Real Estate Blog Pro

When Will Flickr Webimager Get an Update?

The Pro really likes the Flickr Webimager and its about time it got updated. Its a great tool for saving bits of the web and info without having to download entire web pages or copy and pasting text.  Real Estate bloggers could find it very useful for things like keeping track of one's personal linkages, if only it worked the way it was intended. Remember several months back when i mentioned it as a cool hacking tool? Well, despite the numerous other screen shot grabber gadgets and gizmos out there these days, Flickr Webimager still remains as my favorite for many reasons. I'll tell you why:

• Its lite and rests in your systems tray (unlike most others which are embedded in your browser)
• it can be used to create bitmaps of images on the web (which you can turn into jpegs in photoshop)
• you can adjust the size of your captured image right within the window
• you can modify the image using Microsoft Paint by exporting it

I'll even go as far as to say that I use it every single day, for all sorts of things!  The problem that I have with it is that you can't find who created it, its never updated and worst of all, it doesn't even do what it was created and intended to do. Namely, allow you to upload screenshots consistently to your Flickr account. The process usually goes like this:

1. Create a screenshot
2. Attempt to upload the screenshot
3. Go through the whole process of allowing WebImager access your Flickr account
4. Upload one screenshot
5. Then get error after error stating that your Flickr account can't be verified.

I can hardly believe that the creators of WebImager intended for us to only be allowed to upload one damn image.  In order to upload more than one image these days, you have to actually save the photo to a folder (which subsequently requires you to press a button which reads "Open" instead of "Save" when attempting to save it) then open it with photoshop or similar program and save the image as .jpeg, .gif  and the like, then upload it to Flickr.  Too much work for a Web 2.0 tool.  Its impossible to track down a forum, it hasn't been updated since its creation (i don't believe) and the Pro thinks it should be.  Has anyone else had the same or similar problem?


Technorati Tags: Flickr WebImager, Flickr, problems, Web 2.0, tools

Viewr Adds a Lot of Updates

Remember way back (last July) when Viewr was coming on the scene?  Well, Pro just received word that there's been yet another hefty update over at Viewr and this one is HUGE!  The site now can now do Rentals, Vacation Rentals, Holiday Apartment Complexes (European term) and Multi Family.  The site is geared towards a global view of real estate- or as they put it, "People, Places and Property."  Viewr is becoming more and more customizable, allowing an agent to express as much or as little of their personality as they see fit.

There's very little limitation to what this site can do- and where it can cover!   For example, there are Cave Houses in France, Spain, Turkey, Greece and others. Many of them are associated with a kind of peoples called Troglodytes.
Check these out:
  http://www.viewr.com/search.property.html?vlsn=1000731
  http://www.viewr.com/search.property.html?vlsn=1000725
  http://www.viewr.com/search.property.html?vlsn=1000729

  As with all Web 2.0, the user determines. Everyone gets a My Viewr account management interface that allows the user to customize many aspects of how their listings are presented.  Agents can upload a picture of themselves (if they wish) and a branded logo of the company which they represent.  Give it a whirl, Pros!  Lemme know what you think!

Coming soon:  Pro will let you in on a secret regarding a certain Viewr contest that you're sure to digg!


Technorati Tags: Viewr, real estate, tool

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Virtual Tours, Newsletters and Resources on the Fly! Now that's Pro!

Wanna create Virtual Tours like a PRO?  Integrate them into your blog or website?  Lifehacker told us last week about this kick ass new website called Mapwing and let this Pro be the first (ok, second) to tell you, It Kicks Ass. 


Mapwing simplifies all of the hassles involved with creating real estate VR tours.  No stitching of panoramics. No learning code in order to embed the 360 pano thingy.  None of that crap that you have to pay web designers bizillions of dollars to do for you.  Just follow the instructions to the T and you'll end up with a terrific looking floorplan with integrated Virtual Tour.  In the end you'll have the option of embedding it within your own website or emailing it to your clients! Its the perfect blog marketing tool.


Create newsletters on the Fly with Letterpop [found via Lifehacker] This is an AMAZING tool!  Look at the newsletter that I created for my father's surveying equipment supply company in South Carolina here.  This is perfect for real estate agents because you have so much flexibility with how photos and text can be displayed, you can have multiple pages and instantly email the newsletter to up to 500 people.  Give it a whirl!

A hefty list of blog resources can be found over here at Daily Blog Tips Blog.  You should definately subscribe to this blog's RSS because it always comes packin!'


Technorati Tags: newsletters, resources, links, virtual tours, Letterpop, Mapwing

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Viewr Goes Live! Get your Video Egg On, Real Estate Pros

Could it be true? Viewr is live! The next highly anticipated real estate tool is finally available for your blogging and listing pleasure, dear real estate blog pros. We heard about Viewr back in July, with an update a month or so back and let's just say that the suspense has killed at least one of us.   With Viewr, agents will have a place to blog about their properties (or whatever else) and upload video content via  Video Egg software.  So far, the Pro likes it!

Viewr has a "global view on real estate" and the maps to prove it.  The (oh so very Web 2.0)interface is smooth and easy to use (so far). You can save your searched and your favorite listings.  It could be a good friend to a lot of you aspiring Pros out there.  Give it a whirl- set up a blog...see whats out there.  For god's sake, have fun for once!  Maybe real estate isn't such a drag afterall...just maybe.

Viewr


Technorati Tags: Viewr, Web 2.0, tool, real estate, New

Listpic puts a spin on Craigslist

Ever want to see just the ads on Craigslist that have pictures in them?  Well, Listpic helps you do just that.  Give it a whirl.   Listpic claims to not have anything to do with Craigslist, but it sure does do a good job of mimicing- even the URL is similar. Love it! [Link via Lifehacker]

listpic

  see it. buy it.

Technorati Tags: Listpic, craigslist

A New Google Page for (real estate-ish) Web 2.0 Tools

Pro made a tools page for you guys to bookmark and refer to periodically.  From now on, a list of resources and Web 2.0 tools can be found there.  There are so many tools that come out, that its hard to keep track of them all.  Thats why I try to only pay attention to those that might be useful to real estate agents.   We can all help each other grow into the next this technical age.
If you have something that you would like to add, please to write me. 

[btw.  I made said page from a Google Pages.  It can be created through (and attached to) your gmail account. If this is confusing, let me know.  As you know, happy to help.  Good Luck Pros!



Technorati Tags: tools page, tools, google pages, resource

Flickr WebImager lets you slice and grab the web

Today, Pro will let you in on a secret:  Grab slices of the web and upload them to your flickr account with Webimager- then post them where ever you like. Once an image is in your flickr account, it has its own URL- you should be able to post this image's URL anywhere that will allow HTML.  This is the perfect tool to use for comments on real estate property or just keeping track of whos linking to you.


For example, justiNYC keeps track of his linkages like this


Technorati Tags: flickr webimager, tools, tips, flickr, images

Edit your Flickr Photos Online with Preloadr and a Hack using Picasa

Now this is bound to be useful to all of you real estate Pro bloggers- edit your Flickr photos online with Preloadr!  This will be extremely useful when on the run or using your office computer or a public one.  I've been waiting for Pixoh to integrate this sort of function and lately they added a Flickr Export feature.  Nevertheless, if you are near your home computer (provided you use a PC), I recommend a quick hack i learned somewhere along the way. All you need is to have Picasa (Google's Image software) installed.  You can get it here:


Pro has talked about using Flickr before.  Here's another hack:  First, go to your Flickr account and look in your account setting for the option to email from mobile.  Flickr will give you an email address to use for mailing photos strait from your desktop to your photostream.  Now using picasa, you can edit your photos and email photos to anyone using the email function at the bottom- including your Flickr account. 

Find the photo that you want to add to Flickr, edit it and send it via email.  Use the subject line of the email to title your photo and the body of the email to describe the image.  Hint:  you can do the same thing when emailing strait to a blog post.
Good Luck Pros!


[Preloadr tip via Lifehacker]


Technorati Tags: images, Flickr, hack, Picasa

Create Property Diagrams and Plans Online with Gliffy and a Peak inside Pro's Del.icio.us account

On Pro's way to becoming Pro today he stumbled across a post from good ole faithful Lifehacker- (which happens to have a completely new blog design btw and lookin' good!!) regarding a new online diagram creator thingy.  It's called Gliffy [beta] and it looks pretty interesting. But most importantly, it looks like it can be very useful to all my favorite real estate agent 2.0 Pros out there. Its quick and easy to use- Pro tried it out already- thumbs up!  Give it a whirl and see if you can start making your own floor plans.  Good luck!


Gliffy
CNET [review of Gliffy]
Make diagrams online with Gliffy [Lifehacker]

ALSO....  i just wanted to mention that I appreciate all of the nice comments and questions that you guys send me via email.  If at all possible, lets try to start putting questions and remarks in as comments so that everyone can benefit from your inquiry.  No question is too stupid for the Pro- he's just trying to help you out.  Its hard to find that in real estate 1.0.


Keep this in mind:  If you ever have a specific question or are looking for direction on your own, a good place to check first is my del.icio.us account.  If you are not yet familiar with what this (ie. del.cio.us) is, its a way of publishing all of your bookmarks to the public- or social bookmarking, rather.  Search in the tags for the subject that you have in mind and take a stab at it.  Pro doesn't have time to post every trick that he finds or comes up with, obviously.  Therefore, in between posts, you can always find goodies in my bookmarks.  Happy Hunting!

and if you like tag sifting, check out this new site TagFetch [via Webby's World]


Technorati Tags: property diagrams, online tool, gliffy, tips and tricks, del.icio.us, tagging, bookmarks

Doodle and draw yourself towards a commission with Quickmaps

One of the coolest mashups that the Pro has seen yet- Quikmaps lets you draw right on top of Google Maps. Draw pictures and label things on a google map using simple clicks and drags. Move around on the map to anywhere in the world with ease.  As Quikmaps puts it:

Quikmaps is perfect for: drawing a map to your house, sketching out a cycling or hiking route,
or telling everyone where you saw the grizzly bear.

If this isn't for a real estate agent 2.0, I don't know what is....map something, create a nice fat doodle on top, then blog it!  This could almost be too much fun!

[link found via DownloadSquad]



Technorati Tags: mashup, tool, google maps, hybrid, mapping

Picasa Web Albums released, A Yamanner Worm warning and a bit on Blogging for business

Google's Picasa finally release their online Web Albums thingy.  However, you must be invited, so sign up now with your Gmail account because it's first come first serve. This should be great for real estate agents who want to host property pics with links and such.  And it's still free [but there is an optionalstorage upgrade option ]! This has been a long time in the making.  Here's the blog link about it.  [and Lifehacker and an tester example]


QuickOnlineTips Blog may have helped the blogosphere out today tremendously by posting a warning about a javascript worm virus that travels via Yahoo! email.  Its called Yamanner Worm (or JS.Yamanner@m )and it can get onto your computer when a particular type of loaded email is opened.  Cases of the worm exploiting users have reportedly involved emails with a  subject line such as "New Graphic Site," according to QuickOnlineTips. Apparently those who use the new Yahoo! Beta email are safe. More on this read the Symantec Virus Threat Advisory.

Problogger had a great post regarding Blogging Business 101.  As usual, he answers many of the questions that we ask ourselves regarding how this whole blogging thing is supposed to help our business.  And because he isn't exactly a Pro business blogger (read his disclaimer), his advise is so much easier to digest. If you haven't check this Pro out yet, you're missing out!

Use these tips real estate agents and go forward in your blogging quest.  Remember that the Pro is always in your corner.  May the force be with you!


Technorati Tags: yamanner worm, yahoo mail, picasa web albums, business blogging, tips, warning

How to work that digital camera (when you need primo real estate photos)

Here's a great 8 part article about digital cameras and approaches to real estate photography as a real estate agent.  Pro just thought it would be nice to pass it along. Here's the breakdown of the different parts (just in case you think you're already bordering Pro).  Thanks Digicamhelp! 

IN THIS ARTICLE




1-Introduction




2-The essential digital camera feature(s)




3-Recommended accessories




4-Taking interior photos



5-Taking exterior photos



6-Composing exterior photos



7-Editing real estate photos



8-Top
tips for real estate agents

speaking of photography, there's some nice shots over here

Technorati Tags: digital photography, real estate, tips, tricks, howto

Some helpful sites for you aspiring Pros: Free File host list, Photoshop tutorials and Google Calender Mobile

An amazing blog for gmail and google-type hacks, Ghacks posted a fat list of sites that offer free file hosting and even went so far as to tell us the following for each site:

Reg: Does the site require a registration before you can use their services ? Registration means free registration of course.

Filesize: Is there a maximum size for a single file, in Mb ? No res = no restrictions

Space: How much diskspace is allocated for the user
? If there is no registration the max filesize has been taken as max
space allowed. No res = no restrictions

Bandwidth: Are there bandwidth limitations ? no res = no restrictions, d=max downloads, h=per hour

Filetypes: Are certain filetypes not allowed to be uploaded ?

Hotlinking: Does the site allow hotlinking ?

Expires: Are the files auto-deleted after a time,
if yes the number of days are shown. If the number is unknown yes will
be shown. Sometimes files only get deleted after inactivity for a
certain time, if thats the case a “i” is added to the
number. Sometimes file get deleted after a certain number of downloads,
if thats the case a “d” is added to the number.

Very helpful!

Google Operating System Blog told us of the new features for Google Calender that lets you check your schedule from anywhere via mobile phone.

* if you're in the US, you can access your calendar from your mobile
phone. You just have to send a SMS to 48368 (GVENT) with the text
"next" to see the upcoming events. Send "day" to get all of your
scheduled events for the present day and "nday" to get all of your
events for the following day. You can even create events, just send the
details in a format similar to this: "Go to dinner at Chef Cafe
tomorrow at 9pm".

Total Tutorial -a fantastic resource for those interested in learning everything that there is to know about Photoshop, Flash and PHP.   This may be a tid-bit much for the average real estate agent, but it never hurts to try dive right in!

Technorati Tags: tips, tricks, Photoshop, tools, google calender, hacks, Flash, tutorials

Linking to your property photos from Blogger

Here's a good tip from About for all of you newbie bloggers soon to be Pros: Link to your photos from Blogger
This handy tip includes some great photo hosting sites and tips on keeping track of your uploaded photo URLs.

1. Choose a Photo Hosting Site
2. Open New Entry Window
3. Open New Image Box
4. Add Image URL
5. View Your Entry and Image

I know, this may seem a little elementary, but if you were getting some of the questions Pro has, you'd see that there definately is a need to help some people on the front end.  Hang in there agents!


Technorati Tags: blogger, images, photo hosting

Wikipedia + Google Maps = Wikimapia and one hell of a real estate resource

So.....soon to be Pros, here's a new tool for you to add to your belt:  WikiMapia
Wikipedia (one of the most useful reference pages on the net) mashed up with Google Maps this week. The site is intended to be a Wikipedia-like reference for the planet earth (we all know where that is) .Wikimapia uses a feature similar to the 'notes' feature on Flickr, called "call-outs" which you can add on top of the area of the map you are referencing. You can search for information about an area without even leaving the crib!

LifeHacker WikiMapia - The geographical wikipedia
Digg Wikimapia = Wiki + Google maps

ALSO...Last week, Microsoft (we all know who that is) released a similar map program called Map Cruncher

Have fun with these...and, map something!


Technorati Tags: maps, mapping, wikipedia, wikimapia, google maps, tools, web2.0

Create your property setups with Tabblo and send them or publish to your blog

You gotta love options like this! 

Tabblo is a creative and highly customizable photosharing site that allows you to build albums that could easily work wonders as property setups. Its so great, Pro has spent most of his saturday afternoon creating profiles for his Brooklyn rental properties (below was my first attempt, just to give you an idea).  Tabblo (in beta mode currently) has many options for getting your photos into albums, including a Picasa plug-in and integration with your Flickr account. Do yourself a favor and check it out.  It's a real estate agent's dream application and it will make your life easier, if not just a little more colorful.


Technorati Tags: images, tools, tabblo, photography, flickr

Some say this is the Most Powerful Windows Application available

Its the Total Commander PowerPack and its BAD!!! [that means good] The best part about it-its free! 

* file-manager inspired by Norton Commander, but with a modern Windows interface
* has two panes for easy file management
* every pane can have as many tabs as you want
* advanced file search with regular expressions
* rename multiple files
* split files (useful if you want to send a large file by email)
* pack/unpack files in ZIP format
* compare directories
* synchronize directories
* FTP client with support for SFTP
*
document viewer that supports: text files, source code files
(Assembler, C++, CSS, Delphi, FoxPro, JavaScript, Perl, PHP, SQL, XML),
HTML, RTF, Word documents, Excel sheets, OpenOffice documents,
executable files, DLL, INI files, registry files, image files (PNG,
JPG, GIF, Paint Shop Pro, BMP, PSD, ICO, CUR, ANI, MAC, WMF, EMF, PIC),
Flash, media files (MP3, WMA, OGG, AVI), database files (FoxPro, dBase,
Paradox, Access, MySQL, CSV), archives (RAR, ZIP, TAR, GZ, 7zip,
bzip2), disk image files (ISO, BIN, IMG, NRG)
* AES encryptor (encrypt/decrypt files with 128bit key using password or keyfile)
* decompilation of 32-bit PE executables (EXE SCR) and libraries (DLL OCX CPL BPL), resource files (RES DCR)
* create a list file with all selected files and directories
* count the size of all files in a directory
* shows informations about solar and moon dates, celebrations and calendars
* synchronize your local computer with atomic time via Internet
* browse NT events and services faster
* view/edit/kill processes that are running currently on the system
* RSS Reader
* CD/DVD burning
* view and edit files on ext2 partitions (useful to manage files on Linux partitions from Windows)
* mount disk images as additional virtual drives in system
* much more...

Pro found this helpful tip (and many others) from the Google System blog.


Technorati Tags: windows, tools, applications

Scan your documents with your cellphone and share

This app was MADE for real estate agents! [...well, not really.  But it will be extremely helpful]  scanR is a free tool that allows you to 'scan' and convert whiteboards and/or documents into searchable PDF files. 
                                    

Their pitch:

scanR is a powerful service that automatically:                                                

• cleans photos of whiteboards and documents
•   tags documents with   extracted keywords
• delivers the results  as PDF files or faxes

                                                

This is how easy it is:     [according to scanR's site]

The first time you use scanR, you need to create an account. It takes just two steps.   

   

        1) Take photos of whiteboards or documents and send them to wb@scanR.com for whiteboards or doc@scanR.com for documents.

        2) scanR will reply with an activation code and a link.  Enter the activation code, your email address and a password.

That’s it! To add additional email accounts or phones, just repeat these steps.

If this tool isn't made for  real estate agents, I don't know what is.

Embed Flickr Slideshows into your blog and bling those property photos!

If you use Flickr to store your photos, then this is for you.  If you don't already, give it a try.  Flickr allows you to store all of your photos on an easy to use site.  It gives you the HTML codes and URLs that point to your images and this will allow you to post them elsewhere around the web.  So, assuming you know what Flickr is, I'm gonna give you a couple of pointers for embedding a slideshow of your photos onto your blog.
Paul Stamatiou has a wonderful Quickie embed code that will allow you to put a Flickr slideshow right inside a post or in the sidebar of your blog.  First you need to start with this code, provided by Paul:

<iframe align=center
src=http://www.flickr.com/slideShow/index.gne?user_id=12345678@N00&tags=foo
frameBorder=0 width=500 scrolling=no height=500></iframe>


Next you need to go to this handy little too, igGettr to retrieve your "user id," which will replace the "12345678@N00" in the code.  Follow Paul's instructions for changing the "foo" variable and  setting the index for the slideshow. Next, copy that whole modified code and place it into one of your blog posts, while it is in source editor mode.  If for some reason, you toggle over to "compose" mode and are unable to see the slideshow, pay no attention.  It will show up in your blog once it is published.

Tip:  Wanna create full screen virtual tour presentations from your Flickr photos?  Check out this AutoDownloadr

Edit your real estate images online

  Sometimes those damn pictures are just too big to upload.  Sometimes, you'd really like to blur out that other realtor's sign from the image.  Sometimes, you just don't have time to open photoshop for a simple touch up.  During those times, use Pixoh and edit your pictures online.  You don't even have to upload them to Pixoh if you care not to...just enter the URL of the image and go!  Import images from Flickr or any other place where you have your pics stored.  Save time- sell property!

Tool: Picture Cloud makes 360 virtual tours a breeze

Looking for a truly unique way to show off that hot property?  With Picture Cloud, in no time you can have a very interesting showcase of that listing in a way that allows the viewer to feel as though they are seeing it in person. Just take and upload your exterior shots, plug them into Picture Cloud and let it do the rest!  The program will handle all of the HTML dirty work for you.

  No software to download, no special cameras needed, and no signup is required, and best of all - picture clouds are free.