Back in the old days when when smart phones were so dumb they only had one camera and most tablets required a pencil instead of a battery, a different kind of event debuted in San Francisco. July 2008 marked the very first, Real Estate Barcamp or reBarcamp.

If you’re not familiar with the concept, I suggest starting at the barcamp.org web site, and while it’s in need of an update and a little TLC, rebarcamp.com can give you some insight as well. Since that first event in ’08, hundreds of rebc’s have taken place in markets of all sizes and in some cases, internationally.

Andy Kaufmann, an awesome re professional in the SF bay area came up with the idea to put a real estate angle to the idea of “user generated” conferences. A great group of people rallied around Andy to organize, including your’s truly. It was an out of the park homer. It was so much fun watching people mill around before the event. Most had confused looks of concern that perhaps they were in the wrong place. They asked one another questions and posited what it was they were about to experience. At the end of the day they were very different people. Energized, empowered with shared ideas and the feeling of accomplishment that comes with breaking out of your comfort zone and sharing with others. Ready to take on all comers.

One of the biggest perception issues with reBarcamp is the notion that they are technology events that speak to nothing but the latest and greatest thing that buzzes, whirs or beeps. The topics discussed at the events vary considerably. A good example of that variety came in the form of a real estate consumer that showed up at the 2nd event in Houston. He read about, understood the concept and felt compelled to share some unique insight to financing that many of the mortgage professionals in attendance were unaware of.

Literally or figuratively, the agenda for reBarcamp isn’t owned by anyone and that’s as it should be. The downside to that has allowed some events to be nothing more than table top trade shows with traditional conference sessions. In some cases the brand was just hijacked to create events with paid attendance and expensive sponsorships.

By and large, reBarcamps are a big success for the local organizers, companies and attendees that take the time to do it right. Tell us about your experiences with REBC.

A few of the more notable features of the iPad 2

• A dual-core 1 GHz “system on a chip” A5 processor
• Thin to win – at .34″ It’s thinner than an iPhone 4
• Front and rear facing cameras for video, stills and Facetime video conferencing
• 3 Axis gyroscope
• Faster graphics processor
• Video Mirroring. Using a Digital AV or Apple VGA adapter with projectors or HDTV
• Prices remain the same as iPad 1
• White or Black. Both shipping March 11

iOS upgrade 4.3
(Apple’s mobile specific operating system available 3/11)

• Air Play Enhancements. Stream wirelessly to HDTV and Home Sound System
• iTunes home sharing. Share all iTunes content over Wi-Fi
• Personal hotspot for iPhone 4, share connection with 4 devices

New Apple iPad Apps

• iMovie video production built for iPad
• Garage Band music creation built for iPad

Cool New “Smart Cover”

A polyurethane ($39) or leather ($69) cover in 5 colors each. Designed at the same time as the device, the cover uses magnets to align itself on the screen and features a micro fiber lining that cleans the screen as it’s opened and closed. The cover folds to be used as an angled keyboard stand or upright as a video or presentation stand.

Those opting to purchase the Wi-Fi and 3G connected versions will be able to get service through Verizon or AT&T.

Magical Market Share

I think taken in its entirety, the competition still has a long and hard market share battle. Apple’s combination of hardware, operating system and app availability give them a beach head. Apple’s ability to rapidly innovate and produce will keep most competitors in the also ran category.

iPad 2 & The Real Estate Professional

Video Blogging

Using this device to shoot and edit video would seem a bit cumbersome to me unless it’s done to create content that doesn’t need to be a polished marketing presentation. I could see doing “guy/gal on the street” interviews with local businesses, neighborhood tours etc. Being able to shoot, edit, upload and add the content to a blog or web site from the device could be a real time saver and a darn sight easier than trying to do it from an iPhone. The screen shots for iMovie for the iPad looks as if the process is simplified a great deal. It also looked as if the options for saving the video to sharing sites etc. had been expanded as well.

Listing Presentations

The display on this device is awesome. Video, photos and graphics look very good. Apple’s Keynote program is an easy to use presentation application and well worth the $10. If you’ve done many Power Points in the past, you’ll dig Keynote. The presentation can be easily modified, saved as a .pdf format file and e-mailed to a prospect. If you do speaking or training, you will definitely want to use the mirroring feature with your projector or large screen HDTV’s. Anyone who has fumbled with hooking laptops up to projectors will love this feature.

Facetime Conferencing

Using the video conferencing feature of the device allows you to have more personal conversations with clients and prospects (assuming they have a Mac, iPhone or iPad 2)

Documents & Signatures

I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before most all of the docs in a transaction will be iPad and digital signature ready. What started out to be primarily a consumer will product is starting to have a big impact on the applied technology of large and small concerns. It won’t replace your computer as a primary business tool, but by the time you get finish customizing how you use it to interact with clients and vendors, you will probably wonder what you did without it. “Numbers” is another Apple application that can be an invaluable tool.

Real Estate Applications

You would do well to become familiar with all of the real estate search applications on the iPad. Consumers ARE using these applications in rapidly increasing numbers and you should be viewing and interacting with the content through consumer eyes. Now is also the time to consider investments in advertising within mobile platforms. A prospect that has downloaded and installed an application is going to be a much more qualified target in my opinion.

Stress Relief – Games & Books

You have been warned. There are so many games now for the iPad, large blocks of time can tick away without noticing it. Download and play Angry Birds at your own peril. I am not a gamer. I told myself after a few times of playing Angry Birds that I could stop any time I wanted. I have now completed every level and achievement and look every morning for an update so I can get my fix.

The selection of books is vast on the iPad with a number of apps and companies offering them for sale. The prices are typically lower than a printed book and reading them on the device I find quite enjoyable. Be sure to download Amazon’s Kindle application. It’s free and despite the addition of Random House to the iBook store, I think Amazon has a better selection.

Are you using an iPad in your real estate practice? Will you be upgrading? Are you holding out hope that a competitor’s tablet will do what you need? Let us know!

Click here to see a video of yesterday’s Keynote.

Zillow has been proud to host and dedicate resources to GeekEstate. In order to better focus those resources on projects under way at Zillow.Com, they have decided to turn GEB over to one of it’s creators, Drew Meyers.

Drew has some great ideas for taking GeekEstate to the next level. I’m proud to have been there at the very beginning and I plan to stick around to contribute on a regular basis. I’m looking forward to being a part of the next version of GEB. Stay tuned for more information from Drew.

Here are just a few of the details announced:

iOS

• 100 new features
• Multi Tasking
• Release 6/21 will support 3G and 3GS but multitasking will be limited on 3G, most other features will work. Upgrade is free.
• Bing and Yahoo added as search options, Google will remain default.

App Store

• There are now 225K apps in the store.
• 95% of the 15K new apps released weekly are approved within 7 days.
• Support for apps via HTML 5 in addition to the App store.

iPhone V 4

• New display is 326 ppi (pixels per inch)
• Resolution is 960 x 640 with a 800:1 contrast ratio
• 24% thinner than previous models
• New engine is the A4 chip whose power capabilities to increase talk time by 40%. Overall battery life promises to be considerably better than previous models.
• Antenna wraps the entire device.
• 3 axis gyro promises increases in app capabilities, especially games
• New iMovie app to edit videos on the phone
• iBookstore will be the newest store accessible on the phone
• Camera captures video at 720p at 30 frames per second
• New camera system has a 5 megapixel sensor
• Front & Rear Cameras / Portrait and Landscape
• A video chat feature called “FaceTime” (wifi only) Is based on open standards which Jobs announced Apple will be releasing to standards bodies tomorrow.
• 3GS price drop to $99
• 16 & 32mb versions of the new phone are $199/$299
• You can have it one of two colors, black or white.

iAds

• An “in app” advertising platform that allows app developers to sell advertising that doesn’t take users out of the app when banners are clicked.
• Over $60 million in iAds sold already with a number of large brands that have been participating for over 8 weeks already.
• Jobs stated “Our goal is to help you (developers) earn money”.

]]> http://www.geekestateblog.com/steve-jobs-announces-new-iphone-more/feed/ 4 http://www.geekestateblog.com/jay-thompson-takes-over-at-carnival-of-real-estate/ http://www.geekestateblog.com/jay-thompson-takes-over-at-carnival-of-real-estate/#comments Fri, 21 May 2010 20:52:06 +0000 Michael Price http://www.geekestateblog.com/?p=4296 Read More »]]> Zillow is proud to announce that Jay Thompson, AKA The Phoenix Real Estate Guy (and GEB contributor) is taking over the operation of the Carnival of Real Estate. For the few people out there unfamiliar with Jay, he is a pioneer in the realm of real estate blogging and social media.

Jay was one of the first participants in CoRE and remained an active participant as a host, contributor and administrator. We decided on Jay not only for his depth of experience with the platform, but his desire to keep this resource in the blogging community in a way that will continue to be beneficial to all who contribute and host.

Jay has some ideas that he will be announcing and implementing soon. Please join us in thanking Jay for his time and continued valuable contributions to the real estate community.

Ken and I have continued those conversations over the years. We swap books and talk about how many of our predictions from years gone by have been hits or misses. In all that time his desire to understand technology and guide his team to best practices and tools has not changed a bit. He has a great sense of humor, top notch writing ability and a very unique perspective as it relates to the topics of this blog. I know you’ll enjoy his contributions.

Now that Ken has an iPad, I guess swapping books will join the digital realm. That’s not something we talked about 14 years ago.

Listen to these thought leaders break down this very timely topic. It’s a very interesting and engaging conversation. Be sure to subscribe to find out when the 3rd and final segment becomes available. We would love to hear your thoughts and about your experience with social media in your real estate practice. Is it showing you a tangible R.O.I. or do you feel as if you’re spending more time in the land of Twitter and Facebook than you should? Click here if you missed part one of the podcast.
Listen To Part 2 Via Browser:

Listen & Subscribe in iTunes:

Marc Davison – 1000Watt Consulting
Jeff Turner - Zeek Interactive / Real Estate Shows
Bill Lublin – C 21 Advantage Gold / BuzzBuilderz / Social Media Marketing Institute

Our discussion takes a look at the past, present and future of the effect that social media has on broker and agent business models (good and bad). I think you will find it very engaging and informative.

This is the first of 3 segments of the episode. Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to be immediately notified when the next segment is added to the feed. Subscription options are in the sidebar or you can listen online below. We encourage you to comment on the subject. Let us know your thoughts and experience regarding this timely issue. Feel free to leave questions, either directly to any of the contributors or the group as a whole. We look forward to extending the conversation.

Listen On The Web:

Free iTunes Subscription

Chris Raines – Cevado Technologies,  CEO and Co-founder – Along with his business partner Cliff Bonnell-Jones, formerly of ABCnews.com and NFL.com, his company has been able to leverage technology and marketing expertise  to become a leader in the creation of new and innovative online real estate technologies.  Over the last 15 years Cevado has been the technology engine behind thousands of Agents, Brokers and National Brands.  Chris has been very successful at keeping his company and their clients at the top of the real estate and technology food chain.