Author Archive

I don’t know what took ATT and Verizon so long to bring unlimited plans to their phone platforms, but I’m glad to see it. Business users burn through minutes all of the time and it’s great to see limitations removed starting February 22nd. Before you get too excited, I wanted to point out some key differences on the ATT plan since I know some iPhone users who got excited over the recent announcement. Breakdown of the new ATT Unlimited Plan The $99 unlimited plan applies … Read More »

I receive the Luxury Insights newsletter from the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing each week. They recently created a members-only Facebook Group for social networking as well as a group on Linked In. I plan to expand my market this year, so signed up for the Luxury Home Marketing Certification class. I have been pretty impressed with how responsive the Luxury Home Marketing Institute has been with incorporating blogs and social networking into their efforts. The main website can use updating, but their Luxury Home … Read More »

During Friday’s after-hours announcement, CompUSA announced a buyout from Gordon Brothers Group, which will liquidate CompUSA assets and close the remaining hundred+ stores. CompUSA cited competition from Best Buy, Frys, and Circuit City as their reason for dwindling returns. Mexican Billionaire Carlos Slim, currently operates the failed retail store. Unfortunately for CompUSA workers, the electronics chain slowly degraded in many areas since the late 90s. If you’re a geek, you understand why the remaining CompUSA stores are to close their doors for good in 2008. … Read More »

Do you know what to get your favorite Geek this holiday season? I know, I know. Thanksgiving isn’t even here yet and I’m already talking about holiday presents, but hear me out. If you’re like me and most of my geek friends, you’ve become complacent with your holiday wish list. When asked what you want for the holidays, you’re likely to say, “I don’t really need anything”, “Whatever you want to give is fine”, or “A gift certificate to Amazon.com, Best Buy, Apple.com, etc. works”. … Read More »

I was notified of the upcoming Top Producer 8i website today. I’d heard rumors that agents were testing Top Producer 8i Beta earlier this summer, but never received full details on the differences in the new version. The Top Producer team seems to be integrating their tool with a great deal of vendors, which is key if agents want to be productive.  A few popular real estate applications that automatically send leads to your Top Producer 7i Database include BuyerAcquire, Realtor.com and Rainmaker E-central. Top … Read More »

Looks like REALTOR.com has caught onto the web 2.o wave by implementing some site updates and new features. You can see video tours that showcase the recent changes at TourtheNewRealtor.com. I must say that I like the updates and think you will enjoy them. They include: A Redesigned Home Page “Count on the Fly” Search Results Individual REALTOR® Blogs Easier Site Navigation Ability to Save Listings and Custom Searches A Realtor.com Widget that works on PDAs and Cell Phones. New Listing Detail Page with neighborhood … Read More »

The Austin Board of REALTORS® has been investing in some very cool technologies lately. We’re currently transitioning over to MLXchange, which is pretty awesome because it has features that include contact management, agent websites, client gateway pages, etc. So we’re on the same page, Client Gateways are simple sites that you can easily set up for clients via your MLS (such as TEMPO or MLXChange) that allow clients to view, save and make notes on properties. Most client gateways have great capabilities that can save … Read More »

First, I have to say that I’m not the biggest fan of the Treo as a PDA. As a Mac user, I’ve sworn my heart to the new Apple iPod touch. I just couldn’t bear to switch to the iPhone due to the super-slow AT&T network. TOP PRODUCER That said, I do like the integration of my Treo 650 with several real estate applications. For instance, the Treo will sync to my Top Producer database using the mobility upgrade. I have listings, closings, appointments and … Read More »

I’ve been testing the waters with various tools to create online slideshows for my listings, but also as a way to enhance the visual appeal of my blog. After a fair amount of searching, I settled on Slideshare.net. It’s very easy to use because you can just upload a power point presentation (PDF export from Apple Keynote for Mac users). If you’d like to add audio, simply point to the file on the net and use their online tool to match it up. The very … Read More »

I had the pleasure of interviewing Dylan Schleppe, Austin entrepreneur who launched DriveBuy, a real estate tool that allows home buyers to quickly and efficiently get detailed listing information by simply sending a text message from their cell phones. I’ve been using Dylan’s system for some time now and love the ease of use. See our Blip.tv video podcast (embedded below) for more information about Dylan’s background, features of DriveBuy and some hot tips for agents. TOP FEATURES Buyers get instant information on properties via … Read More »