I tripped across the following site recently and found it quite interesting:
A web-based program to design your own widget-ready WP Theme on the fly. You may want to give it a whirl!
There are a few things missing on this little baby…
Portrait option on playing movies and video content - when it’s in the little stand on my desk, I’d like to see Pink singing upright - even if that means I don’t get the benefit of the larger, amazing screen.
The ability to launch the little keyboard - so I can type where I like (even if the iPhone doesn’t recognize my ability to do so). Kind of like an Apple override button, assuming I know more about what I want than the phone does (can you tell this frustrates me?).
The ability to scroll in a form box on a website - so I can blog and fill out and edit forms on my iPhone. (more…)
*sniff* iPhone doesn’t play nicely with WordPress!
So much for my moblog aspirations… I can type in some text, but I can’t edit (the box doesn’t scroll down. Only the code version shows up — the what you see is what you get version called “visual” doesn’t toggle on the iPhone.)
I can’t edit much (since I can’t scroll down to get to the bottom — or even the middle — of my posts). How disappointing! I hope someone comes up with a work-around soon.
I notice this problem with all the online form-style entry pages I’ve tried so far.
Are you curious about WordPress as a publishing tool for your online success as a real estate professional? I was too. And I’ve been using WP on my own blog for some time now. I must say, I love it!
I’ve helped several clients switch over to WP. They love it. Currently I’m in the midst of the process to switch over a HUGE real estate resource site to WP for content management. Using WordPress as a real estate website has many benefits: (more…)
If you have a website, you need a custom 404 page.
Why?
People don’t like to feel stupid and they avoid situations that make them feel that way. They don’t like to be frustrated and ditto on the avoidance there. You don’t want YOUR site to be the cause of these feelings, do you? (more…)
I’ve collected a few great resources for the entrepreneur, solopreneur, or small business owner below and hope that others will add to the list any great resources I’ve failed to mention. (more…)
At the end of last year, I blogged about the buying power of women in the real estate arena over on ActiveRain. Now, having just made a move from the country (where I own a farm) to the city (where I’m begrudgingly renting for the next 18-24 months), I’m even more firm in my conviction that women do the lion’s share of decision making in families. *I’m exhaused!*
Today, I get a couple emails in from a client with an emphasis on the buying power and the decision-making role of single and married females alike. One is from Inman News and the other is from the New York Times (I apologize if a registration is required to read it):
I’m loving this recent Inman post from Todd Carpenter of Lenderama on the new interest in using large metal shipping containers as the basis for a new type of housing. (more…)
Want to know the top browser, top online game, top web-based communication option — selected by Webware readers and web based application fans from all over? Check out the WebWare 100 Winners for 2007.
Many of these I use, or have used, but a few… under the topics of “entertainment” and “community” are begging for some of my “free time” — whatever THAT is!
It’s good to know that WordPress beat out Drupal, Blogger and TypePad in publishing/blogging and web content tools. *grin*
It’s been awhile since I’ve really “dug in” where SEO is concerned. Basically, I’ve been working under the assumption (a fairly good one, IMHO and in my humble experience online) that if you build good content, organize it well and use common sense when titling your articles, posts and web pages — that the readers will come.
For my own sites, and my client sites, it’s worked like a charm.
To be fair, I have spent a great deal of time studying SEO in the past and still try to keep abreast of any big changes. But mostly, I’ve determined that avoiding the “tricks” and the “blackhat” methods — and relying on offering a site of useful information and making it easy to find and access that information is the best long-term SEO approach. (I do keep an eye on well-crafted metas and always have an eye on local search.) (more…)
Brian Brady, over on BloodHoundBlog.com urged Realtors to stop selling houses in a blog post this weekend. Amen, I say! The alternative? Build memories, of course! He says:
“Neighborhoods don’t have character, they have Characters. Weave these Characters into the stories you tell when you talk about your market. Characters are what entice us. They make the memories your customer’s children will cherish .
Connect the sights, sounds, and smells of the present with a story from your market and you will have inspired the reticent homebuyer’s imagination. Characters call out and beg the buyer to join them in the comedy of life, unfolding on the stage (your market), from a seat in the front row (the house).”
Combining an obvious dedication to service and the decision to place clients before profit, while adding a pinch of nostalgia, Brian cooks up a winning recipe!
And the reward for the Realtor? IMHO… A booming business, happy clients, great referrals and the joy of knowing that what he/she does for a living really matters.
Kimberly Thomas-Catanzaro (a peer professional who specializes in bookkeeping) recently sent me a note on a new productivity product (currently in public beta) that I think would be quite a boon for most real estate folks.
I’m going to be testing it over the next few days myself as a way to keep up with expenses. (I’m always out — and usually driving — when I think “oh, I should record this before I forget it.”) I always have my cell phone and can’t drive and use my tablet at the same time — at least not very well or very safely. (more…)
The latest issue of Wired Magazine (my favorite subscription) featured a new take on small spaces with high-tech features and micro-design. It was too cool not to share with those of you who love a good tiny house as much as I do.
The online version offers a slide show (not offered in my printed version) that brings the tiny space to life. My son is salivating for this little boxy creation to put on the farm, overlooking the “big creek” as his own little bachelor pad. (more…)
You just landed a wonderful listing. Congratulations! It’s a tough market right now, but the home is in a good neighborhood and with just a little work it may be sold in a couple weeks.
Then you actually start working with the client. This client is motivated to sell the house, but is completely unwilling to raise a hand to help you stage, show or sell the home.
They want to move because they already have a new house. They don’t want to organize, paint or be bothered with “the old house” and they don’t believe it matters. Your suggestions are meeting with resistance and you get the distinct impression that your recommendation that they paint the dark blue entryway a lighter color is… well… rude.
You don’t want to upset the client, but you can’t engage them in the project. You need them to be cooperative. How do you achieve that goal?
In three easy steps… (more…)
I was cruising the web today… I honestly don’t know how it started. I think it was back tracking some referrals on voluntary simplicity that led to my own blog. I found a couple pretty cool sites that I thought I’d share with those interested in living a life less complicated, and learning to decorate on the cheap in the small spaces of a tiny home (or apartment).
You know, I love Google’s offerings. I use alot of them. I have a gmail account. I use Google Docs, analytics, customized search pages. Google IS my home page.
I’ve always felt that the sign of a good education was not what you know as much as how good you are at being able to “ferret out” any information you need on any topic. I thought this before the invention of Google, and I think that Google has enabled the masses to be more “educated” by my own definition.
Google is how I work and play without having to store an inordinate amount of detailed information in my head — I know how to find it… on Google. But there have been a few people (myself included) lately, that have become a bit concerned with the sheer mass of information Google now possesses about individuals.
Most of you have probably heard of — even played with — the new Yahoo! Real Estate Search Tool, but I’d be willing to bet that very few of you have seen a “sneak peak” of the new Google Real Estate tool.
It’s still in what I’d call “pre-alpha” — although I have no idea what the Google developers are calling it — and has been discovered via the back end by some people so geeky they make me look chic!
Are you bored with the same old “tired” farm materials? Do you want innovative and creative… but all you can afford is the service you already have? Is it the same service your competition is using — or a markedly similar one? Do you want your direct mail to catch the eye of your target market? And, are you on a shoe-string budget?
There is a way to make your stuff stand out… without a huge time and money investment…
Here begins today’s rant. It follows yet another call from yet another real estate agent (and genuinely nice guy) that has been taken for a ride, financially. This has been bugging me for awhile, even before the most recent call (I get several of these a month, BTW). I’ve talked with my own clients about it, and I’ve probably run off a few potential clients with my blatantly bold and brash “brutal” honest opinion on this particular topic.
The fact is, real estate agents are an easy mark. They believe in and look for a silver bullet to fix all their online and offline marketing woes and they are willing to buy false “Holy Grails” over and over again.
They don’t get what they want from one company (even though what was advertised was exactly what they did want)… so they go on to the next company and buy yet another “service” — another “software program” — another online lead generator — another “one size fits all” website, etc, etc, ad nauseum…
And they wonder why they never quite make it to the big leagues. They wonder why their overhead is so high, their profits so low and why the concept of personal “free time” is a misnomer.
I’ve HAD IT!!!
(Not with these agents… but FOR them!)
It’s beginning now. I’ve been watching as the real estate market begins to dance on the edge of a sheer cliff and I hold my breath expecting a shaky, but undeniable plummet. I don’t think it’s merely a “natural” readjustment resulting from an overly inflated market (although I do think the market is terribly inflated). I think that a combination of economic factors, including a higher cost of basic goods (especially gas) have created a climate for a major housing market readjustment.
But I believe that there are other, more significant causes…
Let me be openly opinionated for a moment… (more…)
My Discoveries on StumbleUpon
