The number of times that online home listings with multiple photos are viewed exceeds that of listings with only one photo by three-fold, and 72 percent of those listings generate requests for more information, according to Realtor.com.
Moreover, YouTube says the number of real estate videos uploaded to the site over the last year tops 13,200.
“We are visual people,” says Mariana Wagner of Colorado Springs-based Keller Williams Hope Realty. “We want to see as much of the home for sale as possible.”
Agents with Facebook business pages may want to post 15 to 20 listing photos about a week before an open house to spark interest. They also could use the Hipstamatic iPhone app to geotag photos as they are taken, especially since more buyers are searching for homes by address.
Agents looking to transform still photos into a YouTube video with music and effects could take advantage of the Animoto app. Although Flickr appears to be an obvious choice for sharing listing photos, the application is not for commercial use and the accounts of those who violate the policy will be suspended, according to officials.
Source: INFORMATION, INC.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Success of Google+ promo shows off search giant’s might
Google recently deployed its popular search engine to boost the company’s Google+ social-networking site in its battle with Facebook, a move that has paid off.
Visits to Google+ jumped thirteen-fold last week, spotlighting the power of the search king’s Internet real estate.
Visitors to Google+ shot up to nearly 15 million last week from the previous week’s 1.1 million, according to Experian Hitwise, after Google opened the site to everyone. It had been “invitation only.”
Google promoted the change with a blue arrow that pointed from its search-engine box on Google.com to Google+ in the upper left corner of the search page.
The maneuver, in quick order, demonstrated how Google can flex its search-engine might to boost its social standing.
“That had a lot to do with it,” says Matt Tatham of Hitwise.
Google, the No. 1 search engine, accounted for 11.1 billion searches in August, according to ComScore.
“Theoretically, Google has the edge” over Facebook, IDC analyst Scott Ellison says.
“Google has search, Android, YouTube, Gmail,” Ellison says. “Facebook just doesn’t have as many assets.”
Facebook has some 800 million members but has been complacent on a number of fronts, including sharing options, analysts say.
Google, meanwhile, has been cranking out features, such as sharing circles, video chats and games. Vic Gundotra, senior vice president of engineering for Google+, noted last week that the social site has made 91 improvements in three months.
The Google+ rivalry drove Facebook to pump out features at its F8 conference last week.
In addition to a massive makeover, Facebook launched Timeline, which will allow new forms of media-sharing and game play. The social giant also struck music deals with Spotify and Rdio and online video agreements with Netflix and Hulu.
“Facebook is going to have to up their game,” Ellison says.
Paul Allen, Google+ tracker and founder of Ancestry.com (not to be confused with the Microsoft co-founder), estimates Google+ has 50 million users. He points out that Google+ hit this number in 88 days vs. the 3 years it took Facebook.
“Until a few months ago, there was widespread skepticism in the tech and investor community about Google’s ability to ‘get social,’“ he wrote on his Google+ page on Monday.
Google, which reported 10 million Google+ members in July, declined to comment.
Facebook did not respond to requests for comment.
Source: USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc., Scott Martin
Visits to Google+ jumped thirteen-fold last week, spotlighting the power of the search king’s Internet real estate.
Visitors to Google+ shot up to nearly 15 million last week from the previous week’s 1.1 million, according to Experian Hitwise, after Google opened the site to everyone. It had been “invitation only.”
Google promoted the change with a blue arrow that pointed from its search-engine box on Google.com to Google+ in the upper left corner of the search page.
The maneuver, in quick order, demonstrated how Google can flex its search-engine might to boost its social standing.
“That had a lot to do with it,” says Matt Tatham of Hitwise.
Google, the No. 1 search engine, accounted for 11.1 billion searches in August, according to ComScore.
“Theoretically, Google has the edge” over Facebook, IDC analyst Scott Ellison says.
“Google has search, Android, YouTube, Gmail,” Ellison says. “Facebook just doesn’t have as many assets.”
Facebook has some 800 million members but has been complacent on a number of fronts, including sharing options, analysts say.
Google, meanwhile, has been cranking out features, such as sharing circles, video chats and games. Vic Gundotra, senior vice president of engineering for Google+, noted last week that the social site has made 91 improvements in three months.
The Google+ rivalry drove Facebook to pump out features at its F8 conference last week.
In addition to a massive makeover, Facebook launched Timeline, which will allow new forms of media-sharing and game play. The social giant also struck music deals with Spotify and Rdio and online video agreements with Netflix and Hulu.
“Facebook is going to have to up their game,” Ellison says.
Paul Allen, Google+ tracker and founder of Ancestry.com (not to be confused with the Microsoft co-founder), estimates Google+ has 50 million users. He points out that Google+ hit this number in 88 days vs. the 3 years it took Facebook.
“Until a few months ago, there was widespread skepticism in the tech and investor community about Google’s ability to ‘get social,’“ he wrote on his Google+ page on Monday.
Google, which reported 10 million Google+ members in July, declined to comment.
Facebook did not respond to requests for comment.
Source: USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc., Scott Martin
Monday, September 26, 2011
Beware Legal Pitfalls With Foreclosures, Short Sales
Short sale and foreclosure transactions can be fraught with potential legal problems for real estate professionals. And as the number of these transactions continues to skyrocket, agents need to be careful, Stella Ling, managing senior counsel of the California Association of REALTORS®, told a crowd at CAR’s REALTOR® Expo last week.
Short sales success rate is only about 50 percent, Ling said, so "the best thing to do is to prescreen the short-sale listings.” For example, she encouraged agents to look for home owners who have refinanced in the mid-2000s and to avoid listings where a second trustee lender can come back for a deficiency through a judicial foreclosure or might not agree to a short sale. Ling also recommends checking to see if the seller has considered a bankruptcy.
Another danger she points to is “reverse staging.” With reverse staging, sellers trash the property in order to devalue the property. Ling says real estate professionals should ensure sellers don’t do any damage and if they suspect any, they should reconsider proceeding with the transaction.
"If a seller does reverse staging, destroying their own home, what else are they going to do? What other misrepresentations are they going to make?" Ling told the crowd of real estate professionals.
Ling also suggests when handling REO transactions that real estate professionals read the REO addendum carefully that lenders often add to the purchase contracts. Oftentimes, these addendums make buyers give up a lot of their rights, she notes.
Source: “Avoiding the Legal Pitfalls of Distressed Real Estate,” Inman News (Sept. 23, 2011)
Short sales success rate is only about 50 percent, Ling said, so "the best thing to do is to prescreen the short-sale listings.” For example, she encouraged agents to look for home owners who have refinanced in the mid-2000s and to avoid listings where a second trustee lender can come back for a deficiency through a judicial foreclosure or might not agree to a short sale. Ling also recommends checking to see if the seller has considered a bankruptcy.
Another danger she points to is “reverse staging.” With reverse staging, sellers trash the property in order to devalue the property. Ling says real estate professionals should ensure sellers don’t do any damage and if they suspect any, they should reconsider proceeding with the transaction.
"If a seller does reverse staging, destroying their own home, what else are they going to do? What other misrepresentations are they going to make?" Ling told the crowd of real estate professionals.
Ling also suggests when handling REO transactions that real estate professionals read the REO addendum carefully that lenders often add to the purchase contracts. Oftentimes, these addendums make buyers give up a lot of their rights, she notes.
Source: “Avoiding the Legal Pitfalls of Distressed Real Estate,” Inman News (Sept. 23, 2011)
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Facebook, Google+ add new features
Facebook isn’t waiting until its F8 developer’s conference Thursday to tack on new features.
The social-networking power has revamped user profiles with a top-story function that highlights the most relevant tidbits from friends, a Twitter-like news ticker on the right side of the page that offers real-time updates, and larger photos. (Facebook estimates its users post 250 million photos daily.)
The top-story function is based on who posted and the type of news (wedding, birth) shared.
“We’ve been experimenting with changes for a long time and think this will ensure that users do not miss out on things they care about,” says Keith Schacht, product manager for Facebook’s News Feed. “It makes the site more alive.” The new Facebook look should be available to all of its 750 million users in a week or so, he says.
Facebook’s announcement, in advance of what is expected to be a busy day at F8, is the latest broadside in its battle with Google+ for millions of consumers and – indirectly – advertising dollars. Facebook is expected to fold music and next-generation video into its service.
Much is at stake financially. Facebook is expected to rake in $4.3 billion in revenue this year – more than twice the $2 billion in 2010, according to market researcher eMarketer.
Dueling features in Facebook and Google+ have taken on the feel of a social-networking arms race, with plenty of technological tit-for-tat.
Earlier Tuesday, Google pre-empted Facebook’s news with a slew of new Google+ features. It also said Google+ is now open to everyone, after a nearly three-month closed-trial period. The most important new feature is improved search.
Meanwhile, Hangouts, the Google+ multi-person video-chat component, will now let users take part in a Hangout chat session using a smartphone or tablet. For now, Hangouts’ new mobile feature is available only on Android devices.
Another new feature, called On Air, will let Google+ users broadcast their Hangouts to the public for anyone to watch. In keeping with the Hangout theme, as many as nine other Google+ users can take part in the Hangout On Air.
“We are serious about having the best (social-network) service, and we do not plan to slow down,” says Vic Gundotra, the Google senior vice president in charge of Google+.
He says 100 changes and features have been added to Google+ since its debut in late June, and as many changes are planned in the next year.
Google+ has more than 10 million members.
Source: USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc., Jon Swartz
The social-networking power has revamped user profiles with a top-story function that highlights the most relevant tidbits from friends, a Twitter-like news ticker on the right side of the page that offers real-time updates, and larger photos. (Facebook estimates its users post 250 million photos daily.)
The top-story function is based on who posted and the type of news (wedding, birth) shared.
“We’ve been experimenting with changes for a long time and think this will ensure that users do not miss out on things they care about,” says Keith Schacht, product manager for Facebook’s News Feed. “It makes the site more alive.” The new Facebook look should be available to all of its 750 million users in a week or so, he says.
Facebook’s announcement, in advance of what is expected to be a busy day at F8, is the latest broadside in its battle with Google+ for millions of consumers and – indirectly – advertising dollars. Facebook is expected to fold music and next-generation video into its service.
Much is at stake financially. Facebook is expected to rake in $4.3 billion in revenue this year – more than twice the $2 billion in 2010, according to market researcher eMarketer.
Dueling features in Facebook and Google+ have taken on the feel of a social-networking arms race, with plenty of technological tit-for-tat.
Earlier Tuesday, Google pre-empted Facebook’s news with a slew of new Google+ features. It also said Google+ is now open to everyone, after a nearly three-month closed-trial period. The most important new feature is improved search.
Meanwhile, Hangouts, the Google+ multi-person video-chat component, will now let users take part in a Hangout chat session using a smartphone or tablet. For now, Hangouts’ new mobile feature is available only on Android devices.
Another new feature, called On Air, will let Google+ users broadcast their Hangouts to the public for anyone to watch. In keeping with the Hangout theme, as many as nine other Google+ users can take part in the Hangout On Air.
“We are serious about having the best (social-network) service, and we do not plan to slow down,” says Vic Gundotra, the Google senior vice president in charge of Google+.
He says 100 changes and features have been added to Google+ since its debut in late June, and as many changes are planned in the next year.
Google+ has more than 10 million members.
Source: USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc., Jon Swartz
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Facebook plans huge makeover
Facebook is turning up the volume – in a big way – in its high-pitched battle with Google+.
The social-networking giant is undergoing a massive site makeover that brings music services and mobile advances along with some big steps in next-generation video sharing. The features are expected to be unveiled by Facebook on Thursday at its F8 developers conference, USA TODAY has learned.
Along with the site overhaul and redesign, the company will likely do a major update to its iPhone app and launch an iPad app soon, according to sources close to the company who were briefed on the plans but not authorized to speak on the record.
Facebook’s experiments in video sharing are expected to emerge in the coming weeks and could likely shake up the battle over new features being waged between Facebook and Google+. “Facebook is reclaiming its status as an innovator, a pacesetter,” says Greg Sterling, an independent analyst who closely follows social media. “These are big, sexy, splashy features.”
Facebook and the music services all declined to comment.
The avalanche of new services underscores a sense of urgency at Facebook after months of relative silence since Google+ launched in late June.
Since then, Facebook has seemingly played catch-up with new features that mirror what was already available on Google+, such as smart lists and online video chat.
Google+ has drawn more than 10 million users with dazzling photos and videos. And it has ambitious goals: Dozens of new features are expected over the next year.
The new features are intended to leverage 7-year-old Facebook’s history with millions of consumers by bringing media services to them without requiring them to leave their Facebook profile.
Free-music services Spotify, MOG, Rdio and several others will be available from within Facebook. Music video site Vevo is also rumored to be part of the announcement, say two sources with direct knowledge of the announcement.
“It is a very significant push for online music,” says Dick Wingate, general manager for East Coast business development at digital-entertainment consultant TAG Strategic.
Online music services have struggled to get paying subscribers and have accumulated only a few million members for free and paid services in the U.S.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has recently stressed the importance of Facebook users, 750 million and counting, spending more time on the site, deepening their engagement with the content. That’s a key attraction for advertisers.
Source: USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.
The social-networking giant is undergoing a massive site makeover that brings music services and mobile advances along with some big steps in next-generation video sharing. The features are expected to be unveiled by Facebook on Thursday at its F8 developers conference, USA TODAY has learned.
Along with the site overhaul and redesign, the company will likely do a major update to its iPhone app and launch an iPad app soon, according to sources close to the company who were briefed on the plans but not authorized to speak on the record.
Facebook’s experiments in video sharing are expected to emerge in the coming weeks and could likely shake up the battle over new features being waged between Facebook and Google+. “Facebook is reclaiming its status as an innovator, a pacesetter,” says Greg Sterling, an independent analyst who closely follows social media. “These are big, sexy, splashy features.”
Facebook and the music services all declined to comment.
The avalanche of new services underscores a sense of urgency at Facebook after months of relative silence since Google+ launched in late June.
Since then, Facebook has seemingly played catch-up with new features that mirror what was already available on Google+, such as smart lists and online video chat.
Google+ has drawn more than 10 million users with dazzling photos and videos. And it has ambitious goals: Dozens of new features are expected over the next year.
The new features are intended to leverage 7-year-old Facebook’s history with millions of consumers by bringing media services to them without requiring them to leave their Facebook profile.
Free-music services Spotify, MOG, Rdio and several others will be available from within Facebook. Music video site Vevo is also rumored to be part of the announcement, say two sources with direct knowledge of the announcement.
“It is a very significant push for online music,” says Dick Wingate, general manager for East Coast business development at digital-entertainment consultant TAG Strategic.
Online music services have struggled to get paying subscribers and have accumulated only a few million members for free and paid services in the U.S.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has recently stressed the importance of Facebook users, 750 million and counting, spending more time on the site, deepening their engagement with the content. That’s a key attraction for advertisers.
Source: USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Real estate market changed real estate agents’ responsibilities
The weak housing market and the economic downturn have forced real estate agents to add therapist and life counselor to their job description, as the buying and selling process becomes more emotional. They must have more patience and savvy to close deals in the current market. Some have even turned to bank-owned properties to ensure a more straightforward process.
“Most of my time is spent fielding phone calls and also calling other people to make sure they’re okay – emotionally okay – and making sure their financing situation is holding. It’s very, very different,” says Roberta Baldwin, agent-owner of Montclair, N.J.-based Keller Williams NJ Metro Group.
Agents must deal with clients calling about job losses and asking for advice, as well as voicing their concerns about declining home values.
Experts say agents shouldn’t let clients’ negative attitudes drag them down, but they must take care to listen and be upfront about current market conditions.
Rich Levin, a productivity consultant, says, “The agent needs to be the source of both solid information so people look to them, but also optimism.”
Source: INFORMATION, INC.
“Most of my time is spent fielding phone calls and also calling other people to make sure they’re okay – emotionally okay – and making sure their financing situation is holding. It’s very, very different,” says Roberta Baldwin, agent-owner of Montclair, N.J.-based Keller Williams NJ Metro Group.
Agents must deal with clients calling about job losses and asking for advice, as well as voicing their concerns about declining home values.
Experts say agents shouldn’t let clients’ negative attitudes drag them down, but they must take care to listen and be upfront about current market conditions.
Rich Levin, a productivity consultant, says, “The agent needs to be the source of both solid information so people look to them, but also optimism.”
Source: INFORMATION, INC.
Fewer real estate agents expect price drops
Most real estate professionals and homeowners expect home values to decrease or stay the same through the end of the year, according to HomeGain’s third quarter survey. While the outlook remains dour, however, a higher percentage of real estate agents seem to think their market area has hit bottom and is rebounding.
In Florida, one in five (22 percent) real estate professionals surveyed expect prices to rise over the next six months, as did 22 percent of homeowners. That’s second only to Arizona, where 33 percent of agents anticipate a price increase and 29 percent of homeowners.
Nationally, 11 percent of real estate professionals expect home values to increase in the next six months, down one percent from last quarter; 12 percent of homeowners expect home values to increase, down 3 percent from last quarter.
According to the survey, 47 percent of agents and brokers and 45 percent of homeowners think that home values will decrease over the next six months. However, agents’ attitudes have become slightly less pessimistic since the second quarter (50 percent expected price declines) even though homeowners have become more pessimistic (30 percent expected price declines).
An almost equal number of agents and homeowners expect selling prices to remain roughly the same for the next six months, with 42 percent of agents expecting the status quo to continue compared to 43 percent of homeowners.
According to agents and brokers, 75 percent of homeowners believe their homes are worth more than the agent’s recommended listing price. In contrast, 68 percent of homebuyers believe homes are overpriced.
The five states with a rising outlook about home prices – Arizona, Florida, Texas, California and Ohio – were generally hit hard by the real estate crisis and now may be bouncing back. The five top states where agents expect prices to decline include New Jersey (77 percent of agents expect a six-month price drop), Pennsylvania (75 percent), North Carolina (68 percent), Georgia (62 percent) and Virginia (58 percent).
Over 500 real estate agents and brokers and over 2,200 homeowners were surveyed.
Source: Florida Realtors®
In Florida, one in five (22 percent) real estate professionals surveyed expect prices to rise over the next six months, as did 22 percent of homeowners. That’s second only to Arizona, where 33 percent of agents anticipate a price increase and 29 percent of homeowners.
Nationally, 11 percent of real estate professionals expect home values to increase in the next six months, down one percent from last quarter; 12 percent of homeowners expect home values to increase, down 3 percent from last quarter.
According to the survey, 47 percent of agents and brokers and 45 percent of homeowners think that home values will decrease over the next six months. However, agents’ attitudes have become slightly less pessimistic since the second quarter (50 percent expected price declines) even though homeowners have become more pessimistic (30 percent expected price declines).
An almost equal number of agents and homeowners expect selling prices to remain roughly the same for the next six months, with 42 percent of agents expecting the status quo to continue compared to 43 percent of homeowners.
According to agents and brokers, 75 percent of homeowners believe their homes are worth more than the agent’s recommended listing price. In contrast, 68 percent of homebuyers believe homes are overpriced.
The five states with a rising outlook about home prices – Arizona, Florida, Texas, California and Ohio – were generally hit hard by the real estate crisis and now may be bouncing back. The five top states where agents expect prices to decline include New Jersey (77 percent of agents expect a six-month price drop), Pennsylvania (75 percent), North Carolina (68 percent), Georgia (62 percent) and Virginia (58 percent).
Over 500 real estate agents and brokers and over 2,200 homeowners were surveyed.
Source: Florida Realtors®
Friday, September 16, 2011
Facebook wants to attract small businesses
Sheryl Sandberg wants to do for Facebook what she did for Google.
At Google, Sandberg served as vice president of global online sales and operations in a role that helped build the company’s money-gushing search-advertising business. Now, the chief operating officer at the world’s largest social network wants the same for Facebook. She envisions those small businesses that joined Google’s ad program spending their advertising bucks at the social-networking giant.
The advertising charge from Sandberg, a Fortune 50 listed (most powerful women in business) D.C. powerbroker, comes as the social network has swelled to some 750 million, representing an eye-popping advertising bonanza.
“My dream is really simple,” said Sandberg, 42, seated near a framed graffiti rendering of co-founder Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook’s headquarters here. “I think every small business should be using Facebook. We’re not going to stop until all of them are using it to grow their business.”
Next week, Facebook will unveil a plan to get small businesses hooked. The company plans to offer free $50 advertising credits for up to 200,000 small businesses. When a person clicks on an ad, there’s a set rate predetermined for that click through – 5 cents or 25 cents, for example – the advertiser has to pay. Facebook will pick up the tab for the first $50 of such ads delivered under its offer.
This may seem like small stuff, but it’s the core to an ad revenue strategy that could justify a monster IPO.
“Credits like that can go a long way,” she says. “For $50, most small businesses can target every single person they need to target at least once, and then they can grow their business from there.”
With Facebook, businesses can target their paid advertising with a precision not found in most other forms of advertising.
A wedding photographer, for instance, could advertise just to women in a specific ZIP code who list on Facebook that they are engaged. A movie chain could talk just to film fans.
Sandberg estimates that of the nation’s nearly 30 million small businesses, 9 million are using Facebook to speak to their customers, and “hundreds of thousands” are spending money on ad campaigns, as well.
While at Google, she used to say that about 50 percent of small businesses hadn’t bothered to make a website yet – a number she says is still in the 40 percent range.
It’s easier for small businesses to turn to Facebook, she says, because they don’t have to pay for building a site, and most people can make a Facebook page, or could learn within minutes.
Sandberg says Facebook allows businesses to interact with customers and create viral marketing campaigns. “Facebook takes word-of-mouth marketing and makes it work at scale.”
Greg Sterling, an analyst with Opus Research, says most small businesses resist using ad programs such as Facebook’s because they’re too busy running their business to devote the time.
“Facebook has multibillion (dollar) advertising potential,” he says. “But right now, small businesses don’t see the need for spending the money. They have their free page, and they’re happy with it.”
The credits will help, he says. “It gets people to at least try it.”
Sarah Loveland, owner of Daddies Board Shop, a skateboard shop in Portland, Ore., began using paid advertising with Facebook in 2010, in hopes of growing her business more quickly. She targeted fans of extreme sports and friends of those who ride skateboards and longboards. The result: She says her business shot up, and she attributes much of it to Facebook.
Small businesses could just continue with the free business pages, “but if you really want to grow, and reach a wider community, you need to have at least 10,000 fans,” says Loveland. “Once you’re there, you get tons of response every time you post something. You’re looked to as a valuable resource to the community, and sales really start to increase.”
Sandberg says the social-media giant has created 250,000 jobs – engineers, developers and others who work on Facebook-oriented projects and related social-media jobs at companies. Facebook has 3,000 employees.
“We feel really good about our contribution,” she says.
Source: USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc., Jefferson Graham
At Google, Sandberg served as vice president of global online sales and operations in a role that helped build the company’s money-gushing search-advertising business. Now, the chief operating officer at the world’s largest social network wants the same for Facebook. She envisions those small businesses that joined Google’s ad program spending their advertising bucks at the social-networking giant.
The advertising charge from Sandberg, a Fortune 50 listed (most powerful women in business) D.C. powerbroker, comes as the social network has swelled to some 750 million, representing an eye-popping advertising bonanza.
“My dream is really simple,” said Sandberg, 42, seated near a framed graffiti rendering of co-founder Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook’s headquarters here. “I think every small business should be using Facebook. We’re not going to stop until all of them are using it to grow their business.”
Next week, Facebook will unveil a plan to get small businesses hooked. The company plans to offer free $50 advertising credits for up to 200,000 small businesses. When a person clicks on an ad, there’s a set rate predetermined for that click through – 5 cents or 25 cents, for example – the advertiser has to pay. Facebook will pick up the tab for the first $50 of such ads delivered under its offer.
This may seem like small stuff, but it’s the core to an ad revenue strategy that could justify a monster IPO.
“Credits like that can go a long way,” she says. “For $50, most small businesses can target every single person they need to target at least once, and then they can grow their business from there.”
With Facebook, businesses can target their paid advertising with a precision not found in most other forms of advertising.
A wedding photographer, for instance, could advertise just to women in a specific ZIP code who list on Facebook that they are engaged. A movie chain could talk just to film fans.
Sandberg estimates that of the nation’s nearly 30 million small businesses, 9 million are using Facebook to speak to their customers, and “hundreds of thousands” are spending money on ad campaigns, as well.
While at Google, she used to say that about 50 percent of small businesses hadn’t bothered to make a website yet – a number she says is still in the 40 percent range.
It’s easier for small businesses to turn to Facebook, she says, because they don’t have to pay for building a site, and most people can make a Facebook page, or could learn within minutes.
Sandberg says Facebook allows businesses to interact with customers and create viral marketing campaigns. “Facebook takes word-of-mouth marketing and makes it work at scale.”
Greg Sterling, an analyst with Opus Research, says most small businesses resist using ad programs such as Facebook’s because they’re too busy running their business to devote the time.
“Facebook has multibillion (dollar) advertising potential,” he says. “But right now, small businesses don’t see the need for spending the money. They have their free page, and they’re happy with it.”
The credits will help, he says. “It gets people to at least try it.”
Sarah Loveland, owner of Daddies Board Shop, a skateboard shop in Portland, Ore., began using paid advertising with Facebook in 2010, in hopes of growing her business more quickly. She targeted fans of extreme sports and friends of those who ride skateboards and longboards. The result: She says her business shot up, and she attributes much of it to Facebook.
Small businesses could just continue with the free business pages, “but if you really want to grow, and reach a wider community, you need to have at least 10,000 fans,” says Loveland. “Once you’re there, you get tons of response every time you post something. You’re looked to as a valuable resource to the community, and sales really start to increase.”
Sandberg says the social-media giant has created 250,000 jobs – engineers, developers and others who work on Facebook-oriented projects and related social-media jobs at companies. Facebook has 3,000 employees.
“We feel really good about our contribution,” she says.
Source: USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc., Jefferson Graham
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Fewer Fla. buyers to qualify for FHA loan
The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) has stepped up pressure on Congress to maintain the current Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan limits, which are currently slated to drop after Sept. 30, 2011.
Starting Oct. 1, some buyers that once qualified for FHA loans – and loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – will have to consider a jumbo loan and the higher interest rate associated with it. Or they’ll consider buying a less expensive home. Or they won’t buy a home at all.
NAR has issued a Call for Action and asks all Realtor members to contact their Washington representatives and tell them how much this change will impact an already shaky real estate market. While NAR continues to talk to lawmakers, few things catch Congressional reps’ attention like an email inbox filled with testimonials from thousands of the people who elect them to office and fund their political campaigns.
“It is with a sense of urgency and purpose that we ask you to contact Congress today,” NAR says in its Call for Action. “Communicate clearly and as a powerful voice of expertise that a housing recovery depends on keeping mortgages affordable. Congress needs to prevent these higher (FHA) loan limits from taking effect.”
Each Realtor voice counts. Help your clients buy a home by taking part in NAR’s Call for Action through the Realtor Action Center.
Source: Florida Realtors®
Starting Oct. 1, some buyers that once qualified for FHA loans – and loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – will have to consider a jumbo loan and the higher interest rate associated with it. Or they’ll consider buying a less expensive home. Or they won’t buy a home at all.
NAR has issued a Call for Action and asks all Realtor members to contact their Washington representatives and tell them how much this change will impact an already shaky real estate market. While NAR continues to talk to lawmakers, few things catch Congressional reps’ attention like an email inbox filled with testimonials from thousands of the people who elect them to office and fund their political campaigns.
“It is with a sense of urgency and purpose that we ask you to contact Congress today,” NAR says in its Call for Action. “Communicate clearly and as a powerful voice of expertise that a housing recovery depends on keeping mortgages affordable. Congress needs to prevent these higher (FHA) loan limits from taking effect.”
Each Realtor voice counts. Help your clients buy a home by taking part in NAR’s Call for Action through the Realtor Action Center.
Source: Florida Realtors®
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
New Facebook Tool Sorts Friends into Lists
Facebook announced on Tuesday a new application that automatically puts your “friends” into lists, such as in categories of work, school, and family, aimed at making it easier to sort and share content to targeted audiences.
While Facebook has had a Friend Lists tool for a while, the tool has been revamped to be easier to use by automatically creating on your behalf “smart lists” of your coworkers, family, and people who live near you. You can also assign your connections to lists of “close friends” -- in which posts will appear more frequently in your news feeds -- or “acquaintances,” whose posts will appear less often. (Close friends and acquaintances will need to be sorted manually.).
Facebook also added a "restricted" list, which some of your connections will only get to see your public posts.
The new feature comes at a time when Facebook faces growing competition from Google+, which centers on “circles” that allow you to sort connections into different groups.
"The more you can make your life on Facebook organized into different spheres of your life without a huge amount of work on your part, the more useful it becomes," Charlene Li, a partner with the Altimeter Group, told The Wall Street Journal.
Source: “Facebook to Organize Friends into Lists,” The Wall Street Journal (Sept. 13, 2011)
While Facebook has had a Friend Lists tool for a while, the tool has been revamped to be easier to use by automatically creating on your behalf “smart lists” of your coworkers, family, and people who live near you. You can also assign your connections to lists of “close friends” -- in which posts will appear more frequently in your news feeds -- or “acquaintances,” whose posts will appear less often. (Close friends and acquaintances will need to be sorted manually.).
Facebook also added a "restricted" list, which some of your connections will only get to see your public posts.
The new feature comes at a time when Facebook faces growing competition from Google+, which centers on “circles” that allow you to sort connections into different groups.
"The more you can make your life on Facebook organized into different spheres of your life without a huge amount of work on your part, the more useful it becomes," Charlene Li, a partner with the Altimeter Group, told The Wall Street Journal.
Source: “Facebook to Organize Friends into Lists,” The Wall Street Journal (Sept. 13, 2011)
Google’s applications infiltrate mobile devices
Is Google everywhere, or what? Its free applications for smartphones reflect the reach of its tentacles and include Google Earth, Google+, Google Places, Google Books, Google Latitude, Google Shopper, and Google TV Remote. The last is for use with Google TV devices.
Google Voice, for Android, iPhone and BlackBerry, takes my calls, sometimes with hilarious results. I got this recent voice message, as transcribed by the app:
“Hey Reid, it’s Steve they were. … I left the message was too. But I guess you guys on your phone, or your Truman or something sees it.
And I swear that Steve usually makes sense. So the app has its drawbacks. Still, I like it.
Google Voice works as an alternative phone system on your smartphone. Set it up, and it will take your missed calls and relay the recorded messages by e-mail, along with a transcript that may or may not be decipherable, depending on the quality of the original connection.
There’s a wide range of things Google Voice will do, including make calls and send texts over the Internet instead of using your allotted cellphone minutes. And it can be used to make cheap international calls. If you get a Google phone number when you sign up, you can set it to ring multiple phones at the same time.
Google Translate now includes 58 languages for typed translations. Or, you can speak into the smartphone in any of 15 languages to get a translation, and listen to translations in 23 languages.
In “settings” there are choices for many language variants, such as the Argentine, Latin American, Mexican or European versions of Spanish. Tap the star to save words and phrases that you expect to need to refer to again.
Google Search bypasses the smartphone’s built-in browser. You can tap the microphone icon and speak search terms into the phone. And you can save or share any result quickly by e-mail.
Search includes the spiffy Google Goggles within the iPhone app, but Goggles is a separate app download for Android.
Goggles is a search function that lets you take a picture of a landmark, a book cover or a bar code and start a Web search or online shopping trip.
An advertised search feature that I didn’t try even helps solve Sudoku puzzles, and the app translates text from several major languages.
Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer, Reid Kanaley. Distributed by MCT Information Services.
Google Voice, for Android, iPhone and BlackBerry, takes my calls, sometimes with hilarious results. I got this recent voice message, as transcribed by the app:
“Hey Reid, it’s Steve they were. … I left the message was too. But I guess you guys on your phone, or your Truman or something sees it.
And I swear that Steve usually makes sense. So the app has its drawbacks. Still, I like it.
Google Voice works as an alternative phone system on your smartphone. Set it up, and it will take your missed calls and relay the recorded messages by e-mail, along with a transcript that may or may not be decipherable, depending on the quality of the original connection.
There’s a wide range of things Google Voice will do, including make calls and send texts over the Internet instead of using your allotted cellphone minutes. And it can be used to make cheap international calls. If you get a Google phone number when you sign up, you can set it to ring multiple phones at the same time.
Google Translate now includes 58 languages for typed translations. Or, you can speak into the smartphone in any of 15 languages to get a translation, and listen to translations in 23 languages.
In “settings” there are choices for many language variants, such as the Argentine, Latin American, Mexican or European versions of Spanish. Tap the star to save words and phrases that you expect to need to refer to again.
Google Search bypasses the smartphone’s built-in browser. You can tap the microphone icon and speak search terms into the phone. And you can save or share any result quickly by e-mail.
Search includes the spiffy Google Goggles within the iPhone app, but Goggles is a separate app download for Android.
Goggles is a search function that lets you take a picture of a landmark, a book cover or a bar code and start a Web search or online shopping trip.
An advertised search feature that I didn’t try even helps solve Sudoku puzzles, and the app translates text from several major languages.
Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer, Reid Kanaley. Distributed by MCT Information Services.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Stay Profitable with a Budget and Goals
The economic crisis and the housing downturn have put a damper on realty firms' profitability, and many are having trouble shifting to new business models.
Experts say the housing boom enabled agents and brokers to operate inefficiently, but falling home prices have since put downward pressure on commission income and forced them to pay closer attention to their operations.
In order to remain profitable, experts say firms need to create a budget and impose reasonable goals for themselves and their agents. They should make generating profits a primary goal, which can be accomplished by developing separate budgets for the company and its agents and budgeting to turn a profit. By giving agents goals, they will be motivated to succeed and to communicate regularly with the brokerage. A SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunity, Threats) analysis is important to ensure that goals are being met, flagging big outstanding expenses and other potential problem areas and reviewing the budget every quarter.
Among other things, brokerages need to track the coming and going of funds by monitoring deals; track the success of each agent to ensure they are profitable, which will boost the company's profitability in turn; and consider partnering with a firm like Lone Wolf, which offers brokerWOLF and WOLFconnect to boost office efficiency by managing accounting and back office functions.
Source: "Don’t Lose Focus: Generating Profits and Creating a Budget With Realistic Goals Should Be Priority No. 1," RISMedia (09/11/11)
Experts say the housing boom enabled agents and brokers to operate inefficiently, but falling home prices have since put downward pressure on commission income and forced them to pay closer attention to their operations.
In order to remain profitable, experts say firms need to create a budget and impose reasonable goals for themselves and their agents. They should make generating profits a primary goal, which can be accomplished by developing separate budgets for the company and its agents and budgeting to turn a profit. By giving agents goals, they will be motivated to succeed and to communicate regularly with the brokerage. A SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunity, Threats) analysis is important to ensure that goals are being met, flagging big outstanding expenses and other potential problem areas and reviewing the budget every quarter.
Among other things, brokerages need to track the coming and going of funds by monitoring deals; track the success of each agent to ensure they are profitable, which will boost the company's profitability in turn; and consider partnering with a firm like Lone Wolf, which offers brokerWOLF and WOLFconnect to boost office efficiency by managing accounting and back office functions.
Source: "Don’t Lose Focus: Generating Profits and Creating a Budget With Realistic Goals Should Be Priority No. 1," RISMedia (09/11/11)
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Accessories turn iPhone into a fancy camera
There may be an iPhone 5 waiting in the wings, but that hasn’t stopped Kogeto founder Jeff Glasse from preparing to release in the coming weeks his Dot accessory, which slips over the iPhone 4 to provide a 360-degree view on videos and photos.
With more than 125 million iPhone owners, there’s a huge and growing market for Dot and others.
Dot proposes to turn the iPhone from a cool camera that happens to be in your pocket to one that starts to resemble professional equipment.
But Kogeto isn’t alone in courting iPhone users.
Photojojo, a photo accessory site, offers a $249 DSLR connector to hook lenses from your digital SLR directly to the iPhone.
Then there’s Owle’s Bubo steadicam setup that makes your images steadier and has the tools to attach a wide-angle lens. It’s one of many similar grips, which are most noticeable in videos.
Camera accessories are a slice of the iPhone accessories market, which is estimated to be a $500 million category for 2011 by researcher NPD Group.
“People love their iPhone. It’s the digital Swiss Army knife of our time,” says Glasse. “I can chart my boat from the iPhone, use it for GPS in the car, as a book reader. And for many people, it’s now their primary camera.”
Here’s a closer look at some of the many iPhone camera accessories:
• Kogeto’s Dot costs $79. Glasse recommends putting the iPhone with the Dot on a table at a party to capture everything in a different way.
• Photojojo’s iPhone SLR Mount lets you attach Canon or Nikon lenses over your iPhone for moody shots that throw the background out of focus or dramatically zoom in on the action.
Tip: Once it’s attached to the iPhone, everything will look weird – or upside-down. To fix, you’ll need to download the $1.99 Almost DSLR app.
• Owle’s $150 Bubo camera mount fits over the iPhone, giving photographers a nice grip on all sides of the camera for a steadier, more stabilized image and a wide-angle attachment that goes over the camera for a wider view of the world.
• Zacuto, best known for its line of rigs for DSLRs, has a line of steady rigs for the iPhone as well, starting at $121.
The Point N Shoot Grip, for instance, sits the iPhone horizontally across a pistol grip to provide steadier shooting.
ZoomIt Memory Card Connector solves the problem of a full iPhone memory card and no time to delete. The ZoomIt lets you slip its attachment into the iPhone’s 30-pin connector, adding an SD memory card. This can boost iPhone memory instantly.
Gary Fong, a photographer who makes lighting accessories, has two iPhone 4 tripod connectors. His $19.95 adapter slips the iPhone 4 onto a tripod, while the $39.99 Flip-Cage model is a little platform for sticking the iPhone on a surface such as a table for eye-level group shots.
Terry White, a prominent photography blogger and co-author of The iPhone Book, has seen many of the rigs out there and prefers the ones that steady the image.
“There’s no way I’d get the Photojojo DSLR mount,” he says. “If you’re going to attach a lens to the iPhone, then you might as well carry a DSLR. Because the iPhone is going to be really heavy, and you lose the advantage of having a light camera that happens to be in your pocket.”
The steadying camera rigs and their tripod mounts let you get into the shot for a family picture and give you a better image for video, providing advantages, he says.
White, who often lectures on photography, says the iPhone is always his camera of choice when on the road. “If I pass by something in the moment, I pull out the iPhone, not my DSLR. It’s just easier with the iPhone.”
The iPhone camera became commonly used with the release of 2010’s iPhone 4, which offered a sharper camera than previous versions, with a 5-megapixel sensor, up from 3 megapixels on the previous model.
For the iPhone 5, expected to be introduced in October, the camera is expected to jump up a few more notches, to one with an 8-megapixel sensor.
“A lot of Android cameras have 8 megapixels,” says White. “That’s really the standard now, and Apple has to catch up.”
Source: USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc., Jefferson Graham
With more than 125 million iPhone owners, there’s a huge and growing market for Dot and others.
Dot proposes to turn the iPhone from a cool camera that happens to be in your pocket to one that starts to resemble professional equipment.
But Kogeto isn’t alone in courting iPhone users.
Photojojo, a photo accessory site, offers a $249 DSLR connector to hook lenses from your digital SLR directly to the iPhone.
Then there’s Owle’s Bubo steadicam setup that makes your images steadier and has the tools to attach a wide-angle lens. It’s one of many similar grips, which are most noticeable in videos.
Camera accessories are a slice of the iPhone accessories market, which is estimated to be a $500 million category for 2011 by researcher NPD Group.
“People love their iPhone. It’s the digital Swiss Army knife of our time,” says Glasse. “I can chart my boat from the iPhone, use it for GPS in the car, as a book reader. And for many people, it’s now their primary camera.”
Here’s a closer look at some of the many iPhone camera accessories:
• Kogeto’s Dot costs $79. Glasse recommends putting the iPhone with the Dot on a table at a party to capture everything in a different way.
• Photojojo’s iPhone SLR Mount lets you attach Canon or Nikon lenses over your iPhone for moody shots that throw the background out of focus or dramatically zoom in on the action.
Tip: Once it’s attached to the iPhone, everything will look weird – or upside-down. To fix, you’ll need to download the $1.99 Almost DSLR app.
• Owle’s $150 Bubo camera mount fits over the iPhone, giving photographers a nice grip on all sides of the camera for a steadier, more stabilized image and a wide-angle attachment that goes over the camera for a wider view of the world.
• Zacuto, best known for its line of rigs for DSLRs, has a line of steady rigs for the iPhone as well, starting at $121.
The Point N Shoot Grip, for instance, sits the iPhone horizontally across a pistol grip to provide steadier shooting.
ZoomIt Memory Card Connector solves the problem of a full iPhone memory card and no time to delete. The ZoomIt lets you slip its attachment into the iPhone’s 30-pin connector, adding an SD memory card. This can boost iPhone memory instantly.
Gary Fong, a photographer who makes lighting accessories, has two iPhone 4 tripod connectors. His $19.95 adapter slips the iPhone 4 onto a tripod, while the $39.99 Flip-Cage model is a little platform for sticking the iPhone on a surface such as a table for eye-level group shots.
Terry White, a prominent photography blogger and co-author of The iPhone Book, has seen many of the rigs out there and prefers the ones that steady the image.
“There’s no way I’d get the Photojojo DSLR mount,” he says. “If you’re going to attach a lens to the iPhone, then you might as well carry a DSLR. Because the iPhone is going to be really heavy, and you lose the advantage of having a light camera that happens to be in your pocket.”
The steadying camera rigs and their tripod mounts let you get into the shot for a family picture and give you a better image for video, providing advantages, he says.
White, who often lectures on photography, says the iPhone is always his camera of choice when on the road. “If I pass by something in the moment, I pull out the iPhone, not my DSLR. It’s just easier with the iPhone.”
The iPhone camera became commonly used with the release of 2010’s iPhone 4, which offered a sharper camera than previous versions, with a 5-megapixel sensor, up from 3 megapixels on the previous model.
For the iPhone 5, expected to be introduced in October, the camera is expected to jump up a few more notches, to one with an 8-megapixel sensor.
“A lot of Android cameras have 8 megapixels,” says White. “That’s really the standard now, and Apple has to catch up.”
Source: USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc., Jefferson Graham
Friday, September 2, 2011
Add Neighborhood Web Appeal to Lure Buyers
Featuring neighborhoods on your Web site can help give you the marketing edge, according to an article at RISMedia written by Tricia Andreassen, CEO and founder of Pro Step Marketing.
Andreassen suggests giving each neighborhood you target in your market its own page on your Web site or even its own domain name. For example, she points to one example: bradkorb.com/magnolia_park. Or, she says, real estate pros can purchase a specific neighborhood domain name, such as www.NameOfNeighborhoodListings.com, that can then be highlighted throughout their marketing.
Also, she suggests buying a separate domain name specifically to use for market updates or “hot properties” new to the market in that neighborhood you’re targeting. Domain names to tailor to your market like http://www.your-areamarketupdates.com/ or http://www.neighborhoodnamelistingalerts.com/ could be used to provide details on active listings and allow visitors to sign up for free listing alerts.
You also also use neighborhood outreach to draw in sellers too. Andreassen suggests buying a domain name to your market like http://www.yourareahomevalues.com/, which allows home owners to fill out a CMA request form to find out what’s selling in their neighboorhood.
Read more of Andreassen’s ideas on farming neighborhoods.
Source: “6 Web Strategies for Working Neighborhoods,” RISMedia
Andreassen suggests giving each neighborhood you target in your market its own page on your Web site or even its own domain name. For example, she points to one example: bradkorb.com/magnolia_park. Or, she says, real estate pros can purchase a specific neighborhood domain name, such as www.NameOfNeighborhoodListings.com, that can then be highlighted throughout their marketing.
Also, she suggests buying a separate domain name specifically to use for market updates or “hot properties” new to the market in that neighborhood you’re targeting. Domain names to tailor to your market like http://www.your-areamarketupdates.com/ or http://www.neighborhoodnamelistingalerts.com/ could be used to provide details on active listings and allow visitors to sign up for free listing alerts.
You also also use neighborhood outreach to draw in sellers too. Andreassen suggests buying a domain name to your market like http://www.yourareahomevalues.com/, which allows home owners to fill out a CMA request form to find out what’s selling in their neighboorhood.
Read more of Andreassen’s ideas on farming neighborhoods.
Source: “6 Web Strategies for Working Neighborhoods,” RISMedia
Thursday, September 1, 2011
More Americans embrace smartphones
About 35 percent of Americans aged 13 and older who use mobile devices now have a smartphone, according to new data by market analysis firm ComScore. The number of people who have smartphones increased 10 percent in July to 82.2 million people.
And Google Android is taking the lead in the U.S. smartphone market.
ComScore’s data from July shows that Android devices accounted for about 42 percent of the smartphone user base in the country – that’s up from 36 percent three months prior. Meanwhile, Apple only slightly increased its share during the three-month time period ending in July, from 26 percent to 27 percent.
Research in Motion’s Blackberry platform continues to lose ground, dropping 4 percentage points in that three-month period to 21.7 percent of the market. Microsoft and Symbian also continue to see their market share decrease too.
Here are the following top smartphone platforms and the market share of smartphone subscribers they boast, according to ComScore’s July data:
Google: 41.8%
Apple: 27%
RIM: 21.7%
Microsoft: 5.7%
Symbian: 1.9%
Source: “Smartphones: Android Pulling Away From the Pack,” Forbes.com (Aug. 30, 2011) and “Number of Smartphone Users Jumps 10 percent,” Inman News (Aug. 30, 2011)
And Google Android is taking the lead in the U.S. smartphone market.
ComScore’s data from July shows that Android devices accounted for about 42 percent of the smartphone user base in the country – that’s up from 36 percent three months prior. Meanwhile, Apple only slightly increased its share during the three-month time period ending in July, from 26 percent to 27 percent.
Research in Motion’s Blackberry platform continues to lose ground, dropping 4 percentage points in that three-month period to 21.7 percent of the market. Microsoft and Symbian also continue to see their market share decrease too.
Here are the following top smartphone platforms and the market share of smartphone subscribers they boast, according to ComScore’s July data:
Google: 41.8%
Apple: 27%
RIM: 21.7%
Microsoft: 5.7%
Symbian: 1.9%
Source: “Smartphones: Android Pulling Away From the Pack,” Forbes.com (Aug. 30, 2011) and “Number of Smartphone Users Jumps 10 percent,” Inman News (Aug. 30, 2011)
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