Looking between the layers - Semantic opportunities in contact management and search

These are a couple of items that I’m just finding of interest.  As web profiles on social networks taking more and more from us in the way of data and communications, it was only the next logical step the we started to see apps pop up to fill the void when it comes to monitoring and managing those relationships.

What’s caught my eye is the following …

Gist is “where your inbox meets the web”.  About a month ago I received an invite into their ‘private beta’, but I’ve hardly had the chance to really dig in to see what’s up.   At first blush, it looks slick.  The dashboard layout is real friendly and it would be a networker’s dream to have manageable news and data on your contacts right in one easier to use application.   That’s just what they deliver.  I have 3 tabs to look at with a dashboard, people, and companies.   From each profile I can monitor all correspondence and related news on any one person or company within my network.   Beyond this it also looks like there are granular setting for relevancy and even statistics on your network.  If this sounds at all of interest, you should probably hit them up for an invite…. and if you do, let me know what you think.   I could see this being a killer app for productivity.

Daymix is a fun way to get a quick overview on something or someone.  Rather than just Googleing someones name, why not get an overview of what Daymix has to show?  What they come up with (and I just did my name)  is not only Google web search results on one side of the page, but Flickr photos, YouTube vids, Yahoo search, blog search, and even “Twitter talk”.  Very cool.  Not bad for reputation management as well.  I just found that Kristal posted a picture of me on Flickr and then tweeted it.  Good stuff!

With Twitter search being one to watch and Gmail’s ongoing improvement to blend the social web, I’m sure more than a few developers have their work cut out for them in developing a more cohessive experience for users of the ever entangling web of the internet.

Tasty links to chew on. maps, profiles, screen captures and more

Some good stuff with tips looking back and ideas moving forward:

NYT with The Email handshake

It’s the way of the world now, so we’ve got to get used to it,” she said. “But I think agents should be careful to have a plan in mind and not just let it be about spitting everything out in the next e-mail.

Lifehacker - The five best screen capture tools

Capturing your computer screen is a terribly handy trick in all sorts of situations, ranging from creating tutorials to capturing web moments for posterity

Bloodhound - Personal relationships 1, Cold technology 0

Well last March we surveyed 1,058 people who were using our site about what they wanted in a real estate agent. Some of the answers were gratifying for us to see

RE blog lab - Why I removed Google Web History

Google is picking for me based on what I’ve viewed before the order of the search results.  NO Thank You!  I want the most current results for all my searches not some historical returned results being filtered.

Identify - is a Firefox extension that combines identities across various social network/media sites and provides you with a profile about an individual.

Nanoblogging… 26 characters at a time

A mockumentary on making the next microblogging platform.  “I could see it really taking over the world of Nanoblogging … which I guess really didn’t even exist untill Flutter came along”.

“I twoted all over the place”. Full of twuisms

Are you good at reading signs, listening is most often the sharpest took in the shed

Something my broker says to me all the time is “If you don’t ask, I guarantee you the answer is no”.   It’s something I think about all the time when feeling that nagging voice in my head telling me that I’m begin too aggressive or nosy — All hogwash.

I was raised in working in sales.  My first brush at this was having a newspaper route at age 12.  Part of the job description was to go around and knock on doors and try and solicit descriptions.   A daunting challenge for a kid to have doors slammed in his face, but I lived.  Made comic book money as well.  Further down the road while in college, one of my jobs was to work part time in a bike store.  The mechanics of bicycling were my real passion, but my boss through me out on the ‘floor’ all the time when a customer would walk in the door.  The question he would always ask as they walked out the door was “well,.. did you ask for their money?”  and “why not?”.  Both valid questions considering on a Sunday afternoon if someone walks into a bike store to look at purchasing a bike, that they are probably going to buy one that very afternoon.

During an open house or when out with clients looking at property, we are all pretty hip to the signs that come from people.  I would say for the most part … probably a bit too hip.  Almost any good sales person has an over sensitive radar to what people are feeling and where they are at, yet seldom do some ask the right questions at the right time.  The truth more often than not is that they are just waiting to be asked.

So next time you hear that nagging voice that’s holding you back, you might remind yourself that ‘If I don’t ask, I can be guaranteed that the answer is no.

For your viewing pleasure:

Signs
by mg02

Tasty links to chew on

All of the posts below are a throw back to a few months ago, but are certainly relevant.

Read/Write/Web - Forty Million Americans now contribute to Social Networking Sites: Who are they?

According to a new report from Netpop Research, 76% of all U.S. broadband users actively contribute to social media sites in one form or another, and 29% contribute regularly to social networking sites…

Glenn Kelman at BloodHoundBlog - Is Technology squashing the litte guy in Real Estate?

About once a week, someone asks Redfin who built our real estate search site (sometimes they don’t ask, they just take). Since we built our site on our own,…

Chris Brogan - Template for building a small powerful network

Jeff Pulver said this: “We’re making our own dial tone.” In such a typical Jeff Pulver way, he tossed out a little idea that had been bouncing around his head, but that he hasn’t rolled into any particular context yet,..

Mark at HomeStomper - 7 Simple Rules for Landing Page Optimization

At the rate folks labor for website traffic you’d think it was the sole source of online success when, in truth, it’s only one part…

Has the bubble burst with embelishing your copy with superlatives?

It would be that in the day of post-bust Real Estate marketing using fun couplings like “trophy loft” and “pimped out bachelor pad” does not quite cut the mustard anymore.

Gone, could be the pitch worthy niche market of keeping up with the Jone’s and their Bentleys and Nannies by speaking to their inner-most desires of have THE VERY BEST in everything home living.   Home buyers these days have long been looking for transparency and truth in advertising.  Inserting splashy flash on a website and speaking to the needs of the aspiring as opposed to the needs of the moderating budget might have just come of age… at least for the time being.

Consider this from the New York Times article “Adjectives get evicted”

Three or four years ago, value was something that was uncomfortable even to talk about,” said Bruce Ehrmann, an associate broker at Stribling & Associates. “Value suggested thrift, and thrift meant you couldn’t keep up.

With the discussion of the failing economy at each and every dinner we have with family and friends, enters a new associated guilt with having the very best.  Has searching for luxury become taboo?

“People used to not mind paying higher common charges and a big premium on the price,” said Barak Dunayer, the president of Barak Realty. “As the market is getting more value-driven, buyers are saying they’d rather pay $1,000 a year to join a gym across the street than add $250,000 to the purchase price.”

Still, he said, concierge services, swimming pools, wine cellars and golf simulators aren’t necessarily liabilities: “It’s the value that buyers place on those amenities that has changed. So you don’t hide it in the ad, it just gets less emphasis.”

Finding keywords of differentiation have always been the mark of selling the value of an individual property. We could have very well exhausted the dictionary of speaking to these sensibilities. Yet, a few things that may have not been on the surface for a few years past will remain. Home buyers are always looking for value and convenience when finding a home to live in - home marketing will always be about emotion. Something that can be fooled and tricked and should never be taken advantage of. Think about all of the disappointment and aggravation that you go through everyday in dealing with failed expectations of promises delivered in advertising, before you tackle the copy on your next ad.

Consider this and consider the times that we are living in right now as opposed to yesterday when you are speaking to your audience with what you are selling.

Never underestimate the powere of your tools

An amazing moment in citizen journalism happened this afternoon after a US Airways plane goes down in New York City’s Hudson River.   This iPhone photo is the first picture taken of the crash by Janis Krums (@jkrums) who, by the looks of it was on his way across the river on a commuter ferry that ended up helping the rescued passengers.  By the amazing grace of some very well skilled pilots, nobody was killed in what they are calling the “Miracle on The Hudson”.

It looks to be immediately uploaded to TwitPic, a twitter photo application and is broadcast out via his mobile what looks to be 149 followers at the time.  The estimated time this happens is no longer than 10 minutes after the plane had crashed.

It’s spreads viral throughout twitter and within minutes the micro-blogging’s photo service crashes.  It looks like before that happens, friend Meg Fowler has it uploaded to flickr was trying to get it to @acarvin of the AP.  From FaceBook:

In no time at all the photo hits several news sources including The LA Times and CNET.  20 minutes after, while the rescue is still happening, he is intreviewed by the local MSNBC affiliate on the air and shortly thereafter gets pinged on twitter by the New York Times.

Two hours after the Janis snaps this photo, it’s getting world wide news coverage.

and his follwers count flies through the roof

This occurrence is a great example of showing the strength and connectivity of us all spending time online. There is no question that social media is powerful and most would agree that we are just scratching the surface of what it can do for us.  The simplicity of this whole event is just awesome.

At the time of this post, Janis’ latest tweet says he’s headed “back over to NY for a few interview”.  It will be interesting to see how his citizen photo journalism story unfolds.

As an aside, to tie this in with why I’m posting this here.   It’s because I hear something over and over again with regards to ‘getting it right’ or finding the right equipment when it comes to taking action with business.   More proof positive that it’s not the tools, they are obviously powerful enough, it’s the user.

Update: from what I understand, the photo has been sold to the AP and the photographer, Janis Krums has now been interviewed by MSNBC, CNN, and Good Morning America.  He’s pushing 3,000 followers some 24 hrs. later.

Update #2:

New York Times coverage, “Can a Tweet be a scoop?”

From the BBC, “Twitter’s iconic image of US Airways plane”

Door knocking on Facebook

To date I have had a few clients initiate contact via Facebook.  Even so, I have never much cared for the utility’s use for myself given the slowness of how it reads and the “too much fun on Facebook” to be having with all your friends puts me in wallflower mode -  something that no doubt has taken getting used to.

Since it is one of the most popular social platform, I do see it having great importance in one’s presence online.  What we don’t hear is an example of how it can be utilized.  As with any social platform, it’s social first and the great thing about having your own page is that you can show and prove your value almost like anywhere else.   I have been spending more and more time over there recently, almost daily in fact.   The redesign I think allows for a lot more socializing to happen, especially with the new feature of commenting on almost anything and everything on somebody’s page or update.  This opens up more conversation as opposed to push status updates - how 2.0 (are we getting tired of that yet?)

Opening up conversation is exactly what an agent from San Francisco did to initiate a transaction.  The one thing that I loved is that he asked a question, rather than just giving an update.  He said “Im heading out to do a broker’s open… do you know anyone that’s interested”.  With more and more people keeping their browsers open to Facebook for real time conversation via chat, commenting, and video comes the another opportunity to be heard and not only heard as a Real Estate agent, but a Real person.   Read more on the Facebook blog post here.
Finding Your Next Home on Facebook

The ability to share information with those around you can create amazing opportunities. Every day, millions of people update their status on Facebook. Whether going to a movie, visiting a friend or cleaning their apartment, many people use their status as an invitation for friends to join them in whatever they’re doing.

Maybe there’s another method to Twitter

I have a new follower this evening, this is no surprise since the masses of marketers have found another medium I receive now an average of 8 followers per day.  Many, I am not following back or declining based on who they are, this one grabbed my curiosity.   What is the strategy behind this agenda?

I receive the request from you to follow me.

So I click over to the account to check you out.

hmm… No profile picture, no background, no website or blog.

• 1288 folowing
• 127 followers
• 3 updates

That information tells me all that I need to know, yet I’m still curious.  So about those 3 updates.

1. “Hey, everyone! check out my blog post.” — OK, it’s the guy from the Flip TV show.  I’ve seen the show, I know this guy and it looks like he has a legitimate sight and a sincere business practice.  Not the best way to start a twitter stream, but then again I started with “Hey, I have insomnia“, so who am I too judge?
2. “Hey, everyone! Go ahead and check out my newly updated Squidoo page” — Too much, too fast would be an understatement.  In the world of twitter popularity, you have just branded yourself a spammer.
3. “Just set up Ning Community.  Come on over and join the discussion”.  — Really, there’s a discussion going on somewhere?  This I have to see.

So when I click on over I find two discussion topics posted with one reply.  The reply is from the Virtual Assistant of the sites namesake.   After putting two an two together, you can figure that the whole Twitter account has probably been set up by the VA for her client to help with promotion.  So let’s backtrack.

If you are going to set up a white label social network on Ning.  Why not start with the follwing you already have and build it up to be a destination for new members to come check out?  Then…. move to Twitter.  Build a twitter stream of personality and interest and be a live person.   You’re not really virtual, are you?  Even @latimes get’s this right.  Stop pitching your stuff..  it’s not the forum.  I could be wrong about this, but I have yet to see it work for anyone but Guy Kawasaki and guess what, he’s doing it with a take it or leave it personality.  Ford has even hired PR for Twitter and they are people havign conversation.  People who “get it”.

I’ll hold at that since it seems that being new to something can be daunting, but how many bridges need to get burned before you actually establish a presence and build on a brand of trust and communications when it’s only other auto-responders speaking back?

Looking at Twitter as a marketing opportunity is not a problem.  Forgetting that it’s an opt-in opportunity is.  How many takers or conversations will this account yield if it remains on this path?

WOOF!

To give this post context you should know that this, as well as any later from this date, have been brought over from the now dead brad.bloodhoundblog.net. More on that here.

THE DEAL:

“Welcome to Bloodhoundblog.net. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!”

My initial idea when the ‘blood puppies’ were introduced is to use this site a playground for ideas and sharing on anything that is a work in progress.. which when I think about it.. is everything.  So more specifically, a blog where we can share and expand on small ideas that can become the next big ideas.  For the past year or so I had kept a tumblr site which was a microblog of shared links to posts around the re.net and social media space that I thought might be helpful to my team.  What I’d really like to see happen as this be a destination that’s much more participatory - a workshop for ideas as our business changes as it relates to social media and new technologies.  With that, I should also say that I consider myself more of a reluctant blogger, who’s a journeyman amongst some very creative people.

I’ve been very fortunate this past year to get involved with doing a working lunch on using twitter in Real Estate at the very first Bloodhound Unchained in Phoenix, helping organize the very first REBarCamp in San Francisco, and speaking on a panel on the topic of How to bring your 1.0 brokerage into a 2.0 world at the very first REBlogWorld and New Media Expo.  I’m real lucky that way I guess, but I also work harder than anyone I know, so I plan to make the best of the opportunity to help out in growing our businesses in Real Estate.

2×4s

Like the carpenter’s mantra: measure twice, cut once.  Let’s build on this puppy!