Lots of big news yesterday

It's been an eventful 36 hours in the world of technology and real estate. In case you missed it:

Google launched Latitude, a service that lets users identify their location, and that of their friends, on a mobile phone. We've seen location-aware apps before (from Loopt, Brightkite, Yahoo! and others), but this is of a different order of magnitude. Work in this area has lots of implications for real estate, but just think about the advertising possibilities alone -- targeting may be taken to an entirely new level.

The New York Times released and API that unlocks all the paper's stories going back to 1981. It's hard not to see the parallels to MLS. Marshall Kirkpatrick, writing on Read/WriteWeb, nails it (just switch "newspapers" for "MLSs"):

"It's a transformation moment towards interconnectedness and away from isolation. A quality API could throw the doors wide open to a future where "newspapers" are important again."

Trulia set up an MLS Advisory Board. They've been knocking on MLS doors for a while, but now they're putting the pedal to the metal. It makes me think there is something to this MLS thing.

In a move that should have big brokers everywhere speed-dialing their IT directors, Box.net, the online file storage/management company, announced enhancements to their platform aimed at the enterprise. I ask again, "whither transaction management?"

A big day. Onward!

-- Brian Boero

What ever happened to Transaction Management?

Seriously.

Back in the day, those who watched real estate and technology closely talked about little else. Especially during the post dot-com, pre-Web 2.0 interregnum. "TMS" platforms were seen as drivers of the paperless transaction, a vision the industry had been chasing for years. The products promised efficiencies, security, and a more satisfying customer experience.

Guru Networks
SureClose
TransactionPoint
Transaction Manager
Settlement Room

These were the Trulias and Zillows of their time. They were subject to debate, fiercely competitive, and placed on a pedestal.

Now? Transaction Management Systems are the microwave ovens of online real estate: Still useful for some, but often timeworn and vaguely disappointing.

These products rarely surface in conversation, online or off. The last numbers I saw indicated that only about 10% of practitioners use them. They have yet to find a place in the world of real estate 2.0.

Part of the problem may lie with the short attention spans of people like me. But it's also a marketing problem. For some of these products remain viable.

But I think there's a more important lesson to be learned here for vendors and practitioners alike. Big proprietary systems are out; nimble, flexible apps are in.

If you're a small broker, why invest in a TMS when you can:

• Collaborate on deals using a wiki platform like wetpaint or pbwiki?
• Use lean, mean and dirt cheap project management platforms like Basecamp and actionthis?
• Leverage online office suites like Google Apps and Zoho?
• Back up docs using storage services like Box.net, DocumenTree and Carbonite? 

If you're a big broker, why spend a million dollars building your own platform when you can hitch a ride on the one Salesforce.com recently released?

If you're an agent, the number of free tools available to you is breathtaking.

Things are moving too quickly for massive code bases and long-term contracts. The industry is too complex for rigid, overbuilt feature sets. To the extent that there is a place for a category called "Transaction Management" in the future, it will be owned by those who embrace the mindset of the Taurine-fueled facebook app developer, not the blue-blazered product VP.

Am I overstating the issue? Let me know. Maybe I'm too close to it. And I do often wear a blue blazer myself.

-- Brian Boero