Real estate on steroids

Stattweets launched today, enabling sports fans to follow their favorite teams, get spreads, scores, standings, ranks etc.

The idea isn't new but their angle is. The content here is broadcast direct from the teams themselves rather than from the arbitrary public. 

Immediate info.
Direct from the source.
I love this.
 
And I would love this from real estate.

Imagine a REStatweets that broadcast Just listed, Just sold, Pending, local stats and spreads from every major, minor and collegiate real estate brand locally and nationally. 

Subscribers might include agents and brokers who would be able to acquire new listing information from any or every one of the brokerage brands listed in the network. If agent A gets a listing right this second, how much time would elapse before that listing is uploaded into the MLS and broadcast to out to the agent population? How much time would it take before it's broadcast out to the marketplace?

REstattweets could reduce that down to seconds. 

This does not replace the MLS. It simply acts a surrogate service that gets the ball rolling quickly. It's a listing alert on steroids. It's an open house alert on steroids. It's what's happening on every block on steroids. 

It's real estate on steroids.
 
Consumers could subscribe too. Now, I know sports engenders a certain fanaticism that you may think real estate does not have. But I'm not dribbling in that end of the logic court. I believe real estate is addictive. I believe it's voyeuristic. And I believe those who work inside it (agents, title reps, mortgage orginators, and the like) as well as those outside - the consumer - possess a healthy passion for it.

Especially now.

Micro-broadcasting in real estate is still in its infancy. Early adopters are currently focused on broadcasting about themselves and what they are doing. I've learned there is value there but I am still convinced that content only has a few seconds of real relevancy and pales in value to reporting useful data. 

Sports might be apples to real estate's oranges. But data is data. Any engine that could power the instant delivery of it is one I believe is worth subscribing to, paying for and driving. 

- Davison
Twitter: 1000wattmarc

The road to killer

This year, as in the  past, I'm moderating several sessions at Real  Estate Connect. If you've not yet registered, take the time to do so -- it's going to be a great show. One of my sessions is titled "Building a killer brokerage in a Web 2.0 world." I'm devoting this article to part of what that conversation will be about.

What is a 'Web 2.0 world'?

We've all read the O'Reilly manifesto. It's deep, comprehensive and defines how millions of people interact online. Most have no sense of what folksonomy, long tail, open source, and Ruby on Rails are or mean. Nevertheless, these things have changed the way they interact with each other forever.

Perhaps it is simple curiosity that propels most people into social engagement on the Web. Or the challenge of figuring out something new. Or maybe it's a desire to be part of a phenomenon.

Real estate people, on the other hand, are more practical. And at times stubborn. Maybe a bit too much for their own good.

But let's face it, some of what's popular about Web 2.0, while arguably cool, is a bit silly. I get Facebook. But then again, I've never written on someone's wall. What's the point in that? And the notion that I have more than 500 friends is a tad dishonest. And Twitter. Yes, I have an account. But the volume of utter nonsense that streams into it is deafening. And for most agents, Twitter's a game that has no measure of return on it.

So what is it about this quirky Web 2.0 that so many are drawn to? What, if any parts of it, can real estate use to build that "killer brokerage"? We're going to dig into this in my session next week, but for now let's get started on …

The road to killer

I've  isolated five elements of Web 2.0 that pertain to this endeavor. Nail these and  you're good to go.

Design: Think curb appeal. Picture that carefully manicured front lawn. And the unencumbered path that points guests to the front door. That's your home page.

Web 2.0 design is an aesthetic that instinctively creates purpose. It distills a sense of invitation to the site. Specific colors transmit activity. Connectivity. Empowerment. Those oranges, greens and blues throw off a ray of fun. Excitement. Youth. It's an appeal that invites and welcomes.

Real estate, however, still clings to a Reagan-era palette tied to logos developed before there was such a thing as research and marketing.

Web 2.0 design is something that can take your worn-out broker brand and pop it with freshness. If you think your marketplace will be confused by a logo and design redo … ask Lennox Scott if it affected his company when he did it 20 years ago. Better yet, I'll do it for  you. He's on the panel.

Navigation: You may understand terms like "MLS." And "exclusive properties." The user, however, does not. What does "exclusive" mean anyway? Does it mean I need to be special to view it?

Web 2.0 navigation  is simple. Like one entry point to search. Not 10.

Like "Contact Me" offering a dozen ways to make contact. Not one form where I get to tell you how to reach me but you still don't tell me how to reach you. A killer navigator guides people down a clean and simple path. A killer brokerage is one that does that online as well as offline.

Copy: This is also simple in the Web 2.0 world. Unencumbered by saccharine odes to the home and ham-handed hucksterism. It's not long and winding, whistling its own Dixie. And it never tries to take ownership of what it can't guarantee. You don't get to tell me you're my "Realtor for life." You don't own that right, just like Apple doesn't own the right to sell connectivity even though most of its products are built to create it. They cannot guarantee connectivity. But they own "Twice as Fast -- Half the Price."

Killer copy. It's short. To the point. And tells it like it is without sap. And it takes ownership of only those things you can own.

Content: Web 2.0 content is original. Meaningful. Opinionated. Fresh. And topical. If your copy is written by others, and cloned over and over on hundreds of sites … well that's simply not killer. I'm sorry but I don't believe that a "Home Buyer's Guide" should be the same for a site in Santa Barbara and for one in Stockton.

Killer is real content. Written by the people in your company. It taps the brains of your agents who know the community better than any technology ever can. And it leverages that knowledge. A killer brokerage deals with issues. And isn't afraid to publish content that is truthful. Like telling sellers they will never sell their home if they price it too high. That's killer.

Conversation: Lets face it: Few of us are mired in endless debate over the merits of Euripides and his progressive portrayal of the intelligent woman versus those of Aeschylus and Sophocles, his counterparts who together made up the trilogy of great tragedians of classical Athens.

Most conversation is simple. Sometimes even trivial. Regardless, people have a dire need to converse. A killer brokerage gets itself in the center of that conversation -- especially if it's about the community. Brokerages have scripted a tragedy of their own these past 10 years by distancing themselves from the conversation by virtue of Web 1.0. The consumer went somewhere else. But they are still conversing. Trulia Voices proves that. A killer brokerage should own the voices of its own community.

A killer brokerage in a Web 2.0 world

A killer brokerage is one that inspires oneness. Internally with its independent agents and externally with its customers. It's a culture.

Picture the Yankees. A team of independent free agents. But when they put on the pinstripes and step out onto the field they become one. Better than many other teams. That's what I mean by killer.

Building that killer brokerage in the Web 2.0 world also means it must be profitable. And it must borrow from the ethos of what lies at the heart of what real etate is  - service, community,  assistance and yes the godfather of all Web 1.0 practices some semblance of lead generation.

There is more to real estate Web 2.0 that some bright colors a cool design and an RSS feed. What that is, what it looks like and who is going to do it is what this session is about.

I will be moderating this panel of killer people that includes: Guy Wolcott of Sawbuck Realty; Henry Shao of Movoto Real Estate; Lennox Scott of John L. Scott Real Estate and Matt Fagioli of Diamond Dwellings.

Come join me. Take part in the conversation. Tell me who your favorite ancient Greek playwright was. And get on the road to killer.

- Davison

Change has a New Poster Boy

In 1999 Intel Chair Andy Grove told members of the American Society of Newspaper Editors that the Web could obliterate their business. He offered them a choice: Change or go under. 

The $57 billion dollar industry didn’t change. Circulation has dropped 30% since 1985. Profits are diminishing along with stock prices and jobs. Knight Ridder and the Tribune Company have been sold off. It appears change is simply not in newspapers’ genetic code.   

Or is it?

Tom Callinan, a former editor at the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, took night courses at RIT while on the job. Two years later he emerged with a masters in new media. He didn’t let it collect dust. He planned to roll it up tight and hit the newspaper business upside the head. In January 2007, he helped create cincymoms.com, an offshoot of the Cincinnati Enquirer, where Callinan had taken a new position. Cincymoms.com is, as you might guess, a forum for moms - a demographic once critical to newspapers that had long ago fallen off track.

The site gets tens of thousands of views a day. Ad revenue is projected to double its first year projection. More than half the advertisers are new to the Enquirer but they only want web placement. What does that tell you?

It tells me change has a new poster boy. Thirty nine new mom sites will be up and running by summer’s end throughout the Gannett chain.

Any poster boys in real estate?
I know plenty of Dad's that buy real estate.
Someone could build a forum for us.

Takkle This!

Two things you may not be aware of:

First, a while back I suggested real estate companies run contests where consumers submit short videos on their homes. Make it funny and engaging. Each month the videos are voted on – on the broker’s site. Winners would be announced in categories such as “best kitchen” or “coolest den.”

The idea is to help real estate companies play the 2.0 game, bring something interactive to the marketplace and build a killer database of original home content.

Second, I read today that Takkle.com - a social network where kids post photos and videos, share stats and schedules, and connect with others in the Takkle community – is doing just this sort of thing. Takkle’s contest, called Battle on Takkle, invites basketball players around the country to submit videos of themselves shooting 3-pointers. They are looking for the most consecutive 3-point shots in a row. The contest is open to athletes all over the US. By virtue of the site’s social features, they can discover each other. Pick up games will ensue.

Growing up in NYC I saw things like this first hand on the streets. Now it's online. Web 2.0 - It's where the rubber of the street meets slick of the web.

Brokers, when will you play ball?

- Davison

1000Watt iDea for iPhone

In 18 days Apple will release iPhone distributed exclusively through all the AT&T stores which number around 10,000. If Apple sends each store 40 units ...well you do the math. Bottom line is, there's going be a whole lot of these gadgets taking fireworks pics on July 4th.

Here is exactly what Steve Jobs said today - "Developers and users alike are going to be very surprised and pleased at how great these applications look and work on iPhone.  “Our innovative approach, using Web 2.0-based standards, lets developers create amazing new applications while keeping the iPhone secure and reliable.”

So iPhone is built with Web 2.0 Internet standards. Surprise surprise. What this means is third party web developers, that means those guys in your back room office chugging down Red Bulls and Camel lights all day will be able to create Web 2.0 applications for the iPhone that will seamlessly access iPhone’s services, including making a phone call, sending an email and displaying a location in Google Maps and ...wait did I just say Google Maps? 

You bet I did. See where this is going?

Imagine what the tie in to real estate could be? How about everything!!!! Can anyone say listing alerts. Search applications. Feedback widgets consumers can leave on your listed properties. The possibilities seem endless to me.

Tech companies...get cracking.

Brokerages, give your developers something cool to work on. There are 100,000,000 iPods out there in the world. Over the next few years, these iPhones could replace them. That means millions upon millions could be accessing your services anytime anywhere from their phone.

Want to build value?  Regain trust?  Do something cool and revolutionary? Work with Apple. They proved how a company all but dead can reclaim life.

- Davison