Las Vegas Women’s Council’s Tech Tip
January
Updating your member expertise profile
Category Archives: Technology
“What on Earth can you put in 140 characters that could possibly be worth reading?” – Joel Comm
Las Vegas Women’s Council’s Book of the Month
Twitter Power 2.0: How to Dominate Your Market One Tweet at a Time
Author: Joel Comm
Book Description from Amazon
Get the business leader’s guide to using Twitter to gain competitive advantage.
Since 2006, forward-thinking companies like Apple, JetBlue, Whole Foods, and GM have discovered the instant benefits of leveraging the social media phenomenon known as Twitter to reach consumers directly, build their brand, and increase sales. Twitter is at the leading edge of the social media movement, allowing members to connect with one another in real-time via short text messages–called “tweets”–that can be received either via the Twitter site or by e-mail, instant messenger, or cell phone. Many companies have started building entire teams within their organization dedicated solely to responding to tweets from consumers about their brand. And this is just the beginning. In Twitter Power 2.0, Internet marketing and Web innovation expert Joel Comm shows businesses and marketers how to integrate Twitter into their existing marketing strategies to build a loyal following among Twitter members, expand awareness for their product or service, and even handle negative publicity due to angry or disappointed consumers. The book also presents case studies of companies on the forefront of the Twitter movement, to help you develop your own social networking strategies. Twitter Power is the result of extensive testing and participation in the social networking community and is a must-have for any business that wants to keep up with the social media movement. Twitter Power features a foreword by Tony Robbins.
What I thought of the book.
I am a big fan of non fiction books that are easily laid out, so much so that I can read a chapter a week and not feel like I forgot all I read the week before. My favorite part of this book was the 30 day action plan. This is perfect for any person new to Twitter asking themselves ‘where do I start?’. In fact the entire book is just as advertised, a step by step plan to dominate Twitter. The only thing it doesn’t do it the work for you.
Purchase the book from Amazon.com
“We’ll play “pin the name on the barcode” later.” – Dark Angel
Yup, that’s me – in a bar code. When James Cameron created Dark Angel, I don’t think he ever really thought humans would one day use bar-codes for identification purposes, but well if you build it and all that.
I know, I know, it’s not technically called a bar-code. It’s a QR (Quick Response) code and they aren’t used to track genetically engineered lifeforms. Actually, they are pretty cool. One quick scan an you have the information received and saved in your phone. No more memorization, pen and paper, or transposing. It’s all there in a matter of seconds.
These codes are popping up everywhere; conventions, business cards, even ice cream. Many real estate agents are using them on their listing flyers or even sign riders. Trulia will even create them free when your listing is posted on their site.
How does it work?
To read a QR Code: First, you need a camera phone. If you don’t have one, get with the 21st century. Second, download a QR reader from your app store, they’re free. Third, follow the directions to scan said code and viola! Information at your fingertips. It really is very easy.
To create a QR Code: Go to any free QR Code creator website. I used Qreate & Track. Input the information you wish to encode and then press the create code button. That’s it. You’re done. Now you can use the code anywhere you wish.
So…what are you waiting for?
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” – Arthur C. Clarke
A year ago, my friends gave me the best birthday gift ever, a Flip Video Camera. (What can I say, my friends are awesome.) Since then I have been spoiled. The Flip is so easy to use, the software comes loaded on the camera, and it’s pretty. I take it with me everywhere, annoying people with it they never know when a video of them singing the Star Spangled Banner in the middle of Disneyland is going to end up on Facebook.
Until Recently, I didn’t realize how spoiled I had become. Two weeks ago I had the idea to video a group of my fellow REALTORS(R) singing Happy Birthday to a colleague. Unfortunately, when the time came to record it, I had left my Flip in the hotel room. Never fear, I had my camera. We recorded the video and all was well. That is until I went to upload the video. You see the Flip has everything you need to upload and edit right in the camera itself. With the built in USB port, I can quickly and easily upload a video while waiting for my Starbucks order to be filled. My Kodak doesn’t. I needed the cord (which I had to find) and then I had to download the video onto the computer, edit and save it, and then, finally, post to Facebook.
The Flip has practical uses as well. With my students, I use it to record them so they can study their sound, facial expressions, and body language. I use it for Women’s Council, recording meetings and testimonials. Most importantly, I use it for my business. Many times I have brought my Flip with me as I preview homes, recording them for out of state clients or buyers who want to “see” the property before writing an offer. Bottom line? In the year since getting my Flip, I have found a thousand ways to use it that not only make me more efficient but are also just plain fun.
Now if only I can get over my aversion to being on video, I might have recorded this blog post.
“Once a new technology rolls over you, if you’re not part of the steamroller, you’re part of the road.” – Stewart Brand
The Evolution of Writing an Offer
Handwrite, copy, fax (everyone has a hard copy)*
Handwrite/type, copy, scan, fax/email
Type/scan/email
Type/DocuSign/email (everyone has a PDF)
*Rumor has it there was once this thing called carbon paper where you wrote in triplicate…
Technology helps us work smarter, it helps us be more efficient. Why wouldn’t you use a system that lets you write the offer (or upload a PDF), email it to all parties (at the same time) for signature, provide a copy to all parties the instant they sign, and creates an easy, safe, and secure PDF for you to email to the listing agent? This is a no brainer. After all aren’t we supposed to be working smarter instead of harder?
Welcome to DocuSign. ** In my opinion, probably one of the greatest inventions ever. What is DocuSign? According to their website, it’s “the complete digital signature platform”. I like to refer to it as freedom. I love that I don’t have to be tied to a printer in order to get an offer signed. No longer do I have to bring my clients all the way back to my office; I can write the offer, email it to them to sign, and submit it to the listing agent right from the property. I can be out-of-town or heck even by the pool (it is Vegas after all) and the process is the same. If you aren’t already signed up with Docusign, what are you waiting for? Get on board! After all it’s what all the cool kids are doing.
** Because I know I will get comments, yes there are some instances where the banks won’t take a DocuSign offer. They are the holdouts. They will come to the darkside…eventually.
“All of the biggest technological inventions created by man – the airplane, the automobile, the computer – says little about his intelligence, but speaks volumes about his laziness.” ~Mark Kennedy
Is this really convenience or laziness? And what ever happened to direct deposit?
Chase Customers Can Now Deposit Checks via iPhone by Mashable.com
Banking giant Chase has updated its iPhone application to include Quick Deposit, a feature that lets users deposit checks from their iPhones.
Using Chase Mobile, bankers can now select an account, enter the amount of the check, and snap a photo of the front and back of the check to initiate a deposit.
The feature mirrors the functionality of USAA Deposit Mobile, another iPhone app that supports mobile deposits.
In addition to mobile check deposits, Chase has added Person-to-Person QuickPay to the app to support payments to anyone, so long as you have their e-mail address.
For now, there are some limitations regarding deposit amounts, with customers only being able to deposit $1,000 per day and $3,000 per week using the application. Still, mobile deposits are quite convenient for quickly depositing personal checks without having to make a trip to the bank. Here’s hoping that more banks will follow suit.
“We are the children of a technological age. We have found streamlined ways of doing much of our routine work.” – Lawrence Clark Powell
One of my best friends is getting married. It’s an exciting and stressful time. There are many details and a massive to do list. Bookstore shelves are filled with books and magazines that offer tips, suggestions, and sample checklists, but are they becoming obsolete?
Weddingwire.com is the one stop shopping for a wedding website for forums, vendors, ideas, wedding websites and much more. Once you register it helps you stay on task with one of the most efficient checklists I have ever seen. It even yells at you if you start to procrastinate.
Additionally, weddingwire helps you stay on budget for the big day with a budgeting tool. Create your budget, track payments, set up reminders, everything you need to control your cash. And speaking of controlling your cash, it’s free. (Probably the only thing involved in a wedding that is.)
My absolute favorite part is the online guest list. Similar to evite, weddingwire collects and stores your RSVPs. What’s really cool, is it goes a step further. On one site, you can upload your guest list, select which events each guest is invited to and view replies. Your guests can still receive snail mail wedding announcements and invitations (to the reception, ceremony, shower, etc.), but respond with the click of one button to everything.
Technology makes our lives easier, it can even run them for us. It just leaves me to ponder…what will they think of next?
“It’s a fact that more people watch television and get their information that way than read books. I find new technology and new ways of communication very exciting and would like to do more in this field.” ~ Stephen Covey
Because networking is an important part of my business, I find myself going to a lot of conventions, summits, and classes. I also find myself taking a lot of notes and then doing virtually nothing with them when I get home. However about two weeks ago, I went to a summit hosted by the Women’s Council of REALTORS(R). This summit was all about technology and finding new ways to use that technology in our businesses and chapters. While I was there, I discovered some of the coolest websites. As a result, I created a list of all the things I found cool and interesting that I wanted to incorporate into my life.
Today I crossed one item off my list. While in a session taught by Sara Bonert from Zillow, I discovered the most amazing website, Screenr. Screenr is a website that allows the user to create screencasts and post them on sites like Twitter and Youtube. This is probably the coolest website ever. It was super simple to use, all I had to do was click the record button, align the box to the part of my computer I wanted to show, and start talking. When it was done, I created a caption, hit publish, and the website did the work for me. *A word of caution, once I created my screencast, I could not edit my caption so watch those typos.
Here’s my finished product.
“Everyone always wants some new things. Everyone likes new inventions, new technology.” ~ The Office
I often have buyers who are purchasing property without ever having looked at it. This market moves very quickly, so there isn’t a lot of time for the luxury of waiting a few days to write an offer so someone can fly into town. By that time, the property is either gone or has multiple offers. This means agents have to be creative when working with out of town buyers.
One of the greatest websites for this is Qik.com. Qik allows me to take streaming video from my phone. How does this work? A property matching my clients criteria comes on the market, I visit the property and using the application on my phone, record a video. As I am recording, Qik is sending it to their website live. It also saves the entire file so if my client is not online, I can send them an email with the video link to view.
Not working with out of state buyers? Another practical application has been to use the site in cases where a couple is purchasing a home and only one person could meet me to view the house or where the buyer may want the opinion of friends and family before making the purchase. Instead of visiting the property multiple times, I take the video on the first visit and send it the buyer who can then send it their circle of influence.s
One of my other favorite things about this application is that it allows me the ability to privatize any videos. This way I have control over who sees what. I get all the benefits of the site, while the seller gets peace of mind that their vacant (or not so vacant) house will be all over the internet.
What would normally take a few days, now only takes a few hours and allows my clients the opportunity to put their offers in a lot faster. It’s a practical application and the best part is, its FREE and it works on most smartphones.
*A word of caution. These videos are taken on the phone so they tend to be a bit shaky and anything you say will be recorded.
Here’s a sample of a video I took.
http://qik.com/video/4431994
Jessicakincaid's Blog 