MyTechOpinion.com » Reggie

AppLoop Turns Your RSS Feed into a Brandable iPhone App

Reggie Nicolay — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 14:01:15 +0000

Would you like your blog on the iPhone? Well now you can! Start by visiting AppLoop and requesting a beta account. Their slick new tool will convert your blog to a fully native mobile application in about 2 minutes. The cool aspect of AppLoop is that you can brand your iPhone application and learn about usage through supplied analytics.

Also check out AgentGenius, they’ve covered another app called intersquash.com. This tool works slightly different, as it turns your RSS feed into a webpage that fits your iPhone.

iPhone Application Generator Demo from AppLoop on Vimeo.

7 Apps to Improve Your Next Online Group Meeting!

Reggie Nicolay — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 02:52:20 +0000

1. Notifu

Trying to communicate with a group can be difficult! Particularly with the increasingly busy schedules of today’s real estate professional. If you’re looking for a product to address this challenge, you need to check out Notifu. This free web application lets you send a message by Email, SMS, AIM, Gtalk, ICQ, MSN IM, Yahoo IM even phone to a group of people without having an account on those services. With phone calls, Notifu will deliver to any phone number worldwide by converting the text you’ve typed in a voice message. After the messages have been delivered, you’ll know who has received the message and who has not.

2. Twiddla

Twiddla is a free tool for online group collaboration with no limit to the number of participants you can invite. The interface is cool because it’s different than most. Right from within the canvas you can search a web page and mark it up with your colleagues. Markup tools include lines, shapes and text. It’s also straightforward to add images (.jpg, .gif, .png, etc.) and documents (.doc, .xls, .ppt, .pdf, .txt) onto the canvas.

3. DabbleBoard

Dabbleboard is a free whiteboard application that works well for group collaboration. This interface is simple yet powerful. Start by creating a new whiteboard/canvas. If you want to invite others, click Share + Chat. DabbleBoard supplies you with a private URL and email invite feature. Once the collaboration has started users can upload images, work with freehand tools and adjust colors. When the canvas is complete users can download the project in PNG format. Also make the canvas public, to get listed in the “Public library” and obtain embed code for use outside of Dabbleboard.

4. MindMeister

MindMeister is collaborative online mind mapping software offering both free and paid packages. The interface is simple and intuitive. If you’ve built mind maps before you know the shape evolves as you get going. Having a canvas that can be adjusted is very useful. I also appreciate MindMeister for integrating with various gadgets and extensions. They understand that when thought happens you may not be sitting in front of a mind map. These tools are designed to fit into life where thought happens. Tools include a Gadget for Google Gears, Windows Vista Gadget, Mac Dashboard, Yahoo! Widgets Desktop, browser extensions and text/email.

5. Snipd

The idea behind Snipd.com is that you can clip parts of the Web including text, images, and videos…then share with friends. It has certain Twitter like characteristics, but it’s for “snips” you collect across the web.

Start by adding their bookmarklet onto your browser toolbar. Then as you surf the Internet and come across interesting content you would like to save or share simply highlight the text or object and click the Snipd bookmarklet. Then add some brief notes or comments. Back on Snipd.com your account has been aggregating recent snipping’s. These snips will be available via a custom URL you set up.

6. Stixy

Stixy is described as an online bulletin board, but that doesn’t capture the power of this application. To start Stixy offers a clean interface that allows for the dragging and dropping of objects called widgets. These widgets come in the form of tasks, appointments, files, photos, notes, and bookmarks. These widgets can be placed anywhere on the Stixyboard. Stixy also supports sharing of Stixyboards.

7. Oovoo

Turn your phone conference into a video conference. Oovoo is a free technology that allows face-to-face conversations over the web. Invite up to 6 participants into an Oovoo session. If your goal is to produce an interview for your website or blog, try Oovoo and then export the video to your favorite video sharing site.

Outside of the video, Oovoo also has a chat client. It’s setup much like the others. They’ve also got the ability to send files to your connections.

New Choice for Social Media Signature: Hyplet.com

Reggie Nicolay — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 15:29:16 +0000

I’ve always been a fan of the email signature. If done properly, your contacts will know exactly how to get in touch with you. But they don’t exactly have a web 2.0 flare. Sure you could list out each social network with text links, but that’s looks boring and spammy. All those links my even trigger a spam filter. Check out Hyplet.com. They’ve created a free service to help you quickly create a signature or “personal ID” for your emails, website or blog. The service is similar concept to Retaggr but Hyplet offers much more customization.

Hyplet’s personal ID’s come in a variety of shapes and colors. Easily make modifications with drag and drop tools, even rearrange all contact information including phone, email, Skype, IM, Facebook, Flickr, Delicious, Twitter, your blog and others with the text editor. I did run into a small issue when using Firefox to customize my personal ID. In Firefox I was not able to apply formatting like bold or increase font size. I tried the same tasks in Internet Explorer and it worked fine.

In regards to compatibility, I’ve only used Hyplet with Outlook. Although, Hyplet says their ID’s work in many applications such as Gmail, Hotmail & IncrediMail.

Start creating a Hyplet now.

Attending NAR? Don’t Miss The Web 2.0/Social Media Panel

Reggie Nicolay — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 21:15:18 +0000

If you’re attending NAR 2008 in Orlando, make sure you attend the Web 2.0/Social Media panel sponsored by Diamond Dwellings. [more at Diamond Dwellings]

Panelists include:

Jeff Turner @respres from Real Estate Shows

Teresa Boardman @TBoard from StPaulRealEstateBlog.com

Cyndee Haydon @cyndeehaydon in Clearwater, Fl. Her blog is from SandbarstoSunsets.com

Ines Hegedus-Garcia @ines from — also well known for her blog at Miamism.com

Panel start at 11am on Saturday November 8th. Location below:

Look for the “Exhibitor Presentation Theater” which will be located in the Exhibit Hall E, Booth 4840

Free Seminar Tomorrow: Top Ten Money Making Tech Tools of Today’s Top Real Estate Agents

Reggie Nicolay — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 16:53:56 +0000

I have another free opportunity to improve your technology skills in a webinar coming up tomorrow. The event is sponsored by Cyberhomes and presented by Allen Hainge of CyberStars. If you are an MTO fan, you may remember that Allen has recently become a guest contributor here at MTO. He has lots of industry knowledge and is a techno-fan too! See more on Allen here.

For those of you attending the webinar, you’ll leave this session with concrete, proven steps to increase your business today! Here are a few of the topics Allen will cover:

+ Why old tools & strategies don’t work in today’s market
+ The Top 10 tools top agents use to build their businesses
+ 3 types of agents Web sites…and why only one really makes you money
+ 5 “must have” elements of a money making Web site
+ 5 things listings on your site must have

Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now!

Join us for a Webinar on October 30th, from 10 am to 11 am PST
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/938348453

Here are a few other upcoming events:


	How to Effectively Drive Prospects to YOUR Web Site November 3, 2:00PM PST
SEO Expert and Leading Technology Trainer
	The Seven Keys to Social Networking for Profit November 11, 2 :00PM PST
Technology Expert Leading Technology Trainer
	Three Things You MUST do to Survive in This Tough Market November 13, 2:00PM PST
Trained Economist and Marketing Expert

Is a Mobile Smartphone Docking Station In Your Future?

Reggie Nicolay — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 17:26:59 +0000

Hold on to your seat, Active Innovation Management (A.I.M.) is trying to turn mobile computing on its head. They’ve started with a vision of making an efficient and inexpensive alternative to Netbooks called the Olo. Their concept is a “mobile smartphone docking station” which would not include its own processor, memory, or wireless connection. These specifics play into their concern of shrinking our “ecological footprint.”

A.I.M.’s goal is to make the Olo fully compatible with future versions of smartphones. So when it comes time to upgrade your mobile device, simply upgrade the phone and make any necessary updates to the Olo fitting module. Now the new smartphone could be applied. There is no need to replace components like monitor, speakers, keyboard on the Olo.

No physical prototype is available yet, but the patent process has begun to protect the Olo^TM concept. So for know well be waiting in anticipation for this great idea to surface.

What will this mean for Real Estate Agents?

In an industry where being mobile is an advantage, I suspect this idea will be warmly welcomed. Don’t get me wrong, this device will surely have limitations. But what real estate agents need most while mobile is internet with email, access to MLS and contracts. These activities could be carried out with the limited processing power of a next generation smartphone. Add a large screen and keyboard; I suspect the Olo will be a winner.

Free Seminar Today: Web site secrets and powerful social networking strategies

Reggie Nicolay — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 14:40:23 +0000

Trying to build your online presence? Cyberhomes has hired Randy Eagar, Search Engine Expert and leading technology trainer in the real estate industry to teach you the secrets of some of the most successful agents earning over six figures a year online.

In this seminar, Randy will share easy-to-implement web site secrets and powerful social networking strategies that work. He’ll also introduce a ton of other ideas you can use to dominate your real estate market online!

The Seminar is today Friday, October 24
1-2 pm PT / 2-3 pm MT / 3-4 pm CT / 4-5 pm ET

If you are interested, click this link to RSVP

StudioNow: The Affordable Answer to High-Quality Video

Reggie Nicolay — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 13:37:29 +0000

For the last few months we’ve covered many different options for adding video into your business. Some of the methods were self produced, some originated from still photos…and today from a full service network. StudioNow has assembled a network of professional videographers, directors, editors, animators and voice over specialist available for your next video project.

Is it really that simple?
That’s the idea. Streamline the process; work with the best freelancers in the industry and provide high-quality video content. That’s the idea from founders David Mason and Adam Solesby.

David explained that StudioNow has created a robust tracking and communication tool. Think UPS tracking but for the video upload, creation, production and distribution. Have a question about where your project is in the process…just login and view.

Don’t fumble at the goal line.
Once you have your completed video project, your work has just begun. The obvious next step is to make sure the video gets viewed by the right audience. StudioNow can automatically push your videos to Google, YouTube, Yahoo!, AOL, MSN, MySpace and many more based on your requirements. DVD’s can also be delivered.

Cyberhomes Here I Come!

Reggie Nicolay — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 16:15:27 +0000

That’s right I’ve scored a new gig at Cyberhomes.com. It’s official. Actually my title is the official part: Director of Social Media. Very exciting given the fact that Cyberhomes is such a major player in the online real estate search. If you don’t already know, they have extremely deep and rich data around more than 100 Million homes in the US. Also layered over the home ownership data you’ll find neighborhood stats, school info, home sales, and rental info.

If you are a fan of me or Cyberhomes I would appreciate you joining our newly created Cyberhomes Fan Page on Facebook. I’ll be using this page to highlight Cyberhomes events, conventions, meet-ups etc.

Also please follow me on Twitter: @cyberhomes.

Since I’m asking favors, I would also like you to investigate a program Cyberhomes has created to help real estate agents gain market advantage.

Cyberhomes Neighborhood Expert^TM - A bundle of exclusive tools for your zip codes. The package includes your Local Ads on local home searches, current market data, offline marketing materials and slick co-branded property reports.

Cyberhomes Good Reading: Good reading includes writers from BusinessWeek, Money, Bankrate.com, Wall Street Journal and more. In good reading you’ll also notice a new Cyberhomes blog held down by Lauren Baier Kim & Janine Sieja.

See Sellsius coverage of my new gig.

Splashup: I can’t believe it’s not Photoshop

Reggie Nicolay — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 17:05:52 +0000

With Web2.0 we’ve seen the introduction of many remarkable web applications that would not be possible just a few years ago. Microsoft has seen growth from competitor products like OpenOffice.org and Google Docs.

Now it’s time for Adobe Photoshop to start feeling the pressure from online competitors in their space. Introducing Splashup (formerly Fauxto).

Splashup is a 100% free web-based image editing application, and will run in all major browsers. The tool makes grabbing and editing photos from sharing sites like Facebook, Flickr, or Picasa a snap.

Once you have your artwork open, you’ll feel like you’re running a desktop application. The menus drop down, tool palettes are in familiar locations, and the interface is very clean.

Splashups notable features include:

Ability to edit multiple photos at once
High end filters: blur, sharpen, pixelate, emboss, colorize
Layer effects: bevel, drop shadow, glow, gradient bevel, gradient glow
Advanced text editing

One note of caution for you newbie’s to photo editing. Strangely enough I noticed that Splashup has a help button, but it’s grayed out. So if you are seeking to build your knowledge through a helpful interface, you may need to investigate another photo editing tool.

A few competitors include:

SMS Widget Makes Connecting Immediate…No Superpowers Required

Reggie Nicolay — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 03:31:45 +0000

Real estate technology blogger Matt Rains has created a new and useful SMS widget for your website or blog. The goal behind this widget is simple, allow visitors to connect with you quickly. And you’ll receive the phone number of the online individual reaching out.

Consumers move fast these days and they want immediate attention. The powerful element behind text messaging…is its immediacy. It’s also proving to be the way in which many communicate.

According to Nielsen, the average mobile subscriber in the US sent and received more SMS text messages than mobile telephone calls during Q2 2008.

Market Like a Rockstar with Animoto

Reggie Nicolay — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 03:22:22 +0000

Showcasing your listings online can be expression of your personality and marketing savvy. You know this, that’s why you showcase homes, maybe even the surrounding community in a special, attractive and unique way…right? The only problem is, some marketing avenues can be costly and time intensive. If you are looking for savvy cutting-edge video from stills, try a service like Animoto for Business.

Animoto has become famous for its upbeat party-style slideshows that feel like a celebration. This effect is caused by a combination of hip production effects and stylish copyright free music integrated with your still photos. I guess it could also be caused by the founder’s previous experience producing for MTV and VH1.

With production taken care of, now think of the various applications in your business! Brenda from Animoto had no trouble coming up with a few:

make the listing(s) more appealing with stunning video tours
easily adding powerful virtual tours to website or blog
upload Animoto videos to YouTube for traffic generating commercials
add to e-newsletters…go viral with featured virtual tours
share videos via email
highlight parks, restaurants, etc.
carrying virtual tour(s) on iPhone
creating high-res, virtual tour DVDs for VIP clients

So really, what’s my investment?

It’s pretty straightforward; you will need a subscription to Animoto for Business. You can start at $99 for 3 months or $249 for the year. If you’re reading this post before October 3^rd 2008, use coupon code: RE09tech for an additional month added to your account free. (You should note that their terms of service states that if your commercial account expires you are no longer permitted to use your Animoto video for commercial use.)

What can I expect from the production process?

Since Animoto requires your still photos, that’s where you’ll start. Browse and upload into your new show. Then arrange photos in the order they should appear. Next pick music from a range of legal “commercial use” music. Then finalize the video by including title, description and cover screen photo. Animoto will take over rendering the photos and sound into a video. With the commercial version, Animoto branding is scaled back. The player will include a small “Powered by Animoto” logo in the bottom right corner and at the end.

What can I do with the Finished Product?
You’ll have full access to download your video (unlimited times) in MP4 and ISO formats. Your finished video can easily be added to your website or blog with supplied embed code. You can also have Animoto burn the physical DVD for $20.

Animoto - Real Estate Preview

-Related products: SpotMixer & Real Estate Shows

Animoto for Business also covered at Sellsius

Live from BlogWorld!

Reggie Nicolay — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 17:29:47 +0000

NikNik and I will be bringing you the latest happenings from BlogWorld here in Las Vegas. The workshops, the expo, the parties! Feel free to join the conversation. Make requests and even dares.

Blog World

(09/16/2008)
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