Facebook is constantly changing things on their site. From how the news feed looks to rules of what users can and cannot do, it’s hard to keep track of all of the changes at the Menlo Park, CA giant, but something caught my eye that I thought was pretty shocking. It’s the amount of exposure (or lack thereof) that unpaid business posts get today on Facebook.

Nick Bilton is a writer for the New York Times. He used to have about 25,000 fans on Facebook. Most read his column regularly and he would have an average of hundreds of likes on a given article he posted. Over time, his popularity grew to more than 400,000 fans and he began to get thousands of weekly likes to his articles. But something has changed recently, and it appears to have to do with Facebook’s new “Promoted Post” policy.

Bilton recently wrote a story and posted it to his Facebook Business page. Instead of the usual thousands of “likes” that he normally would get, Bilton only got 11. Below the story was a Facebook ad that offered to promote Bilton’s post for only $7. Wanting to figure out what happened, Bilton paid the $7 and voila, he got his usual thousands of “likes.” So what happened? Bilton thinks that Facebook purposely hid the story from his viewers because they wanted him to pay to get the exposure he was accustomed to. When Bilton contacted Facebook about the issue, they responded by telling him that it was probably the content of his post that was the problem, and not a change in policy.

I tried a Promoted Post myself on Facebook, and it works. I first posted the story (a real estate listing for Al Capone’s Miami home), and received two likes. The ad was only seen by about 65 people, even though I had more than 400 fans of my page. Once I paid $5 to promote the same story, Facebook promoted it not only to my fans but also my Facebook friends. It was seen by more than 900 people and I got 9 new likes for my business page because of it. Promoted Posts definitely works, but the bigger question is, “Do you want to pay Facebook every time you want your Facebook business post to be seen?” Probably not. That’s why this is a problem.

Now that Facebook is a publicly traded company, there is constant pressure on them to earn profits. The only way they can do this is through advertising. Facebook is looking to monetize anything it can, and business pages are a goldmine for them. So many small (and large) businesses have a Facebook page. Facebook looks at this as a huge opportunity. “Why should we allow businesses to promote themselves for free,” is probably what is being said behind closed doors at Facebook. It makes sense. You can’t advertise in the newspaper or on most websites for free and many knew that it would only be a matter of time before Facebook did the same. What I don’t like about this is Facebook denying that they are purposely keeping business posts from fans of the page. If you’re going to charge money, that’s fine. You have the right to do so. But don’t lie to me about it. I think Facebook got caught red-handed here. Let me know what you think.

I’ve done a lot of reporting on Blackberry and Research in Motion over the past couple of years. Most of my posts were critical of the company and their ability to survive. As a former Blackberry user, I made my switch to an iPhone in 2010 and haven’t looked back. Blackberry, meanwhile, has made mistake after mistake along the way. Now comes a report that CEO Thorsten Heins says that people are defecting to Blackberry “in droves” from Apple and Android. The bottom line: I don’t believe him.

Last week, Thorsten Heins went on Bloomberg television and told the hosts that not only did Blackberry post close to $100 million profit, but they sold 1 million new Blackberry 10 phones, in addition to millions of other Blackberrys sold during the quarter. He went on to say that most of the buyers came from such popular platforms as Android and Apple. This is where things get fuzzy. First of all, one million 10 series phones is not a lot of phones at the end of the day. Apple, by comparison, sold 47 million iPhones last quarter. Blackberry only has one 10 series phone available at present in the U.S., the Blackberry Z10. The much anticipated Q10 is due out soon, but it doesn’t look to put much of a dent in Apple’s or Android’s sales volume.

If Blackberry somehow miraculously pulls off a successful launch of the 10 series, I will eat my words and definitely report more on this company. The reason why I am not going to report on them until then (if they ever do become successful) is because my readers don’t want to read about it. Most of my readers are real estate professionals. And yes, most at one time or another used a Blackberry. But like myself, they have since moved onto either an Apple or Android platform and have not looked back. This is why I’m not going to report on them. If my readers don’t care, then I don’t care. It’s as simple as that.

I hope that Blackberry proves me wrong. But until that day, I’m going to write about something else. Please let me know your opinion of Blackberry smartphones. It will help with future stories from joesesso.com.

Despite strong iPhone and iPad sales, Apple’s stock has tanked since late last year. It’s lost more than $200 off it’s all-time high price of more than $700. So does this mean trouble for Apple? It could be a sign of things to come in the distant future, but I think Apple is doing quite well at the moment. How well is it doing, you ask? Check out these stats:

*Apple sold 47.8 million iPhones last quarter, an all-time record for the company

*Those 47.8 million phones sold brought in $80 billion in revenue (remember, the phone companies pay Apple a subsidy for that $199 phone you bought). The average iPhone costs more than $600.

*$80 billion in revenue just from iPhone is more than the following Fortune 500 companies last quarter

1. Boeing ($79 Billion)

2. Home Depot ($72.5 Billion)

3. Microsoft ($72.3 Billion)

*In addition to the iPhone, there have been more than 40 billion iTunes downloads since its inception.

*In 2012 alone there were 20 billion iTunes downloads, half of the overall total

*Only 14% of the world’s smartphones are iPhones

*72% of the world’s phones run on Android

Can you imagine if Apple different phones like Samsung? These numbers could be so much higher…

I love design. I really do. I love to look at home magazines every year to see the newest trends in kitchens, baths, gardens, and fixtures for the home. It’s part of my never-ending quest to design “the perfect room.” Do you feel the same way? Or maybe you just have that one room that hasn’t been updated in years, and you’re looking to make a big splash with a new and hip design. Whatever your design interests, there is a new website and smartphone app that is giving homeowners a ton of great ideas for home design. It’s called Houzz, and it’s taking the real estate world by storm.

Houzz was created by San Francisco-based husband and wife, Alon Cohen and Adi Tartarko because they saw a need for a website that brings the best of home design and style into one place. And just like that, Houzz was created. 12 million active users and counting later, it’s only getting bigger and better. Here’s how it works:

You can download the free app or visit www.houzz.com to create a free log in and profile. You can then choose the room or area that you want to get ideas from (i.e. kitchen), and a steady stream of photos will be available for you to scroll through. Some pics even have floating digital price tags where you can see the size, colors, styles and price of the product. This way you can buy the product right away if you want to. It’s a really cool feature that makes it easy for consumers to buy what they want, when they want. In addition to getting inspiration, there are many other things users can do once on Houzz.

Users can pick and store their favorite images in the “My Houzz” feature. They can also connect with architects, contractors and other design professionals to get labor and design quotes. A user can also join a discussion board and create his or her own idea books that can be shared with friends and family. High profile users include Yammer CEO (just sold to Microsoft) David Sachs, who is using Houzz to redesign his San Francisco home.

So how does this company make money? They are generating revenue from display advertising and from professionals who want to market themselves in a particular region for potential customers to find them. As the real estate market continues to improve, look for revenues of this company to soar. They are still a private company, but I’d imagine that will change, especially with a resurgent real estate market.

Houzz is a must see site for anyone looking for ideas or inspiration for their home improvement project. Whether it’s looking for the latest trends or trying to copy a classical room, Houzz has something for anyone…and the photos are amazing! Want more info on great real estate information? Subscribe to my blog at www.joesesso.com or Like my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/joesesso.edutainer

I love attending Inman Connect. I make no secret of that. I always give a blog preview to each one, plus I summarize my each event to talk about the hot topics and new companies that are on the horizon that agents should know about. This year in New York was no exception. I had the opportunity to walk Inman’s “Start-Up Alley,” the vendor location for new tech real estate companies that can help take a Realtor’s business to the next level. One company that stood out was a start up named Benutech. This company is doing something truly different, and it’s a brilliant way for a savvy agent or company to generate leads of potential sellers. Here’s how Benutech’s technology works:

Benutech, Inc. was founded in 2010 by three veteran real estate agents to provide “Brilliant Real Estate Software Solutions”… and they just may have done it.

The Benutech team identified that Realtors seemed content to market to random homes in a geographic area without any knowledge of IF or WHEN these folks intended on selling their properties. The issue with this is that 950 to 975 of those homeowners are NOT selling their property within the next 1-3 years… resulting in a lot of effort and expense, with minimal return for the Realtor over the next 1-3 years.

Benutech’s goal was to design a simple & easy way for Realtors to identify the different “life events” that occur at properties that give those homeowners a higher probability of selling their home.  The obvious “life event” that would create a higher probability of selling a home is a mortgage default. This could be a planned default  or true hardship, but in either case, a mortgage default results in a higher probability of the homeowner selling their home. Divorces provide the same opportunity though… the residence could be going from 2 incomes, to 1 income with divorce, resulting in the sale of the property. Or Attorneys could mandate the sale of the property as part of the divorce settlement.. or it could be as simple as both mates decide due to bad memories or whatever, they will sell the property and start over elsewhere. This provides true target marketing for Realtors, increasing their listing counts and incomes!

REBO Gateway allows for Realtors to search by County, City, Zip Code or geographic shape to identify the many and varied life events that cause people to sell… Realtors can search for and then market to Divorcing couples, Probate filings, Property tax defaults, FSBO’s, expired listings, cancelled listings, and neighbors surrounding Just listed & Just sold property… all of the “life events” that cause people to sell.

And if that was not good enough… REBO Gateway is the first and only software solution that allows Realtors to “watch” up to 8,000 properties each day for NEW Life Events that occur at property. Picture this; You have a farm of 1,000 properties near your home. Or you have a List of 1,000 homeowners in Property Tax Default that you identified. Or you can upload your entire client list to REBO Gateway.  Then you can set those farms for Email Alert Notices.. and when a new divorce is filed or a new mortgage default occurs at one of those addresses you are watching; You get an email telling you that the NEW event just occurred. This puts you in the “right place, at the right time”… and is extremely valuable in acquiring new listings.

For more information on this incredible product or for webinar demonstrations of the product, head to www.rebogateway.com, @benutech or call Brian Fox at 866-887-0206, extension 106. Benutech was part of “Start Up Alley” at Inman’s Real Estate Connect in NYC and will also be at  #ICSF in July in San Francisco… and they seem to be on to something here. Enjoy.

10 Best Places to Buy a Foreclosure in 2013

There is a lot of activity going on in the smartphone market as usual. The competition is tougher than ever, not just for manufacturers, but for carriers as well. AT&T showed that they are stronger than ever despite losing exclusivity on Apple iPhones. And speaking of iPhones, how is the fierce compeition between rivals Samsung & Apple? Some breaking news is just in.

AT&T reported a record quarter, stating that they sold more than 10 million smartphones, which breaks their previous best of 9.4 million smartphones sold. They sold plenty of iPhones, but also a lot of Samsung Galaxy S2s and S3s. They still have the only iPhone on the market that allows users to talk and browse the web at the same time.

Apple Vs Samsung

The battle between Apple and Samsung continues, as Samsung won a major decision in court, which could eliminate the $1 billion penalty they were ordered to pay Apple last summer. This is a huge win for Samsung, and allows them to keep the phones in question on the American market.

Apple did see a bright spot in Q4 of 2012 versus Samsung. According to Strategy Analytics, Apple sold more smartphones than Samsung in the fourth quarter, out pacing the Korean giant 34% to 32% of market share. This was for the U.S. market only. Worldwide, Samsung still had a large lead over Apple on the worldwide market, but Apple was able to gain market share there as well. Apple sold more than 47 million iPhones in the 4th quarter of 2012, with much of the sales coming from the sale of the new iPhone 5, which was released at the end of the 3rd quarter.

With Apple’s stock taking a plunge and Samsung expanding its world domination of the smartphone market, a top analyst for Apple said he expects the Silicon Valley giant to release the iPhone 5S this summer. What features will it have, and how will it differ from the latest release from Apple, which happened in late 2012 are two questions that come to mind.

Topeka Capital Markets’ Brian White, a top analyst for the company and frequent Bloomberg West guest, said that he expects to see the next generation iPhone to be released in May or June of this year. With regards to differences from the iPhone 5, Apple’s current model, most of them will be external, such as using bendable glass, multiple screen sizes, and more available colors.

Samsung is dominating the smartphone market because it offers multiple screen sizes and multiple price points, from the very affordable to the more expensive. Apple has never been concerned about this lack of market share…until now. Depsite selling 47 million iPhones last quarter, a new record for the company, Apple’s stock has fallen from over $700 to about $450 in the last few months. People are getting concerned. Steve Jobs probably would respond with designing and releasing new and better products. Tim Cook will be more shareholder-focused and answer by addressing multiple price points. 2013 will see major changes for Apple products.

The new iPhone will expand to even more colors than its traditional black or white. Look for pink, blue and yellow iPhones to hit the market this year. Also, Apple has a patent for bendable glass. This technology is currently available but not being used in the mainstream. Apple will certainly try to be the first mass-produced smartphoen to the market with this unbreakable glass product. Multiple screen sizes will mean different price points. Apple is losing market share in places like China, and the main reason for this is price. In order for them to gain more market share, they either have to come out with brand new technology that no one has (unlikely), or drop their price to be more competitive. Look for them to drop their price worldwide.

If Apple does release their new phone in the summer, it will be the first time since 2010 that they released a new phone this early in the year. There will be big changes in store for Apple this year. The company itself is mum on all of the speculation, but look for them to respond to Samsung’s challenge in a big way.

The real estate slump has created huge opportunities for investors. The biggest markets during the real estate boom of the early 2000′s were cities like Phoenix, Las Vegas and Miami. They were also the first to get hit and feel the pain during the crash, as values plummeted when heavy demand shifted to heavy supply. This created some great opportunities for savvy investors. The hard part now is trying to identify the next hot market.

Until recently, Phoenix led the nation in major real estate investing, with about 36% of all purchases being bought by investors. According to a USA Today article, that number has now tumbled to 28% of all purchases. The reason is simple: Investors are driving up the prices of real estate. Prices in Phoenix have spiked 24% in the last year. Other markets like Las Vegas are coming back strong as well. When I mention major investor buying is driving up the prices, I mean MAJOR investors. Try a $10 billion JP Morgan fund that buys single family housing to rent out. Or The Blackstone Group, who have bought 16,000 homes for $2.5 billion. It’s buying an average of 2,500 homes per month. Another company, Colony Capital, bought 5,000 homes last year and is expecting to spend $150 million per month to purchase single family rental property. These are not your average investors. They saw opportunity, and they have taken advantage of it. Now the question is, “where’s the next hot market?”

The next hot market will be cities that were hit very hard during the real estate slump, but ones that have a stable economy. The prices will be still attractive and the job market will be getting better. My opinion is that these cities will be in the Midwest. The reason is that investors go to the second home and warm weather markets first, such as Phoenix, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Orlando and so on. Now that these markets have seen double digit appreciation, they no longer look as attractive to big buyers. But cities like Chicago, where unemployment is going down and the housing market is still slow, provide a huge opportunity for great deals. I think that in addition to Chicago, cities like Milwaukee, St. Louis, Kansas City, and Minneapolis are prime markets for investors. The key to finding great deals is to look at housing prices, rents, and unemployment. If housing prices are low and rents are strong, this can provide an immediate opportunity for a nice cash flow. These two factors by themselves cannot tell the whole story. A strong or improving job market also is critical in determining long-term sustainability of the rental property.

The real estate market appears to be back in a big way, and some of the hottest markets in the country have appreciated so much that they no longer look like great deals to major investors. These investors are now looking for the next hot market. If you want to get in on the next big thing, look for a market that has been hit hard by the recession, a strong rental market and an improving economy. Follow these three steps and you will see investment opportunities across the country. Happy house hunting!

USA Today reported Wednesday that home sales are set to keep marching upward after hitting their highest levels in five years last year. According to the NAR, existing home sales rose 9.2% from 2011, as was reported on Tuesday. This includes single family homes, condos and co-ops. New home sales results will be reported Friday.

Moody’s Analytics Chief Economist Mark Zandi said that for the first time in years, housing will be contributing to the economy instead of taking away from it. This should spur job growth which will in turn lower unemployment, thus creating even more opportunities for buyers. Housing has historically led the U.S. economy out of recessions, so this past recesssion hit especially hard when housing was the foundation of the problem. Zandi also said that rising home values also increase household wealth, which will help spur the economy even more with money being spent on landscaping, household items, and capital improvements. Home sales are being driven by two things:

1. Low Interest Rates: The average rate for a 30 year fixed mortgage has been below 4% for more than a year, according to USA’s report. The numbers come from Freddie Mac.

2. Job Growth: Unemployment is now at 7.8%, which is much lower than the 10% peak of 2010. As people begin to feel more secure in their jobs, they feel more comfortable about buying a home.

The housing market is looking stronger than it’s been in more than five years. This is a great sign, but we can’t take our eye off the ball yet. We still have a long way to go.