There was a report released this week by a couple of democrats about the threat to critical infrastructure including US electric power utilities. I don’t think that this is a partisan concern, though. Their report is called “Electric Grid Vulnerability: Industry Responses Reveal Security Gaps,” and describes the results of 160 utilities that were [...]
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Most Topular Stories
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From the Reassuring Files: Power utilities under near-constant cyberthreats
Holy Kaw!23 May 2013 | 8:03 am -
How smart are you about mortgages?
Home mortgage rates and real estate news - CNNMoney.com23 May 2013 | 9:00 amHow many times can you refinance? What are discount points? Test your real estate smarts in our mortgage quiz. -
Trump-Branded Rio Project Faces Test
WSJ.com: Real Estate22 May 2013 | 1:31 pmA developer is hoping to break ground soon in Rio de Janeiro on the first Donald Trump-branded project in Brazil, but with the country's growth engine low on steam, the office market may not cooperate. -
Trump-Branded Rio Project Faces Test
WSJ.com: Commercial Real Estate22 May 2013 | 1:31 pmA developer is hoping to break ground soon in Rio de Janeiro on the first Donald Trump-branded project in Brazil, but with the country's growth engine low on steam, the office market may not cooperate. -
Eminem Is Suing Facebook For Allegedly Ripping Off His Song In Home ... - Business Insider
FACEBOOK - Google News23 May 2013 | 8:53 amBusiness InsiderEminem Is Suing Facebook For Allegedly Ripping Off His Song In Home Business InsiderAccording to Eight Mile Style, the song was featured in a webcast given by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg on April 4, prompting the publisher to issue a complaint shortly thereafter. The section of the video using the song has since been changed.Facebook stays silent about Eminem copyright infringement lawsuit, court MLive.comEminem music publishing firm to sue Facebook over trackRadio 1Eminem's Publisher Sues FacebookPollstarForbes -Los Angeles Times -Registerall 78 news…
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Holy Kaw!
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From the Reassuring Files: Power utilities under near-constant cyberthreats
23 May 2013 | 8:03 amThere was a report released this week by a couple of democrats about the threat to critical infrastructure including US electric power utilities. I don’t think that this is a partisan concern, though. Their report is called “Electric Grid Vulnerability: Industry Responses Reveal Security Gaps,” and describes the results of 160 utilities that were [...] -
Which 8 stores price-match online prices?
23 May 2013 | 7:45 amThere’s a shopping site called Cheapism.com and there, they recently took a look at a bunch of retailers and compiled a list of those who’ll price-match their online prices – not all will, I guess not surprisingly, presumably because the costs of running the online side of their business is less. Here’s Cheapism.com’s methodology [...] -
California dogs are the luckiest
23 May 2013 | 7:29 am“Dog beaches account for a tiny fraction of the thousands of miles of U.S. shoreline, but they are treasured by pet owners and their pooches. “Off-leash dog beaches are a canine’s dream come true,” said Lisa Porter, owner of Pet Hotels of America, a travel website that lists thousands of beaches and parks where dogs [...] -
8 ways baby boomers are changing up retirement
23 May 2013 | 7:27 amThis is me for sure – life didn’t pan out as I’d thought and some changes have been in order. Glad to see I’m not the only one! Sandra Block, writing at Kiplinger, begins her article with these facts: Every day, about 8,000 baby-boomers celebrate their 65th birthday. That’s the traditional age for retirement, but [...] -
Blast from the past: Remember 1986? [video]
23 May 2013 | 6:41 amGet ready to tight-roll those jeans and wield the AquaNet with a vengeance! YouTube user thepeterson created this incredible pop-culture compilation from 1986 and we dare anyone who lived during the eighties not to sing along. Full story at YouTube via Neatorama. Pop culture history lesson.
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Home mortgage rates and real estate news - CNNMoney.com
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How smart are you about mortgages?
23 May 2013 | 9:00 amHow many times can you refinance? What are discount points? Test your real estate smarts in our mortgage quiz. -
Home sales continue to climb
23 May 2013 | 8:29 amRead full story for latest details. -
Tornado victims may face long haul with insurers
22 May 2013 | 3:01 amThe tornado that struck the Moore, Okla., area Monday afternoon left an almost 2-mile wide path of destruction, flattening homes and businesses and taking at least 24 lives. -
Best deals on real estate
21 May 2013 | 1:37 pmMoney magazine's Best Deals on Everything: Your guide to the latest bargains in renting, buying or remodeling your home. -
FEMA offers aid to tornado victims
21 May 2013 | 12:54 pmRead full story for latest details.
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WSJ.com: Real Estate
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Trump-Branded Rio Project Faces Test
22 May 2013 | 1:31 pmA developer is hoping to break ground soon in Rio de Janeiro on the first Donald Trump-branded project in Brazil, but with the country's growth engine low on steam, the office market may not cooperate. -
A Modern Carriage House in Brooklyn
22 May 2013 | 8:37 amAt first glance, this home looks like another stately 19th-century Brooklyn home, but it was completed less than a decade ago as a modern mansion with a historic feel. -
Office Parks Get a Makeover
22 May 2013 | 4:48 amOnce a symbol of suburban dominance, aging office parks from California to New Jersey are being reimagined as little cities. -
French Riverside Home
22 May 2013 | 3:27 amThis 19th-century house on the banks of the River Indre comes with separate guest accommodation in a converted mill building. -
Starwood Capital Goes Shopping for Malls
21 May 2013 | 7:01 pmStarwood Capital Group is in talks to buy seven U.S. shopping malls from Westfield Group for more than $1 billion, a deal that would mark the latest in a flurry of big-ticket acquisitions of retail property.
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WSJ.com: Commercial Real Estate
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Trump-Branded Rio Project Faces Test
22 May 2013 | 1:31 pmA developer is hoping to break ground soon in Rio de Janeiro on the first Donald Trump-branded project in Brazil, but with the country's growth engine low on steam, the office market may not cooperate. -
Mad for Madison
22 May 2013 | 8:25 amThe competition is intensifying for 650 Madison Ave., a 27-story, green-glass office building near the southeast corner of New York's Central Park, with some bids coming in for more than $1.3 billion. -
Investors Brave Loans That Fly Solo
22 May 2013 | 7:55 amThe market for bonds backed by a single loan on commercial real estate is booming for the first time since the financial crisis. -
Investors Target China's Warehouses
22 May 2013 | 5:13 amIndustrial real estate is often seen as the least glamorous slice of the property sector, but investors are increasingly looking at China's warehouses as a good place to park their money as their sexier cousins lose some of their allure. -
Office Parks Get a Makeover
22 May 2013 | 4:48 amOnce a symbol of suburban dominance, aging office parks from California to New Jersey are being reimagined as little cities.
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FACEBOOK - Google News
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Eminem Is Suing Facebook For Allegedly Ripping Off His Song In Home ... - Business Insider
23 May 2013 | 8:53 amBusiness InsiderEminem Is Suing Facebook For Allegedly Ripping Off His Song In Home Business InsiderAccording to Eight Mile Style, the song was featured in a webcast given by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg on April 4, prompting the publisher to issue a complaint shortly thereafter. The section of the video using the song has since been changed.Facebook stays silent about Eminem copyright infringement lawsuit, court MLive.comEminem music publishing firm to sue Facebook over trackRadio 1Eminem's Publisher Sues FacebookPollstarForbes -Los Angeles Times -Registerall 78 news… -
Facebook's Zuckerberg arranges one-day holiday to discuss privacy in Poland - ZDNet
23 May 2013 | 7:22 amZDNetFacebook's Zuckerberg arranges one-day holiday to discuss privacy in PolandZDNetMark Zuckerberg suddenly appeared in Warsaw on Wednesday on what the Facebook founder and CEO said was a spontaneous one-day holiday. But the meaning of the word "spontaneous" would need to be stretched to explain his late afternoon meeting Facebook's Zuckerberg meets Poland's digital minister in Warsawthenews.plall 2 news articles » -
Israelis 'like' Facebook more than any other nation - Haaretz
23 May 2013 | 6:25 amIsraelis 'like' Facebook more than any other nationHaaretzIf you have a second window open in your Web browser while reading this story, chances are, it's open to Facebook. But while the world's most famous social network is undoubtedly popular, a recent survey by the Pew Research Center proves that more and -
Facebook Delays UK And France Launch Of HTC First With Facebook Home ... - TechCrunch
23 May 2013 | 6:16 amFacebook Delays UK And France Launch Of HTC First With Facebook Home TechCrunchMore signs today the HTC First might also be the last smartphone to ship with Facebook Home pre-installed: UK carrier EE confirmed today that the first Facebook Home phone won't be launching in the UK soon as planned, as Facebook has decided to Sorry UK, Facebook won't be sharing the HTC First with you after allGigaOMFacebook Admits Its Android Software Is Bad, Says It Will Fix ItBusiness InsiderFacebook Puts The Breaks On Its HTC First Launch In the UKThe Next WebThe Verge -Engadgetall 38 news… -
Facebook's violently sexist pages are an opportunity for feminists - The Guardian
23 May 2013 | 4:30 amThe GuardianFacebook's violently sexist pages are an opportunity for feministsThe GuardianThen there's Facebook. Facebook is a special case. On the one hand, it's a profit-driven corporation, but on the other, it's a corporation that makes its profits through provision of a platform for people's interests, beliefs and social habits. And Activists Pressure Companies To Boycott Facebook Over Its Content Promoting ThinkProgressFacebook defends policies on gender-based hate speechIrish TimesFeminists to Facebook: Rape Is No Laughing MatterPolicyMicSimply Zesty…
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Twitter Blog
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An invitation to #ComedyFest (BYOB)
29 Apr 2013 | 6:00 amThis week Twitter is turning into a comedy club, and you’ve got the best seats in the house, all for the price of free. We’re not saying that enjoying your favorite comedians on Twitter is a cheapskate’s way to avoid the cover and two-drink minimum at your local club. By all means, pull up a chair, get on Twitter, and pour a couple of glasses as Comedy Central’s #ComedyFest unfolds on Twitter from April 29-May 3.Almost from the beginning of Twitter, comedians have been pushing the boundaries and creating a new form of comedy within the limits of 140 characters.And this week, Comedy… -
This Week on Twitter - Apr. 29
29 Apr 2013 | 5:00 amOn most Mondays, we post “This week on Twitter” to alert you to key things happening in the coming week. Whether it’s a live chat with the cast of your favorite TV show, a Q&A with a political candidate or a pro sports team Tweepstakes, keep current about can’t-miss moments on Twitter in the week ahead. - Ed.Monday, Apr. 29 - May 3; 5:00 p.m. ET / 2:00 p.m. PT This week kicks off #ComedyFest from Comedy Central (@ComedyCentral). Mel Brooks (@MelBrooks) and Carl Reiner (@CarlReiner) will answer questions in an “in-Tweet” Livestream event hosted by Judd Apatow (@JuddApatow). -
#OnlyOnTwitter: A Presidential Week
26 Apr 2013 | 10:15 amIt’s been a historic week on Twitter, as two former U.S. Presidents let their presence be known on Twitter. Bill Clinton joined the ranks of President Barack Obama, all 100 U.S. Senators and 95 percent of the House of Representatives, while the dedication of George W. Bush’s new Bush Center brought us closer to all 5 living presidents via Twitter.Earlier this week while making an appearance on the “Colbert Report”, Bill Clinton officially joined Twitter as @billclinton. He sent his first Tweet to the show’s host Stephen Colbert (@stephenathome) and his daughter, Chelsea… -
New improvements to Twitter for Mac
25 Apr 2013 | 10:24 amToday we’re announcing a few improvements to Twitter for Mac: Photos: It’s easier than ever to share photos. Simply click the camera icon in the lower-left corner of the Tweet compose box, and choose a photo to share. If you prefer, you can still drag and drop photos from the desktop.Retina display support: Now Twitter is even more vibrant and detailed on the highest resolution Mac notebooks. With this update, Tweets will be clearer and sharper, creating a more vivid experience. 14 more languages: In addition to English, Twitter for Mac now supports Dutch, French, German, Indonesian,… -
This Week on Twitter - Apr. 22
22 Apr 2013 | 5:00 amOn most Mondays, we post “This week on Twitter” to alert you to key things happening in the coming week. Whether it’s a live chat with the cast of your favorite TV show, a Q&A with a political candidate or a pro sports team Tweepstakes, keep current about can’t-miss moments on Twitter in the week ahead. - Ed.Monday, Apr. 22; 8:00 p.m. ET / PT It's a hashtag war! Tune into Love & Hip Hop Atlanta and vote on the characters' actions with hashtag #LHHATL. Follow @LoveHipHopVH1 for the questions and after the show for results.Countdown: ONE DAY until #LHHATL season 2 premieres…
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@ProBlogger
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How to Create a Blog Purpose Statement in 3 Simple Steps
23 May 2013 | 8:54 amYesterday, I shared a series of questions to help those bloggers seeking a little clarity when it comes to what their blog could be about. Today, I wanted to share 3 more questions – these are not so much focused upon YOU as a blogger but upon your readers. Hopefully they’ll also help you achieve a little clarity. Who are your readers? What do they need? How will they change as a result of reading your blog? Answer these 3 questions and you will actually have a pretty good purpose statement for your blog. You could certainly go into some real depth on each question but even doing… -
7 Questions to Ask Yourself to Bring Clarity to Your Blogging
22 May 2013 | 8:28 amDo you feel like you’ve lost clarity around what it is that you’re trying to do with your blog? I’ve recently bumped into a few bloggers grappling with this idea. Some were new, even ‘Pre’ Bloggers, while a couple had been blogging for a while but had lost some direction. Out of these conversations, I put together a set of questions to help them think it through. The questions revolve around asking: What are YOU About? While I won’t guarantee you instant clarity on answering these questions I hope that putting a little time aside to work through them… -
7 Steps to Proofreading Like a Pro
21 May 2013 | 9:37 amThis is a guest contribution by Charles Cuninghame, website copywriter and owner of Text-Centric. I’m sure we can all agree that proofreading is the least fun part of blogging. But while it may be tedious, it’s well worth the effort. Typos are not only embarrassing, they can also cost you money. In a widely reported study in 2011, British entrepreneur Charles Duncombe found a single spelling mistake can cut online sales in half! If you don’t have a product, then you could be missing out a blog subscriber or repeat visitor! Here’s a tried and tested proofreading process that I’ve… -
Are You Balancing Emerging Technology with Effective Strategy?
20 May 2013 | 8:21 amLast week I was asked at a conference to reflect upon the future of digital and among other things I made a reflection that seemed to resonate with those gathered. It was: Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater. As online publishers we see a steady stream of articles being written about new and future technologies, companies and trends in the online publishing space. It is certainly an exciting time to be doing what we’re doing with such amazing development happening all around us and some amazing projections being made about what is ahead of us – however in the midst… -
How to Blog Like a Pro: Workshop on the Gold Coast Australia – Next Week
19 May 2013 | 7:56 pmNext week (29th May) I’m running a special workshop at the Internet Conference on the Gold Coast here in Australia. The workshop is titled – How to Blog Like a Pro – and you’ll get 4 solid hours of teaching in it – all delivered by me in a workshop limited to 40 people only. The workshop has only previously been available to those signing up to the full 3 day conferences as an add-on but there are a few tickets still available and so I asked the organisers if we could sell them as a stand-alone ticket (i.e. you don’t have to come to the full 3 day event).
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Copyblogger
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30 Quick Editing Tips Every Content Creator Needs to Know
23 May 2013 | 4:00 amInbox 0: in a bad way. Has your brilliant content still not scored you that dream writing position, lucrative business partnership, or sweet recognition among your peers and target audience? If you think your articles are top-notch, but there’s a lonely tumbleweed blowing through your barren website, it may be because you’re just a writer. You heard me, Gloria. If everybody wants you, why isn’t anybody calling? Once you create a blog or email newsletter, you need to also actively take part in its evolution. While keeping diligent focus on your content production, you must also review… -
How to Nail the Opening of Your Blog Post
22 May 2013 | 5:00 amThe opening four notes to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony are the most popular notes in Western music. Dun dun dun dum … They are stormy. Heroic. Disorienting. Short enough to be remembered. Portentous enough to be memorable. Today you’ll find those notes everywhere. In movies, commercials, and songs when the dramatic and foreboding are needed … And we hardly bat an eye. We recognize them, we know them, and we love those first four notes. Not so for Beethoven’s opening night at Vienna’s Theater an der Wien in 1808. One contemporary composer of Beethoven —… -
5 Things Every Copywriter Needs to Know About Their Prospects
21 May 2013 | 4:00 amWhat do you really know about your prospect? Their age range perhaps? Where they live? What they do for a living? Useful definitely, but not enough to create copy that rouses emotion and compels action. For that we need to take a journey much deeper into the dark recesses of our customers’ minds … Want to join me? Today’s article is inspired by someone who understood that in writing, how well you knew your ‘characters’ made the difference between captivating an audience, or boring them. In 1946 The Art of Dramatic Writing, (now regarded as one of the best works… -
14 Free Ebooks and an Updated 20-Part Internet Marketing Course
20 May 2013 | 5:00 amCan’t see the video? Click here. Free Registration About the Author: Brian Clark is founder of Copyblogger and CEO of Copyblogger Media. Get more from Brian on Google+. Related StoriesWhy We Still Need to Write, Even When We’re Scared5 Ways to Bond with Your Blog’s Audience11 Compound Word Errors that Might Make You Look like a Numbskull -
5 Writing and Productivity Links You Can Use
18 May 2013 | 5:00 amThis week on The Lede … How A Copywriter Evaluates A Great Website The Unexpected Antidote to Procrastination The Daily Rituals of the World’s Most Creative People 4 Things That Lead to Success (or Failure) with Email Signup Forms How to Do More By Planning Less: The Power of the Anti-Plan Want to grab even more useful links (beyond those that make The Lede)? Follow @copyblogger on Twitter. // The Unexpected Antidote to Procrastination Procrastination: that merciless thief of our time, creative output, and potential reward. Mr. Bergman delivers a unique — but convincing…
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Business Blogging - How to Build A Better Blog
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Your Roadmap for Creating Purpose-Driven Content [replay]
27 Apr 2013 | 1:24 pmEarlier this week I hosted a webinar by my colleague Tom Treanor of Right Mix Marketing. Tom outlined his elegant and effective map for creating content for your blog that supports your sales and business goals. Right now you can watch the webinar replay video (no optin required) and take advantage of Tom's generous offer to save $30 on his Fast, Easy Blogging program plus get two blogging programs from me and a live mentoring class to get you on the path to better visibility on the web. While you're at it, I recommend you read Tom's guest post on 9 Ways to Improve Your Business Blog's… -
Does Your Business Blog Need a Category Cleanup?
25 Apr 2013 | 6:48 amThis is a guest post by Linda Dessau of ContentMasteryGuide.com. anyone about to start a blog should attend #barrieblogathon to get it started right.Fixing it up is really tedious :( — Kerri Fullerton ND (@BarrieND) April 18, 2013 I really admired Kerri Fullerton at last week's Barrie Business Blogathon. She said she knew she'd write more blog posts later (she's been a prolific blogger since 2009), so she was going to dedicate her Blogathon time to cleaning up her blog's categories. Creating blog post categories that reflect your brand - what you and your business are known for - will… -
Conversation with Digital Publishing Experts [Google+ Hangout]
28 Feb 2013 | 11:09 amLive Google+ Hangout on March 1 (no charge) This just in...Friday, March 1, I'm hosting a free, live, on-air Google+ Hangout with several of the featured experts who will be speaking at the upcoming Digital Publishing Online Intensive.Date: Friday, March 1Time: 10 am PT/ 1 pm ETRSVP & Watch live: https://plus.google.com/u/0/events/cenfhnb3pnkmcjlb7l43sbi47roGot questions about digital publishing? Post them on the event page.See you on the Hangout! P.S. $100 discount for the Digital Publishing Intensive expires in 3 days!http://digitalpublishingintensive.com -
From Blog to Kindle eBook - Free Gift
24 Jan 2013 | 7:31 amRepurposing your blog posts into an ebook is a fast, fairly simple tactic for you to get more visibility for your business, build your list and make more money. That's why I've decided to give away my program, From Blog to Kindle eBook, for a limited time. It usually sells for $57. For a limited time you can get the program for FREE - through January 26, 2013. Claim your gift now to get started creating a new stream of income using the world's largest ecommerce site! Related articles Top Ten Self-Publishing Blogs for Authors Business Blogging Tips - Guest Post Roundup -
Top Ten Self-Publishing Blogs for Authors
4 Jan 2013 | 7:56 amI love showcasing great business blogs! Yet the wealth of content across the web can be mind-boggling so it's always helpful to have a short cut to finding the best of the best. When it comes to information for authors and online entrepreneurs who want to self-publish their ebooks and other content, look no further than The Future of Ink's Top Ten Self-Publishing Blogs of 2012. After receiving hundreds of reader nominations, 30 finalists were reviewed by three judges: Guy Kawasaki, Mark Coker (founder of Smashwords) and Jim Edwards (Internet marketing mentor). The top ten self-publishing…
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Daily Blog Tips
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Do You Use The “30 Days to a Habit” Strategy?
22 May 2013 | 6:33 amThe premise: many studies and researches found that successful people tend to have more habits (positive habits, mind you) when compared to average people. That’s because habits add consistency and discipline to your professional and personal life, traits that are essential to reaching your goals. Examples of positive habits one can have: Exercising for 30 minutes every morning Meditating before going to sleep Remembering and using the first name of everyone, on every interaction Learning a new foreign language every couple of years Settings goals for the day every morning Reading a… -
Tool to Measure the Speed of Your Website
15 May 2013 | 7:05 amA couple of weeks ago I came across an interesting tool to measure the loading speed of your website. The tool was created by Pingdom, and it basically loads your website, tracking the time at each stage of the process. It’s called Pingdom Website Speed Test. Once the test completes you’ll with a score (varies from 0 to 100), the number of requests performed (i.e., how many elements were loaded), the total load time and the total size of your page. Here’s how DailyBlogTips scored: On top of that you’ll also get access to a detailed break-down of all the elements that… -
The eBay Affiliate Program Case
7 May 2013 | 6:23 amIf you have been building websites or working with Internet marketing for a while you probably already visited the DigitalPoint forum. It’s the largest and one of the oldest online, and it’s owner, Shawn Hogan, was well known in the Internet marketing circles. A couple of years ago I read around the web that Shawn was facing some legal troubles with his affiliate marketing activities, but there weren’t many details about the issue. Fast forward to the present day and it seems that the problems he was facing were both real and serious, according to a recent article on… -
Internet Marketing 101: Basic Elements of Sales Pages
1 May 2013 | 9:16 amLast week I linked to a post which contained 10 tips for creating effective sales pages. While all the tips mentioned are solid, I think they don’t cover all the elements you need to include on a sales page, so I decided to list them. Here you go: 1. Benefits As I explain in this post, benefits sell, not features. And since benefits are what your customer is looking for you should always start the sales pitch with them. 2. Story This is the only item which I think is optional, and its use depend on the type of product you are selling. For instance, if you are selling an ebook about… -
Tips to Create Effective Sales Pages
24 Apr 2013 | 9:12 amIf you already have a sales page, or are planning to build one soon, you should check out a post from my buddy Karl Staib, titled 10 Tips to Create a Sales Page that Converts Prospects to Customers. Karl goes through the strategies that worked well on his own sales pages, including the best practices of the industry. For instance, here’s one of the strategies mentioned, which many people overlook: 4. Share Your Technique Giving people advice that is valuable can be a little surprising to people. Many companies will hide their best information from you, so you have to hire them. When you…
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ReadWrite
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News Flash! Tablets Are Not Smartphones
23 May 2013 | 9:33 amYou probably already knew this, but a new report from Forrester wants to emphasize this seemingly obvious point: Tablets are not simply larger touchscreen smartphones. There are significant difference in where people use them, how they use them and for how long - all of which have big implications for app developers, marketers, tablet makers and a lot of other folks. As the table market continues its white-hot growth - nearly 50 million tablets were sold last quarter alone - these differences will force both innovation and disruption in publishing, advertising, retail, gaming and… -
Shazam's New iPad App Is Designed For Watching TV With A Tablet, Too
23 May 2013 | 8:37 amShazam, an app best known for identifying songs playing around you, is making a big move into identifying all kinds of media playing around you. That promises to move Shazam from our pockets, where its smartphone apps mostly identify songs, to our living rooms—and hence to the tablets we typically keep near our TVs. Those tablets are becoming known as "second screens"—and Shazam wants to have a big presence on them. The most intriguing aspect of Shazam's latest version is its added capability to tag events on live TV in the U.S., a clear sign that Shazam wants to be the gateway app for… -
Google App Engine Cuts Prices By One-Quarter
23 May 2013 | 8:15 amGoogle is reducing Datastore prices by up to 25%, according to an announcement on their Cloud Platform Blog. This price change impacts both App Engines HRD and the new Cloud Datastore introduced last week at I/O. The price decrease is sure to capture the attention of Amazon Web Services, perhaps even to the point of a small cloud price war. (Also read How Amazon's Rising Headwaters Could Threaten Google.) -
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Saves Companies Money - But Could Cost Users Big
23 May 2013 | 7:06 amBring Your Own Device (BYOD) polices are increasingly popular as a way for companies to let workers use the hardware they like best and are most productive with. But according to a new study from Cisco, that not be the best way to think about BYOD. Implement a strong BYOD policy, Cisco says, and your organization could save $1,300 per year per mobile user. Users meanwhile, report that they are happier and more productive - even though they may end up paying more out of their own pockets! (See also Worried Workers: BYOD Or You're SOL [Infographic]) Happier, More Productive, But Poorer? The… -
Android Dramatically Extends Lead With Open Source Developers
23 May 2013 | 6:03 amDespite Google Android's long market-share rise against Apple iOS, developers continued to stick with iOS as their first deployment target. While Android offered superior volume, that volume was fragmented between different versions of the OS and disparate hardware. Meanwhile, Apple offered better development tools plus clearer, more profitable revenue options. Even open-source developers tended to congregate on highly proprietary iOS. Something changed in 2012, however, and Android-related open-source development exploded. According to new research from Black Duck Software, new…
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Mashable
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Why Brands Need Two-Factor Authentication on Twitter
23 May 2013 | 9:37 amMajor brands with a presence on Twitter are being encouraged to implement Twitter's new two-factor authentication feature to help ward off hackers, and for good reason. If you look at recent hacks against companies such as Burger King, The Onion and the Associated Press — which even negatively impacted financial markets — it's clear that Twitter has become a hotbed for account hijacking. Finally, companies can increase their chances of warding off such attacks Before Wednesday, all users was logging in to Twitter the same way — those with two followers and those with 2… -
Xbox One Google+ Hangout: What We Know
23 May 2013 | 9:27 amMicrosoft unveiled its newest gaming console, the Xbox One, earlier this week, and along with it, revealed many new features attached to the console. From Xbox One's new Kinect and controller to its all-in-one entertainment hub, this gaming console extends well beyond movies and gaming. To sift through all the news that came out of Microsoft HQ this week, we will be hosting a Google+ Hangout today at 1pm ET on our Google+ page. Join Mashable Editor in Chief Lance Ulanoff, Games Reporter Chelsea Stark, Tech Editor Pete Pachal and Senior Tech Analyst Christina Warren as they recap and analyze… -
Kmart's Latest Ad Will Make You Laugh Your Gas Off
23 May 2013 | 9:16 amKmart is on a roll with its ads The discount chain is promoting a deal on gas with a funny new video called Big Gas Savings. If you don't realize the joke already, just say "big gas" out lout a couple times — and you'll get it. In the video, several customers ogle over the "really big gas discounts." One man tells his wife it solves her "big gas problem." She agrees, but gives him some cause for concern when she stares longingly at the "big gas man" standing in front of the "big gas truck." Kmart struck viral gold last month with a similar ad that played on the phrase "ship your pants."… -
LEGO Unveils Giant X-Wing Fighter in Times Square
23 May 2013 | 8:54 amIt's a dream come true for fans across the entire nerd spectrum: a life-sized X-Wing fighter built entirely of LEGOs (Just take a second to let the awesomeness of that sentence sink in. Ready? OK.) In celebration of the upcoming Cartoon Network series The Yoda Chronicles, the LEGO Group unveiled the iconic Star Wars ship — the largest LEGO structure built to date — in New York City's Times Square on Thursday. The ship will remain on display in New York for three days, then be transported to the LEGOLAND California Resort in Carlsbad, Calif., for the rest of the year The huge… -
Grown Men Reenact Conversations With a Toddler
23 May 2013 | 8:29 amWhat is it about kids that makes their nonsensical comments and absurd thoughts sound brilliant? Oh yes, they are so darn cute Kids often get away with murder — on the English language, that is. When it comes to having conversations, no one minds, because we adore them. But when a grown man tries to say that stuff? It's creepy, just plain creepy SEE ALSO: Baby 'Bachelor' Breaks Hearts in New Reality Show Filmmaker Matthew Clarke decided to prove how odd this was by staging a series of episodes entitled "Convos With My 2 Year Old," replacing an adult man in place of his daughter Coco.
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TechCrunch
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Google Takes Street View Trekker And Underwater Cameras To The Galapagos Islands, Coming To Google Maps Later This Year
23 May 2013 | 9:33 amGoogle today announced that it has been taking its Street View Trekker – the compact backpack version of its Street View cars – and its underwater Street View cameras to the Galapagos Islands and that it plans to make these images available on Google Maps later this year. The company worked together with the Charles Darwin Foundation, the Galapagos National Parks Directorate and, for the underwater survey, the Catlin Seaview Survey. The Street View team, Google says, spent 10 days in the Galapagos to capture imagery from 10 locations that were selected by its partners. During… -
Loom Is Building A Better iCloud
23 May 2013 | 9:29 amBarely a month or two after launching the Y Combinator-backed photo-sharing service Popset, the team realized they were solving the wrong problem. Users weren’t struggling to share their photos with groups; they needed tools to help them organize and manage their photo libraries across a variety of platforms and services. So the company decided to change its course, and today it’s announcing what it has in store: Loom, a cloud storage and syncing service that’s like a better alternative to iCloud. “People were requesting features and giving us feedback that caught our… -
LoyalBlocks Lands $9 Million Led By General Catalyst To Scale Out Its Mobile-Based Loyalty Program
23 May 2013 | 9:23 amLoyalBlocks, a startup that makes a mobile-focused technology platform for brick-and-mortar businesses looking to encourage customer loyalty, has raised $9 million in new funding. The round, which serves as LoyalBlocks’ Series A, was led by General Catalyst Partners with participation from Founder Collective and existing investor Gemini Israel Ventures. This brings the total investment into LoyalBlocks to $12.2 million. As part of the funding, General Catalyst’s Adam Valkin, who joined General Catalyst from Accel Ventures late last year, will join LoyalBlocks’ board. -
Congress Crowdsourcing New High-Skilled Immigration Bill, Contribute Here
23 May 2013 | 9:22 amThe U.S. House of Representatives just released its own version of a high-skilled immigration reform bill and is actively seeking input through the collective IQ of the Internet. House Oversight Chairman and one of our Most Innovative People in Democracy, Darrell Issa, has placed the Supplying Knowledge-Based Immigrants And Lifting Levels of STEM (SKILLS) Visas Act on his very own public markup utility, Project Madison (we partnered with Issa’s nonprofit, the Open Government Foundation and have integrated it into our CrunchGov site). Details Of The New Bill A few important details about… -
Google App Engine Drops Some High Replication Datastore Prices By Up To 25%
23 May 2013 | 9:04 amAt Google I/O last week, Google announced that its Google App Engine High Replication Datastore (HRD) – its schemaless object data storage service – currently processes over 4.5 trillion transactions per month, has an uptime of 99.95 percent and stores over a petabyte of data. Today, the company announced that it is dramatically reducing the pricing for some Datastore features. Storing a gigabyte of data previously cost $0.24 per month, but the company has now reduced this price to just $0.18 per month. In addition, Google is also reducing the prices for read and write operations…
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New Media Expo Blog
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Small Town Business Values in an Online World: Yes, It is Possible!
21 May 2013 | 10:00 amGrowing up in a small town of fewer than 100 people (yes, you read that right…fewer than 100!) was not always the easiest, but one thing I will always treasure is the values I learned growing up and working in a small, family-owned business. We worked hard and we played hard. We helped our neighbors. We knew our customers by name. A lot of people will tell you that these things are not scalable as your business grows, especially if you take your business online. But you know what? Those lessons I learned during my high school years at the corner of Main Street and the cow pasture have stuck… -
10 Tips for Discovering New Blogs
20 May 2013 | 10:00 amWe all tend to get stuck in our own blogging cliques from time to time. I’m as guilty as anyone. But getting out there and finding new blogs to read can be really inspiring. It can give you ideas for your own blog, introduce you to new people who have something to teach you, and give you a new perspective on the same old topics. Below, I’ve listed several ways to find new blogs to read. My challenge to you is this: at least once a month, use one of these tips to expand your feed reader (and purge any blog you don’t absolutely love – life is too short to read crap). 1. -
The Top 12 Sites in the Marketing with Social Media Course
17 May 2013 | 10:00 amBelow is a list of the top 12 sites by unique visitors, visits and page views (they are different) upon completion of the Marketing with Social Media MBA course taught by Bill Belew (that’s me writing about myself in the 3rd person). The course focused on content/inbound/social media marketing and was taught at the graduate level in an accredited university in Silicon Valley. Here are the details: The students had different blogging rhythms - 1-3 times daily and wrote various lengths of posts – 200+ to 600+ words. All actively created internal and external links and fished,… -
25 Brilliant Bloggers Talk About Vine
16 May 2013 | 10:00 amBrilliant Bloggers is a bi-weekly series here at NMX where we look at the best posts from around the web all surrounding a specific topic. Every other week, we’ll feature a brilliant blogger, along with a huge list of more resources where you can learn about the topic. You can see more Brilliant Blogger posts or learn how to submit your link for an upcoming edition here. This Week’s Topic: Vine Vine is the hottest new kid on the block, and although people are still a little tentative about using anything that involved video, this is really helping to introduce a new medium to people in… -
How to Track Conversions from YouTube Viewers [Video]
14 May 2013 | 10:00 amYouTube Partners can now link out to other sites within their video annotations, which can be a great way to drive new readers to a blog, ecommerce site, landing page, etc. You can also, of course, add links to your description and channel page. Very few people are creating video content consistently, so you have the opportunity to really stand out in your niche if you create videos. But traffic (from YouTube or otherwise) is nothing if that traffic doesn’t convert. Once someone comes to your website, are they actually performing the action that you want them to perform? Are they buying…
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MyTechOpinion
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Neighborhood Landing Pages 101
7 May 2013 | 11:28 amYou were smart enough to choose WordPress for your professional real estate website, so don’t miss opportunities to convert nosy neighbors into clients. Learn how to set up local landing pages with the relevant info your targets want and need. The post Neighborhood Landing Pages 101 appeared first on MyTechOpinion. -
Responsive Web Design: It’s Not When, It’s Now
26 Apr 2013 | 9:03 amNeed a few compelling reasons to update your website to a responsive design? How about 11 reasons…starting with one mindblowing stat: “91% of US citizens have their mobile device within reach 24/7. And they are checking their phones an average of 150x a day!” Hold on for a sec…I need to check my phone! The post Responsive Web Design: It’s Not When, It’s Now appeared first on MyTechOpinion. -
Research: The Digital House Hunt – Consumer and Market Trends in Real Estate
26 Jan 2013 | 7:13 amOr download the PDF The post Research: The Digital House Hunt – Consumer and Market Trends in Real Estate appeared first on MyTechOpinion. -
Is YesWare the answer to increasing email productivity and effectiveness?
20 Jan 2013 | 7:04 amIs YesWare the answer to increasing email productivity and effectiveness? The post Is YesWare the answer to increasing email productivity and effectiveness? appeared first on MyTechOpinion. -
New Responsive WordPress Child Themes for Real Estate
14 Jan 2013 | 10:14 amAgent Evolution Releases WordPress Themes for Real Estate Both the Curb Appeal and Turn Key themes are responsive, fully customizable, include multiple widgets and are for use with the Genesis Framework. The post New Responsive WordPress Child Themes for Real Estate appeared first on MyTechOpinion.
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The Phoenix Real Estate Guy
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Elephants, Ants and Gelato
14 May 2013 | 8:52 pmFinally. My therapy is complete. I have no more “dates” with the healing orb. No more “accessing my port”. No more “lost days”. I do have many things to come. Scans every three months for the next year. A colonoscopy in September. A return to my regular exercise routine and a dramatic change in my diet. All stuff I am ready and prepared for. 8 months ago, the process I just finished seemed overwhelming. How do you do it? How do you eat an elephant? Most of you know the answer. One bite at a time. That philosophy was key for me and my family. Don’t get too… -
Phoenix appraisal issues, now what?
22 Apr 2013 | 9:09 amWin-Win Last week I wrote about how Phoenix appraisals are a crazy game. You never know what is going to happen. So the question goes back to, what do you do if your Phoenix appraisal comes in low? Obvious answer is.. well, it depends. If an appraisal on a $200,000 comes in at $195,000, that is one thing. If the appraisal on a $200,000 house comes back at $186,000, that is a completely different ballgame. First, hopefully the Seller’s agent has had a conversation with the Seller before the home was even listed about the possibility that this could happen. If that conversation never… -
365 Days Ago
21 Apr 2013 | 2:44 amIf you’re so inclined, take a little trip over to Now Pondering and see what happened 365 days ago. Here’s a hint: Originally posted on Phoenix Real Estate Guy. If you are reading this anywhere but inside your RSS feed reader or your email client, the site you are on is guilty of stealing content. (c) Copyright Jay Thompson. All Rights Reserved. -
Phoenix appraisals, you never know
15 Apr 2013 | 10:05 amThe more time I spend in this business and the more time I believe I understand what will happen, the more I am surprised. The only thing certain about a Phoenix area appraisal is the uncertainty. With prices increasing as fast as they continue to do in Phoenix and the East Valley real estate market, you always worry about appraisals keeping up with the demand. The issue with prices increasing so quickly is finding comparable properties to use for a home priced to take into account the rising demand and prices. Sometimes they get it, sometimes not In my experience, over the last few months… -
What Homeowners in Phoenix can do to help sell their home
4 Apr 2013 | 8:01 amWhat you don’t want to see So you listed your home with an agent to sell. Now, what can you do now to help ensure your home sells? Well of course there are a few basics such as keep your home neat, decluttered, and maybe professionally staged. You also should make sure you make the buyer feel comfortable by leaving during showings, but those are not what I want you to take away from this post. What I am going to recommend in this article, is something else that you may not think of, but may be even more important. Spy on yourself. So what do I mean by spy on yourself? Once your agent…
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Inman News » Next
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Corcoran Group shows how Tumblr is done
22 May 2013 | 12:16 pmOn its “10 a.m. Special” Tumblr page, The Corcoran Group showcases one jaw-dropping listing every day. The posts are bursting with a colorful mixture of new media that includes clickable photos and graphics, embedded videos, and invitations to follow Corcoran on Pinterest, YouTube and Foursquare. Highlighting the full range of content and social platforms made possible by the Internet, Corcoran’s “10 a.m. Special” Tumblr page paints a picture of how brokers and agents may use the blogging site to market themselves and their properties. The acquisition of Tumblr… -
Dropbox integration makes it easy to bring photos and video into Imprev Marketing Center
20 May 2013 | 4:57 pmThe integration of Dropbox into Imprev’s Marketing Center makes it easier for agents to collaborate with others to bring photos, video and documents into their marketing materials, the company said. Professional photographers, for example, can upload photos to a shared folder within the Marketing Center for brokers and agents to use in their campaigns. Imprev’s Marketing Center is a mobile-optimized platform with single-property websites, YouTube-enabled videos, and prewritten email, print and social media ad campaigns. Dropbox, the cloud-based document storage platform, allows… -
Creating website calls to action that build your real estate business [infographic]
20 May 2013 | 3:45 pmGetting people to visit your website presents its own unique challenges: the right keywords, top-notch website infrastructure, modern design, exceptional content, responsive architecture and consistent promotion are all part of the mix. But what happens when someone gets to your site is really where the action starts. Calls to action, or CTAs, as many marketers call them, are some of the most important elements of online marketing and lead generation. We generally use the term “call to action” to describe the instructions we give website visitors to guide their behavior. Note that… -
3 ways to leverage Facebook threads for real estate Q&As
14 May 2013 | 11:45 amI’m always monitoring social media news, so I was pretty excited when Facebook announced a new comment thread feature for business and brand pages. The feature is available to eligible pages now by opting in inside your page’s admin panel. A permanent switchover for all pages is scheduled for July. Regardless if you’re an agent, broker or a page manager for a real estate organization, it’s important to start planning how you’re going to use this new feature to increase your page’s social engagement. Especially because with the launch of Facebook Graph Search, the amount of… -
How smart photos will change real estate
9 May 2013 | 12:04 pmEverything around us is getting smarter. Phones, cars, televisions, refrigerators, books, thermostats…and maybe even humans. I find most of these advancements to be very interesting, and quite useful in the daily lives of most people around me. Photographs, however, are something that I’m particularly interested in watching (and helping) become smarter. Photos are everywhere; and are certainly at the crux of online real estate, which, in 2012, included 93% of people who sold a home, and 96% of people (under age 44) who bought a home. Oh, and don’t forget the hundreds of…
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Mortgage Rates & News from The Mortgage Reports
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30-Year Mortgage Rates Are Not 3.59 Percent — They’re Much Higher Than That
23 May 2013 | 9:38 amA government report says this week's mortgage rates are 3.59% with 0.7 discount points. See how the usually-accurate Freddie Mac missed this week's true mortgage rates.Click for the complete post : 30-Year Mortgage Rates Are Not 3.59 Percent — They’re Much Higher Than That. -
Mortgage Rates Today : Real-Time MBS Pricing, May 23, 2013
23 May 2013 | 8:56 amReal-time mortgage market updates for May 23, 2013. Updates provided by MBSQuoteline, an MBS subscription provider for loan officers.Click for the complete post : Mortgage Rates Today : Real-Time MBS Pricing, May 23, 2013. -
Beat The New FHA MIP Cancellation Policy, Effective June 3, 2013
23 May 2013 | 4:11 amBeginning June 3, 2013, many FHA-insured homeowners will be forced to pay 30 years of MIP. Beat the change. Get an FHA Case Number today.Click for the complete post : Beat The New FHA MIP Cancellation Policy, Effective June 3, 2013. -
Existing Home Sales : Homes Selling Quickly And At Higher Prices
22 May 2013 | 9:48 amApril 2013 home resales reached their highest point since the tax-credit fueled month of November 2009. Homes are selling quicker, and at higher prices. Tips for buyers.Click for the complete post : Existing Home Sales : Homes Selling Quickly And At Higher Prices. -
Mortgage Rates Today : Real-Time MBS Pricing, May 22, 2013
22 May 2013 | 8:54 amReal-time mortgage market updates for May 22, 2013. Updates provided by MBSQuoteline, an MBS subscription provider for loan officers.Click for the complete post : Mortgage Rates Today : Real-Time MBS Pricing, May 22, 2013.
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Inman News » Contributor Article
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Nearly half of all US homeowners with a mortgage still ‘underwater’ in Q1
22 May 2013 | 9:01 pmZillow: Homeowners with 'effective' negative equity helped keep inventory lowDespite rising home prices early in the year, a significant portion of U.S. homeowners with a mortgage — about 44 percent — still owed more on their home than it was worth or didn’t have enough equity to move at the end of the first quarter, according to Zillow’s first-quarter Negative Equity Report. Zillow’s analysis showed that 25.4 percent of homeowners with a mortgage were underwater on their homes, while another 18.2 percent more were “effectively” underwater, with less… -
3 game-changing reasons for getting started with Google Analytics [Infographic]
29 Apr 2013 | 2:40 pmFor most people, analytics is one of those subjects that other people pay attention to. There are a number of reasons why this is the case: there’s not enough time, it doesn’t seem important, or maybe it seems way too complicated. For years I was in the same boat, relying on a webmaster or someone from my marketing team to interpret all those bits of information into something that they thought I would find interesting or useful. Those were always wholly unsatisfying meetings, sitting with my marketing manager, asking questions like, “Why aren’t our visitors buying?” or, “We made… -
Calculated Risk: Housing inventory won’t bottom until 2014 [VIDEO]
10 Apr 2013 | 9:09 amFinance blogger Bill McBride sees near-term price increases exceeding expectationsFormer tech executive turned blogger Bill McBride was one of the first to suggest that homes were precariously overvalued back in 2005. When he spots a trend, people have learned to listen. McBride — who gets up early every day to post his analyses of news on the finance and economics blog he founded in 2005, Calculated Risk — thinks housing inventory won’t bottom until 2014. Calculated Risk author Bill McBride discusses home prices and inventories with Inman News reporter Paul Hagey. -
New ad campaign highlights California Realtors’ role in state economy
1 Apr 2013 | 3:27 pmAds to air on TV, the Web, radio and print in the stateThe California Association of Realtors announced a new TV, Web, radio and print ad campaign today that highlights the positive impact its 155,000 members have on the state’s economy. Two 30-second TV spots, featuring the "ripple" effect that the facilitation of home buying and selling has on the economy and families, will air on the ABC network in San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco from today through June 16. In addition, on April 17, a spot will air during the network’s hit show "Modern Family" in… -
National Association of Realtors to release national MLS
1 Apr 2013 | 12:12 pmIndustry players breathe sigh of reliefA national multiple listing service run by the National Association of Realtors should be ready by late summer, the large trade association announced today. NAR has been working for the last decade to put all of the nation’s agent-represented homes for sale into one database, consolidating the 800-plus multiple listing services in the U.S. in the process. "Everybody has been on board with the national MLS idea for a long time and we’ve been working on it for the last decade," the trade group said in a press release. Brian Boero,…
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Web Real Estate Tools
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QR codes are officially dead
7 May 2013 | 1:07 pmHow many times have you read a similar headline? Blogging is dead. IDX is dead. Hollywood is dead. Usually the headlines are just for dramatic effect, but this time I believe it to be true - “QR codes are dead” QR codes were one of those shiny objects that Realtors were encouraged to... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] -
Does your website suck?
26 Apr 2013 | 12:21 pmIs your website losing you thousands of $$$$’s? Let me explain why it might – the other day I was trawling real estate agents on Yelp. I figured that if agents were smart enough to gather positive reviews they were probably both productive and have a decent web presence. Man, was I so... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] -
Fully responsive IDX now available!
15 Mar 2013 | 8:15 pmResponsive website designs are all the rage right now … … we reported here how this WordPress site was revamped to take advantage of the responsive design concept. Responsive sites work by using special coding (media queries and CSS) to reformat the content, to fit not just normal... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] -
Posterous is shutting down – act now!
6 Mar 2013 | 1:34 pmUntil April 30th, you can download all of your Posterous Spaces including your photos, videos, and documents. After that Posterous Spaces will no longer be available either to view or to edit. So download the data that you want to keep. Here are the steps: Go to http://posterous.com/#backup. Click... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]] -
Dual Agency – Double ending – is it just plain wrong?
4 Mar 2013 | 5:03 pmHere in San Diego the market is hot right now … … which is great, but I’m beginning to see some very unsavory practices, where greed has raised it’s ugly head. We all know that some buyers prefer to work with listing agents, the buyer knows the agent will receive both ends... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]
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Zillow Blog - Real Estate Market Stats, Celebrity Real Estate, and Zillow News
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Millions Remain Trapped by ‘Effective’ Negative Equity, Even If They’re Not Underwater
22 May 2013 | 9:06 pmThe number of American homeowners in negative equity — or “underwater,” owing more on their mortgages than their homes are worth — continues to fall. But even if homeowners are no longer underwater, they still may be stuck in their current homes. The national negative equity rate fell in the first quarter, to 25.4 percent of all homeowners with a mortgage, according to the first quarter Zillow Negative Equity Report. But another 18.2 percent of homeowners with mortgages, while not technically underwater, likely do not have enough equity to afford to move. Slightly more than 13… -
‘Cougar Town’ Star Christa Miller Relists Brentwood Home
22 May 2013 | 3:11 pmSource: IMDb Although home prices are skyrocketing in Los Angeles’ high-end Brentwood area, it doesn’t mean all sellers are quite out of the woods. Take, for example, a home owned by TV show creator and producer Bill Lawrence (he’s been behind “Scrubs” and “Cougar Town”) and his wife, actress Christa Miller, who currently stars on “Cougar Town.” The couple’s home just hit the market for $10.995 million, well below the $12.6 million they purchased the property for in 2007. Even with a heated bidding war, which is happening more often… -
See Zillow’s 2013 Webby Acceptance Speech
22 May 2013 | 12:11 pmLast night in New York City, Zillow was honored as the People’s Voice winner and the overall Webby Award winner for the Real Estate category in the 17th Annual Webby Awards. Once a year — and only once — I allow the Zillow marketing team to go off-brand for one of the most challenging awards acceptance speeches around: the five-word Webby Awards speech. This is our seventh Webby Award win, and this year the team didn’t disappoint. Zillow Account Executive Michael Botefuhr was on hand to accept this prestigious award, channeling his inner Macklemore in very special Zillow-ized… -
Cabinet Refacing: How to Update Your Kitchen for Less
22 May 2013 | 11:15 amBy Steve Bernstein Thinking about giving your dated kitchen a new appearance? Fortunately, there is a cost-effective alternative to replacing your cabinets completely — you can reface them. Refacing is a quick and relatively inexpensive way to achieve a refreshed aesthetic with minimal disruption to your kitchen and daily life. Source: excelconstructiontx.com Cabinet boxes & trim As part of a refacing project, cabinet boxes and frames are usually kept, while cabinet doors and drawer fronts are replaced. (The size and layout of your cabinets remains unchanged.) Assuming your cabinet… -
House of the Week: Popular Mechanics’ 1955 House of the Future
22 May 2013 | 10:51 amA master panel in the bedroom controls all the indoor and outdoor lights, as well as turns on a coffeemaker in the kitchen. Built in Brentwood, CA to last several centuries, and withstand fire, earthquakes and temperature extremes, Popular Mechanics’ 1955 “House of the Future” still contains features desired by homeowners today. Of course, some of the amenities have lost their novelty. A once-touted “new magnetic-impulse transmitter,” which opens a garage door from 100-feet away, now comes standard in most homes. Meanwhile, the intercom system that runs…
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Trulia Corporate Blog
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Trulia’s iPhone Rental App Helps Reunite a Long-Distance Husband and Wife
22 May 2013 | 10:31 amIn today’s volatile job and housing markets, more and more Americans have found themselves forced to relocate to pursue new employment opportunities or seek lower cost of living. When a round of layoffs hit San Francisco Bay Area native Kari and her husband Shane, they knew they had to relocate for better job and housing options. “After Shane lost his job, we decided to move out of the Bay Area,” shares Kari. “My older sister lives a few hours away in Sacramento, so we started looking for a rental there first.” Kari and Shane began job and house hunting in Sacramento, CA, just two… -
In Addition to Hiking and Traveling, Trulia Becomes One User’s Fun Leisurely Hobby
8 May 2013 | 3:13 pmAshley traveling in Venice, Italy. In 2010, Ashley and her partner bought their first house in Oakland, CA. As the two settled in and learned more about their community and surroundings, Ashley became fascinated with the Oakland real estate market. More and more she found herself continuing to browse through various listings on a daily basis. “We used Trulia.com when we were looking for our first home and I was hooked. Once I started to get to know Oakland more, I realized that the market here is really eclectic and interesting. You have million dollar homes three blocks away from… -
Trulia to Acquire Market Leader
8 May 2013 | 3:08 amTrulia to Acquire Market Leader, Combining Trulia’s Massive Consumer Audience with the Leading Comprehensive SaaS Solution for the Real Estate Industry We are very excited to announce that Trulia has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Market Leader, Inc. (NASDAQ: LEDR, “Market Leader”), a provider of Software as a Service (SaaS)-based software that helps agents generate, manage, engage and market to their contacts and provides enterprise tools for franchisors and brokerages to route leads, evaluate lead efficacy, manage agent performance, and track consumer trends. This… -
Congratulations to our #TruliaOpenHouse Winners!
25 Apr 2013 | 6:17 pmTrulia is happy to announce the five lucky winners of our Twitter contest in honor of Nationwide Open House Weekend! The five winners each tweeted a photo of an open house they visited over the weekend with the #TruliaOpenHouse hashtag, and now each will receive a $50 gift card! Thank you everyone for all your entries. Here’s a list of the winners and their winning tweets – check them out! It looks like Danielle has a keen eye for bay windows. Here’s Marissa’s $50 winning shot, which allegedly put Marissa’s Twitter-doubting husband in his place. (#win)… -
Finding The Right Neighborhood with Trulia’s Interactive Maps
24 Apr 2013 | 12:41 pmMatt had always viewed the house hunting process as a hassle. A few years ago when his wife Amber mentioned they should start thinking about buying a home, Matt began to really feel overwhelmed. Not long thereafter, Matt found Trulia, right in time for his first home-search mission: finding the right neighborhood to raise his family. “My friend introduced me to Trulia and from the beginning I could tell it would ease the house hunting burden. My wife was hooked and would send me Trulia links all the time. We were really learning a lot. It was great,” shared Matt. The couple quickly…
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1000watt
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The outside innovator’s Real Estate Cribsheet
16 May 2013 | 11:49 amCruising through a dozen or so apps and services demoing at the RealTech SF event in San Francisco a couple weeks ago made me realize how much the real estate startup scene is once again in full swing. Many of these startups have great ideas, solid engineering and a thirst for growth. But few seem to have a grasp on the greater real estate industry – the ecosystem in which relationships grow, technology connects and politics governs. As someone who genuinely wishes to see more innovators succeed in real estate, this cribsheet came to mind. Think of it as a primer on the basics. First,… -
Wisdom from the silent majority
14 May 2013 | 10:03 am“Brokers don’t have a clue…” That’s the sentiment expressed in the comments in Brian’s post on the new home search app from Chase. The idea is that brokers don’t pay attention to where their listings are syndicated, even though they have plenty of tools to do just that, and then complain when they show up somewhere unexpected. I don’t buy it. That thinking just doesn’t sit well with me. See, we work with lots of really smart brokers here at 1000watt. People who work hard, day in, day out, to do right by their clients and their listings. People who get the web. Smart… -
Thoughts on the Trulia/Market Leader deal
9 May 2013 | 9:38 amTrulia’s acquisition of Market Leader is a big deal. There are lots of things to say about it, but I’ll share just a few initial thoughts below. They’re in no particular order, and are perhaps a bit scattered (in the air at the moment), but here goes: This is a smart move by Trulia Trulia has always been perceived, accurately or not, as Zillow’s plucky little brother. Even with a successful IPO and impressive revenue growth (if not profits), the company seemed to be playing a supporting role in Zillow’s movie. They needed to make a big move, and did. You have to… -
Friday Flash: A public CMA and awesomeness outta nowhere
3 May 2013 | 11:23 amRedfin continues to pull apart the tight weave of the brokerage value proposition. Today, the company launched a “Home Value Estimator”. It’s a public-facing CMA tool, more or less. A consumer puts in their address, or the address of a home they are interested in buying, adds comps (or removes the comps suggested by the tool) and gets a value estimate along with a side-by-side comparison of the subject property and comps. It’s basic, but well executed. Every brokerage in America should have something like this on their website. But every brokerage in America’s agents would scream… -
Real estate reverie
30 Apr 2013 | 9:25 amFrom the backseat, I hand Thinh my credit card. He processes the charge for the ride. With the receipt and pen tucked in his grip, he passes me the clipboard and says… “Now is a great time to buy a house.” “You an agent”? I shoot at him. Thinh’s face bursts into a wide, disarming smile. “No, no, no – I’m a cabbie. But it is a good time to buy.” We’re curbside at the Honolulu airport. Last thing I expect after spending four days at the AREAA conference is to find myself captured inside a taxi and lead generated by an animated, Vietnamese cabbie. Thinh…
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GeekEstate Blog
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Legal carnival sideshow
22 May 2013 | 1:37 pmLooks like Ben Cabellero from the infamous NAREP has entered the form promulgation and legal interpretation business. Take a look at the form sent out to brokers and agents in an email today. I find it interesting that the organization is willing to send out forms to a wide network of brokers and agents. What do you think? Is he nuts? Or on to something…(links to message and addendum below) NAREP email to broker and agents NAREP- Addendum to Listing Agreement image courtesy of David.R.Carroll on flickr The post Legal carnival sideshow appeared first on GeekEstate Blog. -
DocuSign Acquires Cartavi
15 May 2013 | 10:01 amThe real estate technology consolidation continued today, as DocuSign acquired Cartavi. Here’s the press release: DocuSign Acquires Cartavi to Create End-to-End Digital Real Estate Transaction Collaboration Cartavi, a DocuSign Company, and zipLogix ® To Deliver Best-in-Class Solution with Forms, Collaboration and eSignature SAN FRANCISCO, CA; DETROIT, MI and WASHINGTON, DC – NAR MID YEAR MEETING – May 15, 2013– DocuSign, The Global Standard for eSignature®, and the official and exclusive eSignature provider of the National Association of REALTORS®, announced it has acquired… -
The Combo of Real Estate and Tech – a Tech House (in Vegas)
12 May 2013 | 6:26 pmBeing the fact that this is a technology blog focused on real estate, it seems fitting that we should cover an actual physical piece of (proposed) real estate focused on technology. The Vegas Tech House in Las Vegas. Who is behind it? None other than my friend Jon Sterling, who is certainly no stranger to the real estate industry. A Keller Williams broker for many years, worked at Altos Research for awhile, and has now moved on to co-found AgentFindr.com. Beyond that, he decided to undertake building a Tech House in Vegas after moving there earlier this year — largely due to the young… -
100 Smartphone Real Estate Videos in 100 Days: A Challenge
8 May 2013 | 9:31 amOnline buyers want more video content, and video technology has become much simpler to use. I’m challenging myself, and anyone who’d like to join me, to create 100 neighborhood videos in 100 days. To make that happen, I’m going to shoot video only on my smartphone. Where did this idea come from? R.E. agent discussions focus a lot on what the big data aggregators are doing to beat them online. However, no amount of server capacity or programming staff can drive through a neighborhood, take video, and speak intelligently about that neighborhood and the local market… -
DoorSteps Acquired by Move
2 May 2013 | 11:16 amCongratulations!! I’m a big fan of Michele and team — both because they are great people but also because they’ve executed to build a real brand that means something. Great strategic acquisition by Move. Click here to view the embedded video. Press Release The post DoorSteps Acquired by Move appeared first on GeekEstate Blog.
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Mortgage News Daily
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Home Price Gains Triple Inflation, but Not Without Distressed Sales
23 May 2013 | 9:10 amPosted To: MND NewsWireAs has every other price-related report, the one issued by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today confirmed the upward momentum of home prices in the first quarter of 2013. FHFA's Home Price Index (HPI) rose 1.9 percent, the seventh consecutive quarter that the seasonally adjusted, purchase-only index has risen. The 1.9 percent quarter rise may actually understate a growing momentum; the seasonally adjusted index rose 1.3 percent just in March, the last month of the quarter. This was the 14 th consecutive increase in the monthly HPI. Since the first quarter of… -
FHFA Watchdog Sends Milestone Report to Congress
23 May 2013 | 6:44 amPosted To: MND NewsWireThe fifth Semiannual Report from the Office of Inspector General ( OIG ) of the Federal Housing Finance Agency ( FHFA ) was released to Congress today. The report, prepared under the direction of Steve A. Linick, Inspector General, catalogues the audit and evaluation work done by OIG between October 1, 2012 and March 31, 2013 and the current status of FHFA, the government sponsored enterprises ( GSEs ) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks ( FHLBanks ). It also recounts investigative activities in support of federal and state prosecutors pursuing… -
The Day Ahead: MBS in Full Melt-Down Mode. What Next?
23 May 2013 | 3:58 amPosted To: MBS CommentaryThe idea of "tapering" the Fed's long term asset purchases isn't as new as the past two weeks might make it seem. It was most visibly introduced in early February when both Bullard and Fisher spoke out in favor of the notion. But a quick count of all Reuters newswires in which the word has appeared since then shows that it really exploded on April 10th after the last FOMC Minutes release. Suddenly, "tapering" was the talk of the town and was strangely soothing to bond bulls fearing a more abrupt exit and strangely emboldening to Fed Hawks, seen as proponents of… -
MBS Annihilated After Fed Confirms The Hype
22 May 2013 | 5:11 pmPosted To: MBS CommentaryMBS Live : MBS Afternoon Market Summary Today was among the worst on record for MBS since the carnage that was late 2010. We still have yet to see anything rival Black Wednesday's, but almost exactly 4 years after that 2+ point evisceration (5/27/2009), today's loss of just over a point--in the midst of what was already an unpleasant downtrend--conjured up the same sort of gut-wrenching feelings. At least in the current case, there's some measure of logic involved, not to mention much more advanced notice. It might not prove to be the 4-month game changer that Black… -
Why Did Mortgage Rates Skyrocket Past 2013 Highs on Wednesday?
22 May 2013 | 3:10 pmPosted To: Mortgage Rate WatchMortgage rates were utterly destroyed today. Not only did the average rate move above the highest seen in 2013, but rates haven't been this high since May 22nd of 2012! Of course, there's the "everything's relative" perspective, whereby we can attempt to appreciate the fact that best-execution is still around 3.75%, but the fact remains that the day over day movement was devastatingly swift, and on the the most aggressively negative end of the spectrum of possibilities heading into the day. We'll dig into some of the reasons for today's spike after the following…
