iPad 2 – Sizzle or Substance – A Realtor's® View

image courtesy of Apple.com

And it’s here – the iPad2 will officially be available March 11, 2011 in your nearby Apple Store! Amid much hoopla and an on stage appearance by Steve Jobs, the 2nd generation version of the device was rolled out. There was no live-streaming of this event but devotee’s kept Twitter streams informed with blow by blow, or feature by feature Tweets and occasional pictures of display screens. It has some nice ( I guess) features and you can see a side by side comparison with recently announced tablets by HP, Samsung, & Motorola on Mashable.  Most of the tech stuff is greek to the non-geeks who seemed to be almost orgasmic over the rollout. You can view the Feature videos here. Bottom line, looks more like a me-too approach in matching the competition than the usual leap-frog with dazzling new capabilities. There was a lot of time spent talking about iMovie and other apps too.

image courtesy of Apple.com

Doesn’t sound like I am very impressed or excited, does it? Well I am not. I love technology. I love its ability to make complex tasks simple, useful, and more effective. I own (won) an iPad (and iPhone 3gs). I belong to an iPad user group. I have an office mate (she’s a Mac, I’m a PC) with an iPad, and we discuss, compare and try out new apps. We both like our iPads.  I am a Realtor®, and I want to make it a viable and tool in my trade. I am told it is the perfect device for agents and soon it will be the only tool I need to carry. Uhm, ok, but experience has taught me not to hold my breath waiting for that to happen (I spent 27 years working for AT&T and the latest tech to be delivered by Bell Labs was going to be great when it got there – Think picturephone, ISDN – but I digress).

Here is what i like about my iPad:

• Great Nightstand app – large illuminated numbers I can see without glasses in the middle of the night
• Pandora – create your own music stations based on artists of your choice
• iBooks – cheaper than hardcovers, variable size print, good backlighting. Love reading this way.
• Mail interface – grouping of conversations and related mails is sweet.
• Safari for web browsing works pretty well and instead of tabs you can flip between open sites.
• Crystal clear photo viewer.
• Wifi – I link to the web through a hotspot on my iPhone. Best feature of all.
• Apps that allow me to view files on my PC or share them such as DropBox and DocsToGo.

Here is what I need my iPad to do natively to make it a useful business tool

• Get over your feud with Adobe. Support Flash. I want to create a video channel for homes that I can show clients. I don’t want a workaround – build it on YouTube and take them there. I want it contained on the device.
• Get over your feud with Adobe. Support *.pdfs. I need to be able to complete pdf forms on the device easily. Yes, I know I can buy apps that will simulate doing this by overlaying a blank and the flattening the image and when you print it…..You get the picture. Complete and sign the contract, and email to client on the spot.
• USB connect or SD card support. I take pictures with more cameras than my iPhone and would like to be able to add them instantly. Yes, there is an app that uses bluetooth to connect the iPhone and transfer the pic. I also want to be able to use a flash drive or other memory device.
• Printing – let me connect to printers via WiFi or bluetooth, not just the 8 HP printers Airprint works with.
• Play and connect outside your Apple sandbox – and do it easily without workarounds.

Potentially sweetest new use, in my view, is the HDMI link and the ability to use the ipad as a controller for presentations. This I have to explore in greater depth.

Lastly – I am told that the iPad is the ultimate presentation tool and I have heard how Realtors® use it for listing presentations. The graphics are great, Keynote is great presentation software, and, and, and the screen is too small for Mr & Mrs Seller and I to gather round to view the presentation. Or Mr & Mrs Buyer and I to walk through interior pictures of houses being selected for showings. It can work for 2 people but any more than that, not viable, in my humble opinion. Using it would be sizzle over substance.

So, I won’t be one of the first in line next week. Is an upgrade in my future? At the right price it’s possible.

UPDATE: Just tested the Apple Camera Connect Kit – The usb plug connects/reads/downloads pictures from my iPhone 3gs but not from either of of Sony Cameras (A300 or Cybershot W350). The SD reader plug allows full selection, download, erase capabilities for the 4gb card I use in the cameras.  Thanks Bob Wen for the reminder. Forgot I had that kit!

A New Look

Forty some years ago I learned a version of Fortran programming language with the idea that I wanted to be an engineer and get into computers. (Think IBM 360′s, keypunched card decks…you get the picture). Never made it into engineering but have always had an interest in computers and technology.  Ask my son, he will tell you I can destroy any computer I start messing around with. And I have had to rebuild a few over the years…..but I digress….

I still enjoy technology and tweaking. I love this webhub* I have built for my real estate business. I enjoy tweaking it and revamping it and fine tuning it. Sometimes going deeper into the code I have broken it. Why, because I want a real estate webhub that is informative, easy to use, and delivers appropriate information. I try to provide the latest in search tools and  timely statistical information on what is happening in real estate in our local markets. I try to provide local perspective and insight that you won’t get anywhere else. And finally, I provide some local color and exposure for people places and things Naperville in 365 Naperville.

This latest revamp delivers a new gateway to the deeper pages. Information and similar pages are in clusters, easily accessed. It’s cleaner, and hopefully simpler, without sacrificing depth and quality. There is an new Home Page (up there in the left corner of the menu bar), and a separate page for this blog. Take it for a spin, let me know your thoughts. Let me know if you can find what you are looking for quickly and easily.

*Webhub combines the features of a static website with a blog and other dynamic content. It feeds and links other sites and platforms to deliver a uniform message and maximize exposure for content.

Still Drinking the Kool-Aid – thoughts on BlogWorld09

Still Drinking the Kool-Aid

Last week I attended my first blogging conference. Got a few weird looks and strange glances when I mentioned why I would not be at a particular office meeting, but hey, I do this to learn, meet, mingle, and find new and better ways to contact, communicate, and collaborate. (I like that ring).  I firmly believe the way we communicate is changing with the tools that Web 2.0/3.0 brings. In some cases, institutions are eliminating email! (Boston College October 2008). As Chris Brogan wrote in my copy of Trust Agents. “…these are the new tools but the old ways”. So I went, and listened, and met folks, talked in hallways and over coffee, and even danced a bit. And above all, I received value and hope some was returned.

Key thoughts and comments from Real Estate BlogWorld 09 and BlogWorld New Media Conference 09: In no particular order.

1. Branding – we used to be broadcasters of our Brand. Now our Brand is defined by who we are, and how we act. You will be found via blog, review site, interactions. How are you representing yourself?
2. From Chris Brogan Keynote: Branding is managing the end to end experience. Be 360 Who you are. Love in business means really respecting your customer – stop bombing them.
3. Interact vs meeting someone (Chris Brogan) Make it about them, can you connect them with someone else? Turn them into a community? When you get a voice can you use it to shine the spotlight on them? (See blog post by P Morgan Brown of Turn Here for a great description of this in action)
4. 4C’s of Community (David Armano) Content, Context, Connectivity, Continuity – keep it simple and make it stick. David Armano Presentation/
5. Users define the engagement – while this point was made during a session on how large corporations (Dell, HP made up the panel) it really is applicable to all client interactions. It even defined some of the sessions!
6. A panel of 4-5 high quality thought leaders is often not the best use of their talents and abilities. Each presenting in a short format does not lend itself to sharing their depth of knowledge in session and leaves the audience with mixed thinking.
7. There are “Social Media Experts/Guru’s/out there that think these tools can be used to structure an ad campaign or sell a given product. One person I met was looking for consulting help for a client who wanted to use Facebook, Twitter, et al to market a vacant commercial property. My view remains that it is more about relationships and trust.
8. One interesting conversations occurred at around 1:30 am in a snack bar at the Hilton between myself, two principals from a leader in social media marketing, and a business owner who uses Twitter and his 89,000 user base to move products – consumables. It was a fascinating discussion but we never did come up with a way to sell a $300,000 condo in Naperville via Twitter and user contests……
9. I have been in sales and marketing for over 35 years. Good client relationships are just that – relationships, not just transactions. They are built on listening and trust. It worked then and continues to work today. I think that is the old ways that Chris Brogan talks about.
10. Hashtags (#) can be used to set a Guiness World record. Over the course of a 24 hour period use of the hashtag “#beatcancer” by conference attendees and their networks, caused it to become the top trending topic on Twitter. As a result, something like $70,000 was raised from several corporate sponsors and a new World’s Record was set. http://wthashtag.com/Beatcancer. Folks in this space are like that. It is becoming more common that there is a cause associated with these conferences. Nice.
11. Some re.net people dance….a lot. (others may choose to substitute different words in lieu of “dance”)
12. Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate (Sherry Chris, thank you) throws one heck of a kick off party.
13. Jason Berman puts together a very good RE.BlogWorld. I will be back next year.

So, I started this dive into Social Media and Networks last December: I’m sticking around because this kool-aid really tastes good. Peace.

My iPhone 3GS and its first performance review

iphone 3GS

I am sitting here in the lobby of the Palace Hotel in San Francisco waiting to have lunch with a local friend. I have spent the past week here in the Bay Area attending two real estate conferences, both with a focus on technology and Social Media in the industry. I have only had the iPhone 3GS for about a month now and this was a great test to see how it performs as a business tool for this former Blackberry user. My primary observation….what is with the lack of battery on this device? Wherever we went, the hotel, conference center, restaurants, clubs I was able to employ my newest search capability – looking for an outlet to recharge the dang device (along with half the people I was with).  The battery drain is incredible! At best it seems about 4 hours is the tops I can get before I am power scouting.

Advice that has been given to extend the charge life has been, turn off location services, turn off blue tooth, turn off many of those features. I love it, shut down the cool features of the hottest new phone – kind of makes it just a phone, no? It will be interesting to see the performance once I return home. I have some thoughts but they need some testing. peace.

Twitter Guidelines

The following is part two of a recent submission to a Real Esate publication’s request on tips and guidelines for using Twitter and other Social Media.

If you join the world of Twitter here are a few key things to remember and some tips to help find value in the time you spend there.

1. Remember, you are building your personal and professional brand by being present and active in this social medium. What you “say” is permanent.
2. Put a personal, friendly picture as your avatar, one that people will recognize.
3. Use some version of your name as your handle – again, recognition.
4. Install a helper application such as TweetDeck, or Seesmic, or Digsby. These will help you organize tweets, follow trending topics, follow conversations in groups of people you define, follow key words, i.e, Real Estate, Naperville.
5. Tweet about and “retweet” those comments that you feel are notable. Showing interest is more important than being interesting, and will gain you followers.
6. Thank those who retweet your comments. Showing gratitude builds social capital which builds a following.
7. Follow those who Tweet about subjects that interest you. Engage them, interact with them. Quiet observance will not gain you followers. Follow the superstars and your competitors. Follow related business folks, mortgage people, builders, associations, etc. You will be surprised at the information you can glean (and contribute) from the conversation stream.
8. Following Back There are multiple schools of thought on this subject. Some say follow every one, even the porn stars, because the bigger base you have the larger the opportunity. Others say treat it more like your sphere – prune, trim, follow only relevant folks. My personal practice: I check people’s profiles and look at:
   1. Are their tweets a mix of business and general/personal? I don’t want to add someone to my stream who is going to just bombard me with pitches to buy their product of service. I do want people who are interesting, knowledgeable.
   2. Number of tweets: Do they regularly engage in tweeting? I had one former colleague who started following me. He followed a number of folks and had followers. He also had zero tweets. What value do you think he is bringing to the Twitter community?
   3. Ratio Is the ratio of Followed to Followers fairly even?
9. #FollowFriday Participate in this fun. On Fridays people recommend those to the Twitterverse that they particularly enjoy or feel offer good value. Go first, include “#followfriday” in your tweet and the twitter name of those you are recommending. They may be funny, intelligent, friendly, whatever the reason, give recognition and kudo’s. It will return to you. And, always thank those who include you in their #followfriday’s. Just watch the twitter stream, it’s easy to pick up the protocol.
10. Tweeups Attend a Tweetup and meet others who Twitter. Or schedule one. Or join a Tweetride (cyclists who Twitter meet to ride). Be creative and interactive.

Here is a great summary from Nicole Nicolay in her e-book “Twitter for Real Estate Twits: “@nik_nik’s chapter 7 summary: Be the same person you are offline when you’re online. Same rules apply. If you wouldn’t flash your neighbor, then don’t flash twits. When it comes to real estate, behave with the professionalism that your clients expect from you. And, if you do make a mistake or ever fart in an elevator, just say “sorry”.

Again, these are my thoughts and practices. There are other protocols that work well for others. Keys to remember, participate, offer value, play nice, & mix up the social and business.

Social Media Etiquette

I was recently asked by a Realtor publication to contribute to an article being put together on Social Media and how agents just getting started could use it effectively. After some noodling and refining, it’s pretty apparent that these are guidelines that could apply to anyone seeking another avenue to stay in touch. So here are Tony’s Guidelines for Social Media Etiquette.

1. Participate: If you are going to join a network by all means participate. Your keystrokes are your voice. It’s how people get to know you. Stunning good looks and prior reputation will not get much attention in a medium of this nature. There are superstars everywhere.
2. Play Nice: Negativity does not get much mileage in this environment. Blocking/hiding/unfollowing are so easy to do if someone is annoying.
3. Add Value:  Give more than you receive. Respect and attention/retention is given, not a given. In the end, people will communicate with and converse with those who offer value to the community.
4. Be Real:  We are all multi faceted individuals with different characteristics that attract others. Be that multifaceted person. Single focus folks don’t last. People who are all business all the time will be turned off by the community they are trying to attract. Remember, it is a SOCIAL medium.
5. Participate: Spend time, stay with it and participate regularly. Be a presence in the environment you choose to be involved in. I had a colleague at a former firm I worked with follow me on Twitter. He has double digit followers and follows a double digit number of people. Has Zero updates – i.e. no comments, no interaction. Ask yourself how much value is that agent going to get out of Twitter?
6. Be Two-Way:  Interact, reach out and touch those in the social community you are involved in. If you blog, read others related blogs and comment. (Be sure to leave your real name and web/blog link – good Google juice) If you are on Twitter, tweet in response to others tweets. Tweet your thoughts on subjects, news items. Don’t block your updates – how are others going to get to know you? On Facebook, let others see you, write on walls of friends, comment on pictures.
7. Respect Others: If you disagree with something, that’s normal, comment without flaming. Remember what you put out there builds your reputation.
8. Be Social: Act as if you are at a party or networking event. These tools are about connecting with others on a frequent and regular basis. You have been doing this for years in different mediums. Your behavior should be the same here.
9. Participate: It takes time and participation for others to get to know you and you them. There are social networks out there for just about any interest. If you join and participate, you will connect with more people. You will build your personal network. You will have fun. You will enjoy. You will get value to the degree you give value.

I cannot stress enough, if you are going to be involved with or choose to use Social Media or networks you have to be involved, you have to use it. It’s really like anything else you join: Participate and give value and it will be returned.

Get geeked out —Naperville bike season is here

The following article appeared in the Naperville Sun, Tuesday, June 9, 2009. The electronic version did not have the picture so I added it back in to give my fellow tweetriders a little love.

Here is a bit more of the backstory on what turned out to be #TweetRide3. I met Tim McDonald (picture taker) aka @tamcdonald, thru Twitter and several Social Media/Networking conferences in the Chicagoland area. We both enjoyed biking and, long story short, tweeted back and forth about it setting times and places etc on Twitter. The tweets were picked up on by several other riders (see picture caption and @williger who could not jpoin us that day) soon a series of rides started to happen in various places with varying numbers of people. On May 9, five of us met at Navy Pier and headed south on the Lake Shore Trail. Rides are still being arranged and you can usually find out about them by just asking on Twitter about the next Tweetride. It’s a great way to meet folks and get a little exercise too. #lbstolose.

June 9, 2009, Naperville Sun, By Heather Pfundstein, hpfundstein@scn1.com

Can you feel it? The wind blowing the sweat off your arms faster than you can produce it. The handlebars lightly yielding to your requests. The Spandex shorts clinging to the thighs that you kept in excellent condition over the long winter. The helmet that you longed to get out of storage. The sunglasses that keep the bugs from your eyes. The feeling of pavement under your tire.

If you’re like me, riding your bicycle is almost spiritual. It’s not something you do; it’s part of who you are. You’ve longed for this moment all winter long — warmer weather so you can mount your favorite two-wheeler and power it with your own energy. Sure, you ride with others, but ultimately, on your bicycle you are in control — of course, until you hit that rock you didn’t see. Ah the exhilaration.

There are others of you out there, too. Some much more committed than I am. A little thing like pregnancy wouldn’t keep you off your bike. (I, on the other hand, am taking this season off — yes, I’m six months pregnant. Don’t want to chance hitting that rock.)

Others bicycle for the fun of it, for the fitness routine, or to commute to work — all noble causes. Any reason to bicycle is a good one to me.

Here’s what says on his blog about what bicycling means to him:

“Road biking is one of the activities I most enjoy. There is nothing quite like the feel of riding down the road, a slight tailwind, big ring, just being in the zone.”

Riders (left to right), Ken Green, Tony Lazzari, Tom Besore, Leah Jones - all riders from Twitter - in early May in chicago at 71st and Lake Shore Drive on Tweetride3. (picture taken by Tim McDonald aka @tamcdonald).

I know what he means — when an hour goes by without much thought, except the road, your water bottle and your pedal stroke. You get in that groove and you think you could ride forever.

The city thinks bicycling is a good idea, too. This summer a major renovation project on 75th and Washington streets includes an extension of the DuPage River Trail. And other projects around town will extend trails and join up with others that lead to other trails.

The city also wants to make sure bicyclists are riding safely. From May through November, patrolling Naperville police officers will reward young bicyclists who practice good bike safety with a “coupon citation” for a free doughnut from Dunkin’ Donuts redeemable at participating Naperville locations. (So if you ride enough, you won’t feel guilty about eating that tasty treat.

The program focuses on getting all bicyclists to wear a helmet, obey all traffic laws, lock bicycles, and stay “visible and predictable while riding.”

National Bike Month is June, which makes sense since it’s the first good month to get rolling. The city is celebrating it, too, by encouraging residents to ride bicycles for trips less than two miles.

It also is promoting events throughout the month.

 Naperville Bike Day on June 15 — Challenge: ride your bike all day for your errands and whatever else you’re up to.

 Bike to Metra on June 15 — Commuters who bike to the downtown Naperville and Route 59 Metra Stations will receive a gift bag, coupons, biking information and an opportunity to register their bike on site. DuPage County is sponsoring this event between 6:30 and 8:30 a.m., too.

 Bike Month Proclamation on June 16 — Mayor A. George Pradel will proclaim June as Bike Month and the city of Naperville will receive the bronze level Bicycle Friendly Community Award.

 Also, visitors who bike to Naper Settlement and show their bike helmets to staff get $5 off general admission during Bike Month — excluding special events.

Yes, the helmet. I know it can be uncomfortable, mess up your hair, impede your sight line and overall look uncool, but if you’re serious about bicycling and planning to ride faster, farther and stronger, then you need to wear one, your child in the safety seat needs to wear one, and anyone riding with you needs to wear one. Demand it! All it takes is one spill, and you’ll know what I mean.

Happy riding — hopefully, I’ll get a few rides in. So, see you in September!

Contact readers’ editor Heather Pfundstein at hpfundstein@scn1.com or call 630-416-5237.

#TweetRide 3 Thursday 5/7/9

TweetRide 3 kicks off Thursday 5/7/9 @ 1:00 pm from Navy Pier. We will head south along the Lake for 8-10 miles and return. Pace will be moderate, helmets are strongly suggested. Need a bike for the ride? Bobby’s Bike Hike will set you up for $20 if you mention Twitter. We are trying to do these on a weekly basis so come back again for more updates. peace.

Social Media – What is it and why should I care?

You hear about it more and more lately – social media, social networking, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Flicker, blogs, and on and on. Are they timewasters for kids, cliques for uber geeks, places for people to exhibit themselves, brag or expound on any given subject? The answer could be yes, but I am finding it is so much more, if approached with an open mind.

We are social beings. We like connecting with others, communicating, exchanging ideas, news, sharing experiences, pictures and tidbits of our lives. We belong to clubs, organizations, associations, school groups, alumni groups, churches, all different types of communities. Within the realm of those groups we connect – in real life (IRL ßsocial media term) face to face or via phone and email. We interact for common cause, to achieve a goal, or just to socialize with those we are comfortable with or want to get to know better. Some might even define that today as “Social Networking“.

Social Media, as I view it, is the tool set some choose to use to connect with friends/family/colleagues. I became a Twitter user (@TonyLazz) last December when I attended a seminar on the use of these types of tools in real estate. In the 3 ½ months since then, my Twitter first level sphere has grown to over 350 people (those I follow or follow me). The second order sphere (friends of friends) has grown to over 2.5 million. I follow people in real estate, social media, spiritual folks, positive energy folks, leading edge thinkers like Seth Godin, & Guy Kawasaki. I follow cyclists and conferences like TED. Over the past 3 days I have dropped in via Twitter and other video links to RETS – a real estate technology conference held near Atlanta, and AEI – a conference in Colorado Springs for Real Estate Association executives.

In following people on Twitter I get to know their thoughts, some of their personality, hear about events as they happen – when the plane crashed in the Hudson river in January, I had just been followed that morning by Janis Krum – who sent the world the first photo’s of the plane in the water from his I phone later that afternoon). In following conferences I get gain knowledge and insight that I would most likely be unaware of otherwise, or read about much later. I engage in conversations with new folks, find common interest, relate, and expand my sphere of friends and associates and cohorts.

Steven Hodson, in a blogpost talked about Social Media in this way, “…is a belief that through the use of technology and real openness we could see incredible changes in our society. Social Media allows us to create powerful individual voices that can’t be dismissed the same way that they use to be in the past; and it is with those voices that change will come about.” Is that a little far fetched, or an accurate prediction? No one can really say, yet. For me, it has expanded my universe and knowledge. And that is good. Peace.

(Ok, this went longer than planned and did not cover all that I intended, so….more to come on the subject.)