Thursday, March 18, 2010

Video Tour Insight...and more

In my meanderings around the Web I came across something I missed before, but might be of interest to those of you who are or have been considering using video tours to promote property.

Back in November, real estate video hosting service WellcomeMat commissioned and published its Real Estate Video Report, a survey on use of video in real estate. It’s available for free download here.

One key finding: 89 percent of respondents reported their use of video gives them the edge when competing with other agents or brokers for listings.

The report is well worth a look by any Realtor® wondering about video’s importance to your future.

Some Briefs: On the subject of tours, easypano, makers of TourWeaver, has created a tour building/hosting site, Hosting 360 Tour. The $29.95 monthly subscription covers an unlimited number of tools, includes tools for stitching together 360º panoramic images, and tours can be posted directly to Realtor.com... Influx Software has released Projection cash flow analysis software for commercial real estate. It’s available in versions for Mac and PC,
along with the company’s Influx Toolkit of Excel-based spread sheets for commercial real estate...Last week DocuSign unveiled a special Realtor-branded version of its electronic signature solution. DocuSign Realtor® Edition allows subscribers to use Realtor branded signatures, email templates and a special dashboard to manage their electronic documents. It’s also supports electronic signing on all popular smartphone platforms.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Mobile Essentials

I’ve put together a guide I hope will give many of you the understanding of the technology’s latest tools and how they can empower you in the field. Essential Technology for Mobile Professionals is my first ebook, and fifth book, and available for download here for $7.99.

I’d like to make it clear up front this guide was not written for the tech savvy real estate professional. You already know the how and why of today’s tools.

Rather, I developed this book for new comers and seasoned pros looking for a solid grounding in today’s tools and how they can empower your career, boost productivity and improve client services. Each chapter covers a specific tool, and explains its use, value, key features and evaluation points when shopping that particular solution. In my correspondence with readers over the years I’ve found that’s exactly the kind of advice many need, but can’t always adequately provide with so much to cover in limited editorial space.

Since technology move so fast, it’s impossible for any book to provide up-to-the-minute information on the latest announcements. So, I’ve tried to complement the broad information in the book with the RealTechToolswebsite. Click on any of the chapter headings there and you’ll find a page with links to Web resources such as product news, reviews, and manufacturer sites for that topic.

This is the best way I know to complement the work I do for Realtor. And, as a writer, it’s an experiment to see what kind of future there is in ebook publishing.

Please take a look, and thanks.