useful ideas to help you find the best mobile gadgets, software, and office hardware.  To be clear, none of these guides will endorse any specific products.  Rather, we hope to give you information about the tools that are available so that you can make a decision about whether or not you should consider a particular tech tool.

Part I: GPS

Whether you’re an agent, broker, or an association executive, you may want to consider a GPS unit for your car.  GPS units are common in today’s market.  Over the past five years the number of different GPS units available has been growing at an exponential rate.  With recent advancements in mapping and location, finding where you are and where you want to go quickly and easily has never been simpler.  The popularity of GPS units has been so great that most smartphone manufacturers now include GPS radios in their phones.

While most new smartphones have the ability to accurately track and map your location and destination, many phones still do not offer the versatility of a standalone GPS unit.  In addition to the extra features available, personal GPS devices often come with screens that are much larger than a smartphone’s screen.  This is not to say that smartphones with factory GPS applications or with apps that can be purchased are not valuable.  Rather, I would suggest that GPS software on smartphones simply is not quite the equal of a standalone unit.

There are numerous GPS manufacturers and each one is vying for your business.  Each manufacturer attempts to differentiate itself by offering different features.  Many of these features can sway you to purchase one GPS or another.  However, I would offer the following advice when considering a new GPS device:

1.       How well does the routing work?  This might seem like an easy question to answer for any GPS device, but my experience with different hardware would suggest otherwise.  The most important feature of any GPS device is this: will it get you where you need to go?

2.       Have you used the brand before?  If not, do you know anyone who has?  With the number of manufacturers in the GPS market, it has never been more important to know what you’re getting before you buy it.  Your experience with a certain device will vary greatly between different brands.  When you’re doing your research, talk to other people who have used the unit, or at the very least, the brand you’re considering.

3.       Is the unit you want being offered at a super-mega-hyper discount?  If the unit you’re considering is on sale for an incredibly low price, find out why.  Many units that go on sale are perfectly well built and provide great features. However, buying the cheapest option simply because it’s the cheapest option is never good.  Weigh the price against the features before making your purchase.

4.       What are you going to use it for?  How often?  If you’re a REALTOR® who takes your clients from showing to showing on a daily basis, your needs will likely be higher than a REALTOR® who rarely does any driving.

5.       What features do you really need?  Don’t buy the unit with all the bells and whistles; you’ll probably never use half of the features it has.  The software is so advanced in many devices that with the higher-end units, you really need to be a road warrior to justify the cost of those features.

Everyone has different needs when it comes to technology, so do your best to consider as many options as you can.  And above all else, try before you buy.  If you never play with the device before you buy it, you’re never going to know if it’s right for you.  Most big box stores such as Best Buy, Target, and Wal-Mart have display units available to examine and use.  Make sure you’re comfortable with the device in the store or you’ll never be comfortable once it’s talking to you in your car.

With the recent announcement and upcoming release of the Apple iPad, there has been much discussion about how this new tech toy can be used. The real question for REALTORs®, of course, is “Would the iPad be of any use to me in my business?” And while it’s still a little early to see all the potential benefits, I think that the iPad or a similar device can be of great use to a REALTOR®; perhaps even better than a laptop when you’re on the road.

One of the first reactions that people had with regard to the iPad was something along the lines of “Oh, it’s just a giant iPhone.” I admit that I had the same reaction at first. Then I realized, “Wait, that’s awesome!” The idea of a device that is in between a smartphone and a full-fledged laptop actually makes sense for a REALTOR®.

To see what I mean, let’s take a look a couple of scenarios where a device like the iPad could serve you better than a smartphone, laptop or netbook.

First, let’s say that you are showing a property, and in the course of the showing, the potential buyer asks for some information that you don’t have in hardcopy, but that’s in your email or online. With a laptop, you could find the information and show it to the client, but it can be a little time consuming: you have to open up the laptop, find the information and then show it to the client. And unless you have a flat surface available, handling a laptop is awkward. With a smartphone, it’s much easier to handle, but not so good for viewing: you and the client would have to hunch over a tiny screen. But with an iPad, you have an easy-to-handle machine with a much larger screen. No hunching required!.

This ease of use could also apply to any other information you only have in soft copy. With an iPad, you could cut down on the amount of paperwork you would need to carry around with you while out showing properties. Simply preload your device with any information that you might think you’ll need for the showing. You can always go online if you need to. Even better, you can easily email this information for the buyer to look at later, if needed.

Here’s another situation where an iPad might come in handy. Perhaps, while out showing properties, you find that your client has new criteria for the property they want. Your current list for them doesn’t meet those criteria, so you need to do a quick search that takes this new information into account. Sure, any smartphone can take you to your MLS’s web search page, but again, it’s difficult for more than one person at a time to look at the device. A laptop or netbook would work well in this role, but only if you have a good place to put it. But the iPad could handle the search just as well as a laptop, without the need for a flat surface. And should a tabletop be available, you can attach a physical keyboard that makes typing on an iPad as easy as it is on a laptop.

In addition, the iPad, as a new device, is sure to inspire new types of applications, some of which will probably come in handy for REALTORs®. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone developed an application that would allow a buyer to make an offer on a property electronically. Also, applications that allow one to sign documents electronically would greatly reduce the amount of paper work you need to carry about. Plus, the iPad is able to run the thousands of apps that have already been developed for the iPhone and iPod Touch. If you have one of those, and there’s an app on it that you love, you could put it on the iPad as well.

The biggest downside to the Apple iPad is its price, it starts at just under $500 for the cheapest WiFi only model and it is tied to AT&T for the 3G models. However, its release will undoubtedly inspire competitors to create similar devices, which will help make this kind of tool more affordable and give you a better choice of mobile carriers. If you don’t wish to wait, you can get the WiFi only model and buy a mobile WiFi hotspot from another provider.

So the Apple iPad is something that could, once it has been released, prove very useful to a REALTOR®. It could make showing properties easier, while reducing the amount of paperwork you have to carry with you. It gives you the option of easy-to-handle web access that you can share with other people. And new applications and devices are sure to bring even more functionality to an already useful type of tool.

• Blackberry was used by 41.2% of respondents, followed by iPhone (26% overall… 3G  with 14.1% and 3GS with 11.9%) and Palm (14.0%).
• Top reasons why respondents selected their current smartphone:   Best device for emails (45.9%) ;  Ease of use (26.2%); device has a keyboard  (23.7%).
• Most used features:  phone (91.2%); email (88.4%); SMS (73.8%); calendar (52.6%); web browser (42.3%).
• In general, social-media-related applications were the most popular type of app downloaded by survey respondents (54.5%).  Map (43.3%) and weather (41.8%) apps were also popular.
• Through open-ended responses, a few identified apps they wish existed or features they want their smartphones to have:  an e-key for accessing lockboxes; an easy-to-use & free mortgage calculator; a projector; or faxing capability.

Thanks to all of you who took the time to participate!  Your input is always valued.

Other studies & general info that may be of interest to you: data security survey (currently open); NAR Research tools; tech tools for association executives; mobile social networking activity; tech predictions; property managers & technology.

After watching the Winter Olympics on TV for the last few weeks, are you ready to experience Canada for yourself? Well, here’s your chance. The National Association of REALTORS® will be hosting the AE Institute in Quebec City this April. If you’re attending, then you are in for a treat! The AE & Development folks at NAR have created a first-rate program for professional development and an opportunity to learn about the latest key industry issues . Of course, part of the program offerings include the Tech Trend Labs being sponsored by the Center for REALTOR® Technology (CRT).

During these tech labs, facilitators will share tips, tricks & tools on communicating effectively & efficiently with your members; learn more about social media in practice & how NAR embraces it; explore options for communicating remotely using web conferencing tools; and find out why the ‘fine print’ is so important when it comes to technology. Don’t miss these sessions, taking place on Sunday, 4/18 and Monday, 4/19 (from 8:30am – 2:45pm)! Tech Trends Labs will be held at the Hilton in the Dufferin Room (Lobby Level).

Stay connected while away from home & the office. As in past years, the CRT Wi-Fi Hotspot will be available in the Convention Center from Friday morning through Tuesday morning during the AE Institute. For your convenience, CRT is also planning to offer a smartphone recharge station in the Convention Center.

For the latest details and for a full program, visit the AE Institute page at REALTOR.org.

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That is CRT making sure the leaders of the YPN are well proTechted. In the following days, we will recap the sessions that were streamed live. All the presentation can be found here:

Business Tech: Office in the Cloud
Defining the Social Me – Dustin Luther (4Realz)
Google Voice – Keith garner (NAR)
Smart Phones Port desai (NAR)
Understanding the Internet Consumer Spencer Rascoff (Zillow)
Real Estate Road Warrior Shannon Williams-King (Tribella)
75 Useful Website Tina Merritt (Long and Foster)

hmmm….why wasn’t CRT listed? Tina?

The history of the Internet is a story of inverse proportion; as technology accelerates, the barriers to it—both monetary and technological—shrink. During one of my CRT presentations (Digitally Expose Yourself), I lead off by asking “Who has been using email since 1971?” Only once has someone raised their hand. And while you may be wondering who would be naive enough to think that they could have been emailing since then, the lore of the Internet traces the first use of email back to the summer of 1971. So now, I ask you, ‘Why weren’t you using email back then, or even in 1991?’

I lead off with that example because it clearly demonstrates what I’m discussing: technically, there was nothing to prevent people from sending email back in 1971. If you look at a timeline of the internet[1] you can see that many of the services that we take for granted today and which we often perceive as only a couple of years old have actually been around for quite some time. Many times, a “new” technology merely refers to an old technology with a new label, a sign that it has reached the mainstream. But because technology takes some time to enter the mainstream, most people either aren’t aware of what’s possible or consider the cost too unreasonable.

Social Networking is a prime example of this trend. Technically, email is a basic form of social networking. Who hasn’t gotten a randomly forwarded resume of a person who is a friend’s friend’s friend? And email has been around since the 70’s. AOL even dates from the mid 80’s, though they really didn’t hit the critical mass until the 90’s. But from the 70’s to the 80’s, the barrier to entry for an individual significantly decreased, both monetarily and in terms of knowledge. The most basic computer cost a few thousand dollars in the early 90’s; today you can get a desktop easily for under $1000 (and even that is expensive). And that’s before the per-minute toll charges for a dial-up connection with a modem. Imagine what your monthly phone bill would be spending your now-daily 2.5 surfing hours connected via modem. Not to mention how much that time would multiply because the connection is so slow.

And that’s just the price-tag part of the equation. To actually connect to these usenet or bulletin board systems (bbs), one needed some techie know-how, and sometimes even an invitation to ‘join the secret club’. And it wasn’t about point-n-click: initially, you needed to get under the hood, setting up modem ports, and dealing with baud rates, oh my! But as technology advanced, these tasks got easier and easier. Remember Web-Tv? It promised ease of use: plug a little box into your TV and phone and you were online instantly!

The same is true for social networking and many of the new trendy services and “need to join” communities out there. Blogging, for all intents and purposes, started the day the World Wide Web was created (1989). But at first, you needed to have hardware and the know-how to create your own presence on the ‘Net—a server with the software to run websites, an Internet connection and a knowledge of how to create a web page. A few years later, services developed to help you with all that: enter Geocities.com, and LiveJournal.com. As these features got more and more accessible, the numbers of people using them and how they could be used grew. The technology started to reach the masses. Then the term ‘Weblog’ was coined in 1997 and a tidal wave of bloggers started in 1999.

Have you been blogging since 1991, when the concept was started, or even since the late 90’s when you could simply just post your thoughts on your own little corner of the web? Sometimes it’s easy to forget that everything we are doing on the Internet is simply an extension of our real world persona applied online. It isn’t really new, but now it’s easier to do and more geared towards the masses. But along with that, as a technology is increasingly adopted, the impact you can make with it decreases. Being the number one blogger in your area is simpler when you are one of the first versus when you are one of the multitudes. So it might be a good idea to always be on the lookout for emerging trends, because those are your best shot at moving forward and they can really help define how you embrace technology.

As a quick addendum to these thoughts, I leave you with the The Machine is Us/ing Us video. While you watch it, try to note the point when you stop understanding or are familiar with everything that they are referencing. Then think, how much earlier in the video that point would have occurred 5 years ago, or 10 years ago. With that in mind, and just imagine how, 3 years from now, you could watch that video and say, ’Yeah duh, who isn’t writing their grocery list in XML, importing it into the ‘cloud’ and tagging it?”

[1] credit: http://joaobordalo.com/files/topInternetHistory.png

The 2009 REALTORS® Conference & Expo is upon us.  If you’ll be one of the real estate professionals attending, don’t miss the information packed sessions & tech resources CRT is offering.

CRT WiFi Hotspot
In the Hyatt’s Manchester Foyer
Starting Wednesday evening, November 11 thru Monday 2pm, November 16

Bring your laptop & stay connected to your home and the office.  While you are at the CRT WiFi Hotspot, don’t forget to check out the MS Surface.  Interacting with a multi-touch system has never been so much fun!

Bloggers’ Lounge
In the San Diego Convention Center, Room 7B, Upper Level.
Stop by with your laptop and catch up on all your social media to-do’s.

Re-Charge Stations
Running low on battery and need to quickly recharge your mobile device?
Re-charge stations are available in the CRT WiFi Hotspot (in the Hyatt) and in the Marriott’s West Lobby Lounge, North Tower.

Peer-to-Peer Skillshops
In Bloggers’ Lounge, Convention Center, Room 7B
This is your chance to hear more about the latest tech trends:  from smartphones to web tools to WordPress to social media updates.  Join us for these interactive sessions on Friday, Nov 13 from 1:30pm-3pm and Saturday, Nov 14 from 10:30am – Noon.

CRT Ed Sessions 
All CRT ed sessions are being held in the Convention Center.

If technology is your passion, don’t miss our CRT sessions.  You’ll learn more about digital media, road warrior tips & must-haves, RETS, MLS, VoIP, internet security breaches, social media, and ‘the Cloud’.

Chance to Win the Real Estate Road Warrior Challenge Kit!
Interested in winning a kit that includes an iPod Nano (with video recording feature), a netbook, a digital camera, a hand-size projector, and more?  To participate in the Real Estate Road Warrior Challenge 2009, pick up your game piece at the Bloggers’ Lounge, CRT WiFi Hotspot, or download it online at:  http://www.crt.realtors.org/cms/promotion/annual/2009/gameboard

Get Conference Info on Your Smartphone
After a quick download, you’ll be able to find the session, speaker, and hotel info you need in San Diego.

Download

These days, it seems like I can’t go anywhere without hearing about Windows 7.  With that in mind, let’s take a brief look at why everyone seems to be completely enamored by the software.  For Windows Vista users, the change is pretty gradual.  Windows 7 borrows many of the user interface enhancements that were first introduced in Vista.  For XP users, however, the change is dramatic.  Speaking as a lifelong Windows user, I can say that like many, I avoided Windows Vista due to the negativity surrounding it.  Since making the jump from XP way back in January (when the public beta became available) I can’t imagine going back to XP mainly due to the advancements in the user interface.

If you haven’t already heard about the new features and changes in Microsoft’s latest operating system, here’s a brief rundown:

Taskbar

The taskbar in Windows 7 makes a significant leap forward.  The main difference is that rather than displaying a long, rectangular box with your open programs, Windows 7 displays program icons.  Using icons takes up much less space and allows you to see exactly what you have running at any given time.  Additionally, there is a small rectangle at the end of the taskbar that when clicked, will minimize all open programs and display your desktop.

Pins

With pins, you can now add any program to your taskbar.  Add your most commonly used programs and you can have easy access to them even when you’re not looking at your desktop.  To pin a program to your taskbar, simply drag the desktop icon to your taskbar, or right click and select pin to taskbar.

Jump Lists

From the taskbar, you can now perform multiple tasks within your programs before even opening them.   Simply click an icon on your taskbar and drag up to view that program’s jump list. Combine jump lists with pins and you have quick and easy access to functions within your programs.  Previously, some of the jump list functions would require you to open a program, wait for it to load, and then dig through the menus to find the correct action.

Aero Peek

Aero peek is one of my favorite features in Windows 7.  Simply moving your mouse over any open program on your taskbar will display a preview box above that icon.  Within that preview box, you will see a miniaturized display of that program.  I have found this to be especially useful when running multiple instances of the same program.

Aero Shake

Aero shake is a quick way to clear away all of the clutter on your screen.  When you want to view one program and minimize all the other windows, grab the program title bar with your mouse, and move it quickly left and right.  This will automatically minimize all other open programs while leaving your selected window open.  Performing the shake action a second time, will restore your other programs.

Aero Snap

Aero snap is another one of my personal favorite functions.  It allows you to resize your open applications much more easily than dragging a corner to the size you want.  Simply drag the program title bar to the top of the screen and it will automatically maximize the window.  Also, you can multitask by dragging the title bar to the side of your screen.  This will maximize the open program on exactly half of your screen, allowing easy side by side viewing.

These are just some of the many new features in Windows 7.  As you can probably tell, Windows 7 is all about making your computing experience easier.  The new features allow you to do what you want to do on your computer, in the way you’re used to doing it (Vista and XP users), only faster.  It may take some time to get used to the new features but once you do, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without them.

For more information and in depth reviews of Windows 7 follow these links:

Windows 7: The Complete Guide

Windows 7 Review

Official Microsoft Windows 7 Page

I broke my method into two different steps. This was so I can be even a little more selective with my tweets. The first thing you need to do is identify what you want to follow. You can either grab your full feed off your Twitter profile page which is indicated by the ‘RSS FEED’ link under your page righthand nav bar. Additionally, you could perform a Twitter Search, and use the resulting feed link off that as well.

Take that link and add it to Yahoo Pipes. From there, I chose my #hashtag to filter on as #FB. Whenever my feed contains #FB, Yahoo Pipes will use that entry. I the use the REGEX module to change all references of CRTweet to @CRTweet – this is purely for aesthetics.

Since the Twitter feed has the title and the description being the same content, I want to replace the description with the Twitter link. Using the LOOP module, I step through each entry and replace the description content with the link. I TRUNCATE the feed to 10 and I have my resulting pipe.

You could be done at this point. You can take this selective tweet feed and use it wherever you want. However, one of the nuances with importing these into Facebook, is that they only allow one feed. CRT has twitter, blog etc. Therefore, the second Yahoo Pipe is a UNION of all the feeds with a little more piping magic. NOTE: this could have been done in one pipe, but for flexibility I chose to break it out into two.

Using the FETCH FEED or existing pipes, I brought them all into this new pipe. You can see, I did the same aesthetic labeling with the @RSECURE feed. I also added one more selective #hashtag to the @CRTweet. I block any entry that contains #FBP. Now why did I do this?

At the time, I wanted to be able to specify if the tweet should go to my Facebook Profile and/or my Facebook Page. I use the previous pipe to feed my Facebook Profile – hence, anything with #FB goes to my profile. However, when that same feed comes through into the second pipe, it blocks anything that contains #FBP. Which means when I tweeted this, I wanted it to go into my profile but not my page.

So a recap of the #hashtag filter. By tweeting:

#FB – I will publish to both my profile and the CRT Page
#FBP – I publish only to my profile

A little complicated, maybe a little over baked, but demonstrates the flexibility.

OK – so now, we have filtered, prettied and merged the various feeds, SORTed them by descending order. We have our final feed.

After you save your pipe, you will be able to get its direct feed link from the preview page.
Copy that link, and go to either your Facebook Profile or Page, and go to the NOTES application. Edit the NOTES application settings, and you will notice the link to merge your NOTES with an external feed.

Take your YAHOO Pipes feed link, and entered it into the setup window. You now have Facebook directly feeding itself from selective tweets, merged blogs – you name it.

Now all this comes with some words of caution. First, Facebook is very finicky about how often it updates the NOTES with the feeds, and it doesn’t always ‘grab’ all the posted articles/entries/tweets.

The second item is BE CAREFUL. You are now shot-gunning your info all over the place. Hopefully it is in a controlled manner. I try to maintain a funnel approach – where Twitter is the most vocal, the blog is the most in-depth and Facebook is an overall summary snapshot of what’s going on.

And finally, the web always like to change the rules, and Facebook is notorious for that. They seem to have some new Ways that Notes will be added to followers feeds coming down the pipe.

Regardless, this is a great way to be able to control your content distribution channels by posting once, and delivering multiple.

OH!! Before I forget, there is also a Facebook utility that will take a Facebook Page post and push it to Twitter. Now, lets think how that can be used. Im going to hit ‘Publish’ for the blog post. I could then write a brief snippet, post it on the Facebook Page with the #hashtag #FBP which would then syndicate it over to my Facebook Profile but not back to the Facebook Page. Keep in mind, that it will also be automatically added to a NOTE through the blog feed/Yahoo Pipe explained in this article, but Im OK with that redundancy every so often.

Well – Enjoy … Sorry for the delay. Hopefully this will spark some interesting ideas on how to manage all your Online Channels without feeling like you are spending too much time bouncing from site to site to update.

One of the big buzzwords in technology these days is the idea of “the Cloud”.  While this is not really a new idea, some services that are associated with cloud computing have recently become more viable.  At CRT we recently had a chance to use a cloud service for our RETS compliance tester, specifically the virtual server service, the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (E2) from Amazon Web Services.  Our experience was captured in more technical detail in a white paper, but for those that don’t want to get mired into the technical details I will give a high level overview and discuss when using E2 might be advantageous, as well as the potential drawbacks of using E2 and other similar cloud services.

First off, what is E2.  The short answer is that it is a virtual private server service, where customers can rent the use of a virtual machine to run online applications on.  These virtual server instances can run any software that you want, and you are given full access to them, configuring and running them very much as if they were physical machines in a data center.  As an Operating System, E2 supports Linux, Solaris and Windows 2003.

Since E2 makes heavy use of virtualization, it allows you to easily scale up and down as demand requires.  E2 lets you save your configured instances so you can create other instances with the same configuration, in addition to offering a large collection of preconfigured instances designed to give you a start for different types of servers (web server, database, etc.).  A host of other services also support E2 to allow users to create robust and scalable applications, including Elastic Block Storage, Elastic IP addresses, Automated Scaling, Elastic Load Balancing and monitoring.

So what does all this cost?  That depends, as E2 is mainly based on an hourly cost for each instance running.  The hourly cost depends on the type of instance, the more power you want, (CPU power and/or memory) the greater the hourly cost.  There are additional costs for the other supporting services as well as for bandwidth used beyond a certain base amount.  All this means that it’s not necessarily cheap.  Amazon’s page for E2 has the service and pricing details.

What are the disadvantages of E2?  The biggest one is that you need to trust that Amazon will be able to keep the service up and running without an extended outage or a failure that destroys your data.  In light of this, you would likely want to have backups held elsewhere.  Also, there is a learning curve to getting the most out of E2, and you will still need someone to maintain your servers, so E2 does not obviate the need for a competent System Administrator.

So the question then becomes, when would using E2 be advantageous?  E2 is flexible in a way that would benefit people who have an unpredictable demand on their online services, demand that requires them to have hardware to make sure the service is responsive, but that is not always being fully utilized.  With automatic scaling and the preconfigured instances, E2 can allow you to scale up and down with demand needs, so you are only paying for the resources you need and are using.  Also, the preconfigured instances can make service maintenance and set up faster and less prone to error.  But if you have modest server requirements and little fluctuation in demand or light demand, E2 is likely to be more complex and expensive then a well-maintained physical box.

But if you are someone who finds they need a flexible server environment, or who just wants to make your server setup and maintenance easier, E2 might be a valuable solution for you

What is the Cloud?
The Cloud is still an evolving model, and it is described differently by different sources.  The National Institute of Standards and Technology defines cloud computing  as  “a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services).”  

Cloud computing services are typically managed by an IT group.  These professionals populate the Cloud with data and information to feed different consumer applications.  Consumers like you and I access an application that takes information from the Cloud and presents it to us in an accessible and user-friendly format.  

Still not sure what the Cloud is.  Can you give me an example?
A cloud service is Microsoft’s platform, Google’s platform, Salesforce.com’s platform, BlueLock, GoGrid, or Amazon.  These are not applications.  These cloud services are receptacles for data.  DevCentral provides more examples of cloud services.  

For the average consumer, e-mail, photo sharing, video sharing, online backup, online gaming, social networking, stock trading, etc. are just a few examples of applications that leverage cloud information.  The nice thing about these applications is that users are not tied to a single computer.  As long as you have Internet access, you can access the application from anywhere in the world.

What are the Pros & Cons?

Cloud service is flexible, convenient, and scalable.  In addition, server & equipment upgrades and backup become the vendor’s responsibility. 

However, the downside is no laughing matter.  If the vendor’s systems are compromised – your data may be inaccessible or depending on how much you rely on cloud services, you may not be able to conduct business.  (See Andrew Tillman’s upcoming post for more on this.)

What about security?
Many believe that data is equally susceptible to security issues whether it resides on local drives/servers or in the Cloud.  The security of your information all depends on how diligently security measures are observed.

In an article about cloud security, Gartner advises that customers demand transparency from cloud service vendors.  Ask questions about the vendor’s security policy, system testing & vulnerabilities, and find out about their disaster recovery.  Another point to cover relates to where data is kept.  It is possible that your data may be kept outside your home country.  If that’s the case, make sure that the vendor will still follow your local privacy requirements, and get it in writing.

Attending the 2009 REALTORS® Conference & Expo?
If you’ll be joining 20,000+ real estate professionals in San Diego this November, don’t forget to stop by the Office of the Future in the Clouds: Business Technology & Information Systems Forum on Saturday, November  14 at 1:30pm;  Convention Center, Room 6B.  See you there!

More about the Cloud
Check out the following sites for more information about the Cloud.

• http://blog.realtors.org/crt/2009/08/28/head-up-in-the-cloud/
• http://www.programmerfish.com/cloud-computing-for-dummies/
• http://www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=1324280
• http://jshurwitz.wordpress.com/2009/08/14/536/

vi·sion·ar·y | noun

One who is given to impractical or speculative ideas; a dreamer.

Taqi Rizvi, Chief Technology Officer for the Houston Association, is the man behind one of the first MLS Public Websites in the country, HAR.com, which has gone on to become a model for innovation. He has led a team of 7 in the implementation of over 100 REALTOR(R) and consumer tools that have contributed to HAR’s success by enabling REALTOR(R) members to better communicate with consumers, and consumers to increase their understanding of Real Estate while connecting with the REALTOR(R).

Some quick facts of HAR Tools:

• Agent Websites being used by over 16,000 Realtors
• Blog Platform
• Member video profiles and evaluation
• Click-to-Call technology for delivering leads
• Appointment Management System and Online Agent(Live)Chat

Taqi’s continued visionary practice in the Real Estate industry is clearly displayed when Taqi refers to HAR.com’s success as still a ‘work in progrss’. Both Taqi and HAR are committed continuing to support HAR members with this level of innovation and performance. Taqi is guided by a ‘big picture’ perspective relative to the expanding role of technology in real estate and maintains a focused and exhaustive level of knowledge relative to its day-to-day applications in the real estate industry, market and practice.

ad·vo·cate | noun

One that argues for a cause; a supporter or defender

Tina Merrit, Virginia REALTOR(R), has dedicated countless hours to educating and training real estate professionals at every level of understanding and is nationally known through her blog, participation at Inman Connect, and through the Virginia Association. She currently is the Director of Training at Long and Foster’s Ocean Front office and has single handedly assisted each agent with her vast knowledge of technology, SEO, blogs, websites, and social networking.

Her media brand, Wolkia, is one of the top education sources for agents on all aspects of technology, plus she is a certified trainer with Trulia. She recently organized Real Estate Bar Camp- Virginia Beach, a nationally known training camp that educates REALTORS(R) on how to use social media, where the event was a standing-room-only success. She is a long standing pillar in the training of REALTORS(R) nationwide in the effective implementation of new media marketing strategies and is an invaluable asset to the advancement of social media in both her profession and the social media community as a whole.

pi·o·neer | noun

One who ventures into unknown or unclaimed territory to settle.

Brandon Rodriguez, REALTOR(R) Dallas Texas, while serving on the Texas Association Politcal Action and Education Forums, was named one of the Top 50 REALTORS(R) on the Rise by RisMedia in 2006. His goal since starting in the business was to create a completely virtual brokerage, something only dreamt of in 2001. Over the past several years, he has been accumulating the knowledge, tools and services to achieve this goal. Earlier this year, he felt the time of his venture had come, and he decided to take the next step and start his own brokerage during a time of economic uncertainty and while having an extremely tight budget.

The outcome, a completely virtual office where clients have instant access to agents and information:

• Syndication of all listings from a central point
• Lead Routing / Contact Managment
• Intergration with a leading mobile/GPS Property Search site
• Data enriched information for clients
• Advanced email and calendaring

Brandon’s goal was to to create a completly virtual environment, focusing on the REALTOR(R) but providing enriched information and and tools for the clients with the ability to provide ‘Real Estate Right Now’. This concept allows him to focus completely on the quality of team members and not only look at the quantity. Although new to the scene, their prescence and vision has allowed them to complete with the bigger firms within the market.