Real Estate Blog Pro

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

Problogger spreads the Gospel of Blogging A-Z

Here's a group of tips from the man himself- Problogger.  Unlike this Pro, Problogger already is a Pro-blogger. Just check out his list of blogging tips from A-Z for professional bloggers.  Here are a couple of the example that he pulls from the alphabet:

Bloggers for Hire - bloggers looking for work and potential employers looking for bloggers
Google Analytics - Metrics Tool
Webpad - web based text editor

and many many more...check it out!

A-Z of Professional Blogging [ProBlogger]
[link found via LifeHacker]



Technorati Tags: blogging tips, tricks

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

Looking for a Firefox Cheatsheet?

Sure you are... every Pro cheats a little. On the web, it is necessary- in the real estate field, it will get you in major trouble.  So, if you're up for learning the shortcuts.... Here you go...from Lifehacker. 
 

This is actually an update on the Firefox Cheatsheet from Leslie Franke.

• Tab Select shortcuts
• Undo shortcut
• Another Open Link in Background Tab shortcut
• Changed the path to cached elements

Available in the following formats:

• PDF format
• HTML format

Technorati Tags: firefox cheatsheet, firefox, tips

Get your Money's Worth from Google Reader

Over on the Official Google Reader Blog, Jason Toal has put together an excellent screencast that covers nearly all of the features that Google Reader has to offer- including sharing what you're reading. Here's a bucket of tips from the Google Reader Blog regarding sharing:

Speaking of our sharing feature, people have figured out very seamless
ways of integrating clips into their sites.

SocialLearning.ca had this very helpful 5 minute 11 minute tutorial video screencast that shows all of the ins and outs of the reader.  Be sure to also check out their project for collecting google related resources with follow up links on this presentation on a wiki page.

With a little help from our users [Official Google Reader Blog]

Google Reader Tutorial (get your aggregator on) [Social Learning.ca]

Technorati Tags: google reader, tutorial, screencast,

Trick: How to speed up the loading of an Adobe Acrobat PDF file AND best way to redirect a web page

Here's a very useful tip- stop waiting so long for PDF files to load!  Did you know that everytime you run Adobe Acrobat, there are as much as 20 plugins that load unnecessarily?   DWTIPS Blog shows us aspiring Pros how to do this by following these steps:

To disable unneeded plugins and make them optional instead, follow these instructions:

1. Install the latest version of Adobe Acrobat - you can get it here
   
2. Browse to the plugins folder: C:\Program Files\Adobe\Acrobat 7.0\Reader\plug_ins
   
3. Create a new folder named Optional
   
4. Move all files from the plug_ins folder to Optional, except EWH32.api, print*.api, and Search*.api
   

That’s it! Load any PDF in Adobe Acrobat to see the difference!

Here's another tip: Steven Hargrove: How to redirect a web page, the smart way

[found via .ect via Lifehacker]

Technorati Tags: redirect web site, adobe acrobat, pdf files, tips, tricks

An RSS tip for all you soon to be Pros

Randy Morin from RSS blog published a terrific set of RSS guidelines (pdf file) which he recieved from another blog buddy, Nick Gogerty of Inclue! Thought it might be good to share the wealth and keep it going.  Today's my birthday!!!- sorry i haven't more to share....The Pro will make it up to you next week!






Technorati Tags: RSS guidelines, RSS,

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

Two new helpful tools: Joe's goals and Rendr, the HTML tool

Rendr is a live HTML and CSS testing web tool.  This can become quite handy if you are one who likes to create your blog a piece at a time.  Make sure your HTML is valid with this little tool. As Lifehacker points out, Firefox has an extension that works in a  similar way for web developers with an option called "Edit CSS." Remember:  The cleaner your code is, the better chance you'll have at hitting those high ranks in search engines.
 
Rendr  [via Lifehacker via Mefi Projects]


Joe's Goals is yet another to-do-list, but this one is in grid format.  It looks as though it could be useful to the real estate agent who needs their day laid out in front of them in a more visual format. Its super simple to use and the Pro is gonna test drive it for a while.

[via Download Squad]

Got any tips you'd like to share?  Hand'em over!  We're all tryin

 to become Pros here. 


Technorati Tags: to do, HTML, CSS, productivity, tools

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