I still get asked this question quite often so I figured I would post this here. Most of the readers know the answer, but if you find someone asking, forward this to them.

What is the difference between a Real Estate Blog and a Real Estate Website?

The short answer:
There isn’t a difference. At least from how your browser displays it to you.

A blog IS a website and a Website can be a blog.

Further explanation:

At it’s core a blog is just a piece of software to manage the content on your website. Simple as that.

Should I build a new website with this software or build a second site?

A good question.

If you currently have a website that isn’t doing any good for you now I would suggest you scrap the current site and then build a new site using “blogging” software. You will end up with a better performing site and may possibly increase the traffic to your site.

If you have a custom built standard built website I would maybe keep it and build a blogsite to accompany it and help drive traffic back to your main website where hopefully you have a quality mapping IDX home search solution with lead capture.

Have questions? Leave a comment.

This Represents Me at this moment

This is an open apology to all my customers/clients/friends.

This year of 2010 has been a whirlwind of work. I am not complaining and I am DEFINITELY not trying to brag. There is probably a lot of you out there who have not heard back from me by email or phone.

For those of you and gave up hope and called someone else I completely understand. I have dropped the ball on trying to get back to everyone. I don’t have any good excuses. Yeah I could say … “Not enough time in the day” …”i need to clone myself” …. “i forgot and then it becomes to late”

But really they are just excuses and their is no excuse.

I want to publicly apologize to anyone of you that I have let down.

I need to REBOOT!

So, what I am going to do about it?

First I have gone through all emails and voicemails that are older than Jan 1 and archived them so I don’t see them. So if you called or emailed me before the first of the year and still would like me to help you. Then please email or call again.

Second
All the emails and vmails Since Jan 1 I have gone through and made a priority list of whom I will call back.

Third
I am looking into getting a VA

So to everyone out there who reads this blog (all 10 of you) Again I apologize and hope to work with you soon.

In case you wanted to know what have I been doing since the beginning of the year:

I have cleaned virus’s from at least 25 PC’s
I have installed at least 10 new PC’s at different offices and homes

This below is for 1 client
I recovered a complete dead server over this past Friday- Sunday
I recovered the same server again Tuesday and Yesterday
I will be probably building them a new Server Starting this week (depending on client choice)
This server was not a server that was under management. Now the client is seeing why I stress
managed services. I could have caught this problem before it became an issue.

Another client:
I have another 2 PC’s to rebuild from Virus infections right now that I am working on

Two more clients called today with Virus infections

Diverse Solutions announced today that they have released a new IDX product called dsIDXpress. The product allows agents and brokers using WordPress to get property listings on their own website and own domain to be indexed by the major search engines.

dsIDXpress is different than traditional IDX solutions in that it has both the standard consumer search capabilities as well as the ability to insert specific listings or groups of listings into any page or blog post with their Live Listings(sm) shortcodes. The plugin also automatically builds in search-engine-friendly city, community, and zip code pages that show available properties in the respective areas. Furthermore, listing detail pages are available for every property in the MLS.

Overall, dsIDXpress is being touted as a low cost alternative to functionality that was previously only available in high-end custom websites.

The development of dsIDXpress came out of the desire for agents and brokers to have search-engine-indexable IDX listings on their website. With the National Association of Realtors recently adopting changes allowing for search engines to index property listings on an agent’s or broker’s website, the timing couldn’t be more perfect. Diverse Solutions recently completed their beta testing period, and the increase in website traffic from search engines was staggering. Active listings were being indexed by Google and ranking higher than results from the big national sites and large brokers. When asked about the new product, Justin LaJoie, CEO of Diverse Solutions, said, “Since WordPress is quickly becoming the platform of choice for real estate websites, it only made sense that we develop a WordPress IDX plugin that provides the functionality that the industry has been asking for.” The plugin is built with flexibility in mind with the goal of placing the creative power back in the agents and brokers hands instead of being at the mercy of their vendors. Additionally,the Live Listings(sm) shortcode functionality provides the ultimate control on where listings show up on pages or posts. Live Listings(sm) allows agents and brokers to create the perfect city, community, or zip-specific pages with listings that are updated in real time for that area. dsIDXpress also include a number of WordPress IDX widgets, including their search and mapping widgets.

For more information about dsIDXpress, visit www.dsIDXpress.com or simply search for “dsIDXpress” in the WordPress plugin directory.

What are others saying?

Here is Jay Thompson on Geek Estate Blog talking about his experience with IDX Press on his site Phoenix Real Estate Guy:

I’ve been fortunate to be an early tester of this plugin, and can sum its potential up in one word:

Awesome. Radical. Kick ass.

OK, that’s four words. Work with me…

What dsIDXpress does, in a nutshell, is create search engine indexable pages of listings. This can be done via widgets for your listings, cities you work in, zip codes, communities, and even specific IDX links you create in the backend of the Diverse Solutions SearchAgent Pro IDX solution. The plugin also has short code support that makes it easy to integrate listings into a blog post or page.

This is powerful stuff people.

There is a new product I heard about this week. It is a Cloud based CMA report program. Yes, I know you’re either thinking “I already have a CMA program” or “oy vey another cloud product with a trendy cloud name”. But no matter your response you will want to have this program (or at least try it).

What is it called?

CloudCMA – www.cloudcma.com

What is it?

In short. It is a modern CMA/Buyer Tour/Property Profile generating program that does not need any installation. It is web based.

What does it do?

It does provides everything you want in a CMA, Buyer Tour or Property Profile and then some.

• Does your CMA have comparison charts from MLS data and Zillow?
• Is it easy to use? The user interface on Cloud CMA is slick and easy.
• Does your CMA have local school data from Education.com?
• Is your CMA perfectly formatted to counter all objections during a Listing Presentation?
• Can you generate a Property Profile by sending an email?
• Does your CMA offer different themes depending on the appointment?
• Does your CMA automatically update in case you wanted to re-send to the client 1 month out? or 2 months or…?
• Does your CMA automatically pull in pictures from the surrounding area using www.panoramio.com ?
• Will your CMA program have the ability to generate reports by Twitter DM? This one will later after initial release.

You might be thinking… I already do those things above or my software might have some of those features. If you do this yourself manually would you like it to be automated. I don’t know of any CMA product that can generate a report just by sending an email.

Do I have any examples to show you?

Not at this time they are still putting on the spit and polish. But here is a picture of some example pages.

When will it be available?

Soon. It may be available to certain markets this Friday. The official release will be at Inman Connect next week in NYC.

Sign Up at:

www.cloudcma.com

Virtual Real Estate Bar Camp is this Monday? Are you joining? It’s free.

Instead of being a loner holed up in your office all by yourself, find a location that will be hosting a live meetup during VREBC. If you are located in Southern California, you are invited to come and join ME, Pango Group, Eric Bryant, and Stacey Harmon in person for Virtual REBarCamp Meetup in Costa Mesa.

If you RSVP on their post about the meetup you will receive lunch. The post is here:
http://pangogroup.com/pango-group-to-host-meetup-for-virtual-rebarcamp-in-orange-county-ca-on-january-4th-2010/

Event Details:

• When:  January 4, 2010.  9:00 am – 4:00 pm PST
• Where:  Costa Mesa, CA, right off the 405.  (Get directions)
  First Team Real Estate Corporate Office
  3150 S. Bristol Street, Suite 500
  Costa Mesa, CA  92626
• Cost:  Free.  Lunch will be provided for you if you RSVP.  Parking charge is $8 for day or $1.25/hour.
• RSVP:  Leave a comment here on this post with your name and number of attendees.
• Questions? Contact Eric Bryant at 714.722.7231, via email or via twitter.

Hope you can come

Ok, all you nerds/geeks/wordpress junkies/etc……

Wordpress 2.9 (Carmen) is out and available for install/update. I’m using it on a test site I am building for a potential client (I do not profess to be a designer, but tonight i have amazed myself) Brandy, you will like.

For those of you who don’t know what Carmen has to offer, here’s a list of some of her features!

1. Global undo/”trash” feature, which means that if you accidentally delete a post or comment you can bring it back from the grave (i.e., the Trash). This also eliminates those annoying “are you sure” messages we used to have on every delete.
2. Built-in image editor allows you to crop, edit, rotate, flip, and scale your images to show them who’s boss. This is the first wave of our many planned media-handling improvements. (VERY COOL)
3. Batch plugin update and compatibility checking, which means you can update 10 plugins at once, versus having to do multiple clicks for each one, and we’re using the new compatibility data from the plugins directory to give you a better idea of whether your plugins are compatible with new releases of WordPress. This should take the fear and hassle out of upgrading.
4. Easier video embeds that allow you to just paste a URL on its own line and have it magically turn it into the proper embed code, with Oembed support for YouTube, Daily Motion, Blip.tv, Flickr, Hulu, Viddler, Qik, Revision3, Scribd, Google Video, Photobucket, PollDaddy, and WordPress.tv (and more in the next release).

Should you update now?

I haven’t tried updating a site to 2.9 but it probably won’t be an issue. My suggestion is that you wait for the crazy ppl to update first to make sure nothing breaks. If you are using the Thesis Theme it seems to work  fine with WP 2.9

If you are going to upgrade make sure you backup your Database and ALL your files before upgrading.

If you would like someone (ME!) to help just drop me an email or call.

Hello from the interwebs. It has been a busy month since RE Bar Camp SD and NAR San Diego. I have been working away helping Realtors with their Technology, setting up Wordpress, tweaking wordpress, Tweeting away on Twitter, putting faces on Facebook, and more.

PEBKAC = P.roblems E.xisting B.etween K.eyboard A.nd C.hair

Since Inman Connect this past August (and at RE Bar Camp SD) I have been requested to hold special niche Internet Technology Training Labs at a central location in Orange County. These labs will be more like Tech Support classes where you will learn the confidential secrets of a Technology Expert so you can start to become Tech Savvy yourself.

The first lab session is all about the new WordPress Agent Press blogging platform and is scheduled for Tuesday, December 29 from 1pm until 5pm.

The goal and end result after this 4-hour tech lab?  A beautiful, search engine friendly personalized real estate blog to kick off the new year with in 2010!

It is amazing what you will receive and learn in this lab session.

Unsure if you can learn from this type of lab? Watch the testimonial video:

Don’t  have a clue to anything about Wordpress and Blogging? Then this first lab is what you need. You will learn:

• To install Wordpress
• To install Themes
• Install Plugins
• Modify the theme with your logo
• How to operate your new blog
• Setup Google Analytics
• Setup Feedburner
• Integrate Facebook and Twitter (if you want)
• and much more

What else do you get with the class?

• A complete Blog ready to Rock
• A FREE copy of AgentPress Real Estate Theme (*)
• Help modifying the theme with your color pallete and logo (*)

You will also leave with more than just a free copy of a Theme.

• You will have a complete Professional looking blog
• You will know what to do with it
• You will know how to take care of it
• You will be a blogger

Before contacting me to signup for these tech labs see what others have to say:

What does all this cost? To get what you will be getting in this tech lab with One-on-One personal coaching this whole package would cost from $500-$700. Currently this tech lab will be offered at the introductory rate of $250.00. The class is expected to take approx 4 hours.

Class size will be limited to 5 attendees. If you want your blog up and running before the new year starts
contact me NOW! so I can make sure there will be room.
If you have any question you can also call as well:
866-987-8324
Fill in the form to get Signed Up NOW!

cforms contact form by delicious:days

Are you a Data Geek and you’re using Altos Research Real Estate Data? Now they have a new tool to make publishing your charts and keeping you clients up to date with the best Real Estate data.

Announcing Four WordPress Plugins for Altos Research Real Estate Data. Here they are in order of coolness:

Market Data Post – With just a few clicks and create an entire Real Estate Market Data blog post. Sometimes, when you have to get a post done and just don’t have the time, that’s where this plugin comes in.

WYSIWYG Toolbar AltosCharts – Often though, you’re writing your regular blog post, you want pictures or other media, different formatting, and you want to add an AltosChart to comment on the market conditions. This plugin adds four buttons to your toolbar so you can instantly add a local market data AltosChart, regional/county-wide AltosChart, AltosStats table, or cool new AltosCharts Flash into any blog post you’re writing. No cutting and pasting! Works just like adding an image to your blog post. I used this plugin to add the charts to this National Report post last week.

AltosCharts and AltosStats Sidebar – so even when you’re blogging about everything else, your visitors still see that you have market data. Set your click through links to your market data detail pages if you like.

AltosConnect Sidebar – Easy to include the AltosConnect lead conversion and auto-drip forms. No more cutting and pasting.

These four new plugins make using your Altos Research Data much easier for your Wordpress Blog. You can download the plugins from your Altos Dashboard.

For more information about the Plugins visit the Altos Blog announcing their availability.

If you need help with Plugin Installs then give me a call and I can help you out.

During the C.A.R. Expo in San Jose a few weeks ago, Stacey Harmon got some news from Albert Tran, the Director of Training and Technology Services for CAR.

Winform will be rebranded as Zipform 6 and will be released with some new much needed features on November 16th 2009.

• For you Mac fans you will now have the ability to use Zipform (Winform) on your computer without needed Parallels or VMware Fusion.
• For those of you having problems while running 64-bit windows and trying to use Zipform (Winform), your problems will be solved.
• Yes, for those who might ask. Winform/Zipform should work just fine on Windows 7 including the 64-bit version.

For more information you can go here to read more: Zipform 6

And also watch the Video interview of Albert Tran below.

When you started working in Real Estate did you expect you would have to become tech savy? Well in case you are wondering no matter what you do know in life you need to be at least somewhat tech savy and have at least a basic understanding of the tools out there.

One thing I still find is the wrong use of names/terms for tools in use today. I strive with every client to teach them the proper terminology and use of technology.

If I was an agent and told you I left the door access device container in the back yard what would you do? You would probably laugh at me and call me names. It’s ok, I can take it.

Now, when someone asks you to open the Browser do you know what to do? If not, never fear. I have attached a few videos below to explain a what a Browse is, where the address bar is, and Google’s results when asking others in New York what a Browser is.

If you still have questions and would like a personal coaching session, contact me at 866-987-TECH. Take a look at the top right of the page for testimonial videos.

BTW… Google also has a page about the Browser: Type in http://whatbrowser.org in the address bar (or click the link) and check it out.