Outer Banks Real Estate

New Video Hosting service with some great features.

There is a new video upload service that has some great features for personal and business applications (think you tube or google video on steroids).  Clean interface, great features - I could go on and on but why don't you see for yourself.  The following two clips are about the coolest toy getting ready to hit the market - the iPhone.  If you have seen the ads, you must admit that Apple always gets an A+ for their marketing:

In case you missed the cool features of Viddler, play it again and look towards the bottom of the screen.  It is hard to do because the iPhone is so cool.  There you will see tags that can be placed by yourself or others viewing the movie.  As soon as I saw this, I thought about the benefits to Realtors in showing their listings.  They could keep their commentary to a minimum when doing a video walk through or still shots using the Ken Burns effect and add a ton of information for those viewing the home.

Here is a funny follow up video to the one listed above.

 

It is easy to sign up for your free viddler account - you can then quickly start uploading video and adding tags and comments. 

iPhone almost here

Not a bad idea.  You should wait until it is released on June 29th.

Blogging Ethics and Pay Per Post

There is a troubling trend growing in the blogoshpere (I really hate using that term but as my old boss used to say - It is what it is).  There are a number of companies offering bloggers money to write about their products or services.  It is called Pay Per Post and it comes in a few flavors.  Some services will pay as little as $5 to write a short blurb with a link while others offer $50 and up to write a positive, neutral or negative tone about a product or service. 

I subscribe to a number of Google Alerts to keep up with what others are writing about the Outer Banks.  The news media has been hot on inflated gasoline prices lately and I even wrote a post in response to a blogger about the actual economic impact of higher prices at the pump on those making the trek to the Outer Banks this summer.  I found another article by History Mike claiming his family cannot make the trip because of the extra $150 he would have to spend on gas (accurate estimate if he was driving a Winnebago towing a car).  I was ready to dispute his claim about the true cost and then I noticed his Pay Per Post link on his page.  Was History Mike really considering bagging the trip to the coast because of higher gas prices or was he looking for a reason to link to local businesses for money?  After a few comments History Mike wrote another post titled On Blog Advertising and Double Standards about the backlash he is receiving from what he considers blog purist. 

Here are some additional views on Pay Per Post from those that really know what they are talking about:

Jeff Jarvis from Buzz Machine likes the idea correction - Jeff doesn't like it either.  Sorry about that.  Jeff likes the idea of employers paying employees to blog.  I tried to find a good argument supporting pay per post but most were:  Why not, everyone else does it...  You can't be blamed for trying to make money...
Dan Shanoff from the Huffington Post really does not like the idea
Tom Hespos from iMedia Connection is against the idea
Marshall Kirkpatrick from Techcrunch writes about PayPerPost

I read an article in Inc. Magazine by David Freedman about people being sued for content in their blog or website.  I would think long and hard before I wrote a negative article through pay per post.  While you might pocket $50, you will probably be adding your name to the court docket.  I understand why people are using blogs for dollars.  The platform is probably the best way to get rankings in the search engine results.  The bottom line is that pay per post is not for me.   

Google Gears allows for offline access via your browser

Google is branching into the offline world.  They recently released Google Gears in beta which will allow offline access to Google Reader Feeds.  The rumors are that GMail and Google Docs are to be added soon. 

Internet Safety Presentation for Parents

Detective Brian Strickland from the Kitty Hawk Police Department will be conducting a seminar aimed at informing parents about the dangers posed to children and teens online.  The seminar is free to the public. 

What:  Internet Safety Seminar for Parents
When:  June 12, 2007 from 7:00PM to 8:00PM
Where:  Kitty Hawk Town Hall (map)

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Detective Strickland at 252-261-3895 or email kbstrickland@co.dare.nc.us.  You can find additional resources about internet safety at the NetSmartz website.

Google Maps New Tool

Google Maps recently added another cool feature to their mapping program.  Click to Call allows you to have Google automatically connect you with a business phone.  Simply click the call hyperlink, enter your number and the service connects the two.  Consider how easy this makes it for someone doing research on a place to go for a vacation - say the Outer Banks.  Pull up Google Maps and search for a business "Rental Homes" and location "Outer Banks".  You will then see a map with lots of businesses that specialize in just that. 

I wonder if the next step will be to offer the same for individuals. 

Google 411 free service

Google continues to add valuable services to consumers.  Do you get tired of paying high fees for directory assistance (especially on your mobile phone)?  Google has released a beta version of their free 411 service.  The number is 800-goog411 (800-466-4411) and it offers some great features.  Once you have identified a business, the system automatically connects you.  You can also say "text message" and google will send you a text message with the business address and phone number.

The service is currently only offering business listings but one can hope residential will be added in the future.  You can go to their website for additional information. 

Another service to get your listings on the Web

The folks at realbird posted a comment on my post about listing services.  It seems that they offer some of the same features as vFlyer and have also included links to another listing service I was not aware of - Vast.  Vast had quite a few listings for Outer Banks Real Estate.  They are also a fellow typepad blogger.  With the growing number of sites available, it really doesn't make sense to go it alone and try to post to each service.  The price seems right - $ 89 per year for unlimited postings can't be a bad thing.

Online sites to list your property

Real Estate Listing sites have gotten a lot of press lately.   The list keeps growing and so do the features.  Here is a sample with links to each site.  I tried to link each site to the current listings for Nags Head NC. 

Google Base
Trulia
Zillow
Oodle
Edgeio
PropSmart
Craigslist
Live Expo

There are regional sites such as redfin and shackprices that have some awesome features - they will probably roll out nationwide in the future.  Backpage is similar to Craigslist but does not currently have a section for the Outer Banks. 

There are services such as vFlyer that will post your listing to a few of the sites listed above.  WellcomMat make it easy to post your virtual tour to Craigslist.  Realtors advertising with Homes and Land will also post listings to many of the sites listed above.   

Check them out and let leave a comment on the ones you like, the ones you don't and why. 

vFlyer - Get your listings on the web!

vFlyer is a new program that allows Realtors to create good looking flyers for your listings.  One of the huge benefits is that it automatically sends the listings to Craigslist, Edgeio and Oodle for free.  If you think that is an easy task, read what Robbie Paplin went through at Rain City Guide to create a program to upload their listings to some of these sites. 

Our market today is all about getting information to the consumer.  Dave Halliwill from Real Estate Internet Technology wrote an interesting post and created a diagram of how their local MLS system worked and the feeds were published to other listing services.  It looks like a complicated way of delivering the goods to the important ones - the consumer.