Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Catching Up

As I’ve said before, when busy it’s hard to keep up with blogging when you’re busy. If it’s not a scheduled priority it can easily get pushed aside, which is what happened with me. When not working on paid articles I’ve been wrapping up my first ebook and companion website, a guide to Essential Technology for Mobile Professionals, like those of you in real estate. More on that in a future post.

While on the topic of ebooks, here’s a freebie you amy want to take a look at: “Think twice before you sign anything again: 12 Business Cases for Digital Signatures” It’s a free pdf from digital signature solutions vendor Arx. If you’re not yet well versed in the advantages of digital signatures, it does a good job outlining the cost savings and efficiency gained by migrating to digital signatures for contracts and documents.

Since my last entry, Apple did unveil its much anticipated tablet, appropriately called the iPad. I held off writing about it immediately because, unlike the Nexus, it won’t be in stores for a while.


First impression: Too early to tell how practical it will be for real estate and other mobile professions until the working version is out. But for the home, or office, the concept seems a winner to me: a hand held window on he world of digital content. I expect this or something like it will one day be as a common a fixture as the telephone of old, reliability and expectedly there when you need it, whatever your purpose. More after it’s actual release. For now I’d hold off pre-ordering it as a mobile tool until there’s a chance for a little hands-on experience in your local Apple store.

Short takes
I get releases and pitches from start-up and smaller companies on a regular basis as they try to spread the word out about new products and services.When possible,I pass them along to alert you to solutions which may be of help. No quid pro quo, just putting some information out there to help them generate some interest....

Fabusend offers what it calls a “smart letterhead” solution for customized email. Features include cutomizable email letterheads with graphics and interactive links, with built-in tracking capabilities so you know who or when your messages were read. An annual subscription for individual users starts at $199...Ebroker House has developed a Web-based business management solution for agents and brokers. Includes online tools for managing contacts, listings, offers, reimbursemnts, documents,etc. They’re offering a 30-day free tial, then subscriptions start at $29.99/month...If you’d rather read than listen to voice mail messages, Phonetag automatically converts voicemail to text or email, then forwarding it to your cell, smartphone or account. Try it for free for a week. An unlimited monthly plan cots $29.95....LoopNet has lauched an iPhone app for commercial real estate searches. It uses the on the iPhone’s built-n GPS locating capabilities to retrieve info on area commercial real estate in the U.S. and Canada.