JonWashburn.com

Washington Post writes about Real Estate Blogging & ActiveRain

Jonathan Washburn (ActiveRain Corp) — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 20:34:41 -0500

"...No longer must potential home buyers and sellers actually speak to real estate professionals to meet them. Instead, consumers are accessing agents' ever-more-common blogs, social network pages or viral video campaigns -- all of the burgeoning options that have been called Web 2.0 -- to tap their expertise and get a sense of their personalities. Some meet agents who quickly feel like buddies; others go with discount brokers and don't have any direct contact with their agent until they're ready to put a bid on a house.

"In this type of environment the cream rises to the top," said Jonathan Washburn, chief executive of ActiveRain, a popular real estate blogging site that boasts membership of more than 100,000 real estate professionals. Traditional advertising provides limited information, he said, but online, agents "get a chance to demonstrate their actual expertise by writing about things that are relevant to the consumer.""

Read the entire article here

(I also would like to thank Simone for writing a great article.)

Top Real Estate Blogs - August

Jonathan Washburn (ActiveRain Corp) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 17:53:01 -0500

Rank	Website	Index Change		Average
1	Curbed	+	2	23,005
2	Bigger Pockets	+	2	32,492
3	The Housing Bubble Blog	+	2	52,909
4	Bloodhound Blog	+	2	72,972
5	The Real Estate Bloggers	+	4	78,483
6	Sellsius Real Estate Marketing		0	78,819
7	Agent Genius	+	3	79,316
8	Phoenix Real Estate Guy	+	5	83,546
9	Zillow Blog	-	1	87,935
10	The Future of Real Estate Marketing	-	3	90,140
11	Trulia Blog	+	1	97,623
12	Raincity Guide	-	1	106,423
13	Housing Doom	+	5	111,106
14	Real Estate Radio USA	+	6	138,368
15	4Realz.net	+	1	151,290
16	GeekEstate Blog	-	2	152,850
17	Transparent Real Estate		0	154,376
18	St. Paul RE Blog	+	3	160,339
19	Mortgage Fraud Blog	+	3	165,092
20	Blown Mortgage	-	5	168,266
21	Altos Research Real Estate Insights	+	2	170,834
22	Lenderama	-	3	186,363
23	Long Beach Real Estate	+	2	190,711
24	Denver Real Estate & Relocation		0	261,381
25	REagent in CT	+	2	267,456
26	360 Digest		0	291,952
27	Miamism	+	7	293,107
28	Maxsell	+	14	318,583
29	Dothan Home Search	+	12	324,554
30	Sacramento Real Estate Voice	+	1	333,712
31	Seattle Condo Blog		0	346,685
32	Phoenix Area Real Estate Blog	+	13	354,523
33	Gary Bolen	+	28	363,986
34	Luxury Home Digest	-	6	364,125
35	Urbnlivn		0	408,837
36	REALCentralVA	-	3	413,535
37	San Diego Preview	-	8	425,495
38	Sandbars to Sunsets	-	8	428,661
39	Phoenix Real Estate	+	15	446,396
40	Arizona Real Estate Notebook	-	1	447,109
41	The Get Home Denver Team	+	17	452,788
42	The xBroker	-	10	457,678
43	Colorado Springs RE Connection	-	5	467,629
44	Real Estate Zebra	-	9	471,631
45	Real Crozet VA	+	27	473,704
46	Brian Brady	-	9	526,753
47	MLPodcast Blog	-	11	530,958
48	RealEstateSnippets.com	+	9	539,700
49	Mortgage Porter		0	550,848
50	House Blogger	-	3	570,359
51	Just New Listings		0	570,400
52	Mi Oakland County	-	12	597,725
53	Reno Realty	-	7	630,584
54	Lane Bailey		0	631,543
55	Jim Lee	+	8	644,572
56	My Tucson Blog	-	7	662,955
57	Foreclosure Truth		0	726,063
58	AnnArborRealEstateTalk.com	-	2	749,578
59	REI Blog	-	12	778,779
60	Realty Thoughts	-	10	892,413
61	Triple Mint	-	12	895,092
62	Virginia Real Estate News	-	8	900,243
63	NewHampshireMaineRealEstate.com	+	4	905,410
64	Real Estate Technology Coaching		0	925,822
65	Blue60	-	18	1,005,378
66	NYC Blog Estate		0	1,041,939
67	Maureen McCabe	-	5	1,080,956
68	New Hampshire Real Estate Blog		0	1,098,850
69	IndyRealEstateTalk.com	-	9	1,155,854
70	Focus on Crofton	-	19	1,219,760
71	HousingBubbleCasualty	-	5	1,223,262
72	San Mateo RE News	-	7	1,322,570
73	Maggie Dokic	-	31	1,379,001
74	Bryant Tutas	+	1	1,558,550
75	The Landlord Blog	-	5	1,616,784
76	Thesa Chambers	-	5	1,866,230
77	Marchel Peterson	-	3	1,914,026
78	Ryan Hukill	-	9	2,037,978
79	Foster City Blog	-	6	2,072,945
80	BlogCalabasas.com	-	13	2,292,942
	My Charlottesvile			*DNR
	Las Vegas Real Estate			*DNR
*	Does not rank. Blogs will be removed from list after two consecutive months of DNR designation.

Jon Washburn: Dumbest statements ever, episode one

Jonathan Washburn (ActiveRain Corp) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 13:43:36 -0500

Scene: Me, at a "CEO Dinner" in Bellevue on Wednesday evening talking with two world-reknowned experts: the founder of the second-largest domain name registrar, and a very well-known CEO who founded many successful companies in the domain and hosting space.

Our conversation went something like this:

Me: "I have a question about reselling domains; You guys both seem to know a lot about domains names."

Them (in unison): "*slight chuckle* Yeah."

me: *Silently realizing the credentials of who I was talking to, as though I had just asked Bill Gates for help with a computer problem I was having.*

What a weird species we are...

Jonathan Washburn (ActiveRain Corp) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 21:21:17 -0500

I look to Seth Godin for my daily inspiration. I love what he says. I base so much of how I run ActiveRain on his suggestions. Yet today I read a recent post of his and thought it was stupid. I find 1 out of maybe 100 of his posts unrelevant or dumb, so needless to say most of his stuff I get great value from.

But for this one post that I didn't like, the thought crossed my mind to shoot Seth an email letting him know that he missed the mark, however I've never written to thank him for the other 99% that are awesome.

Why are we wired this way?

Reblogging works. Real results in 30 minutes!

Jonathan Washburn (ActiveRain Corp) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 16:29:40 -0500

A crazy thing just happened. Sara's blog went full circle.

1. Read Sara's blog post in my Google feed Reader.

2. I then reblogged Sara's post on ActiveRain and my outside blog.

3. My friend James read my reblog of Sara's blog on his Google Reader.

4. James shared Sara's blog from his Google Reader account.

5. I read James' shared item of Sara's original post.

Wow.

My Walkscore is 100%

Jonathan Washburn (ActiveRain Corp) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 15:33:52 -0500

My new Seattle home has a perfect Walk Score! Thanks for sharing this great service Sara. Now I know all the cool stuff around my house.

Via Sara Bonert:

Walkscore is an incredible website for learning what individual neighborhoods have to offer within walking distance. Personally, living in Chicago, it is very important to me because my husband and I only have one car and he takes it to work everyday, leaving me to get places either by foot or bike. But my home has a walkscore of 91 (out of 100), so it isn't a problem.

This weekend I was at a cook out of some friends who recently had a child. This live in a condo in the hip neighborhood of Roscoe Village(their condo has a walkscore of 90). But now with child, you know where this conversation is headed, they decided its time to head to the burbs.

My friend was telling me how she spends hours online looking at homes and school district information, which wasn't a surprise to me. But I was surprised to hear her add "I walkscore every home I am interested in". Hmmm.... this walkscore site is now becoming so popular is becoming a verb...

This got me thinking, what a cool service it would be if an real estate website was able to put a search field for walkscore in their advanced search capablities. For examples, if you want to be pretty urban, show me homes with a walkscore of 80-100. If you want to be more remote, show me homes with a walkscore of 0-20. Walkscore does have some open source code posted on their site, I am not sure it is enough to create a search filter with yet. If someone could figure this search out, could be a pretty cool reason to use your site verses another agent's in town.

Get ready for the ActiveRain reBlog revolution...

Jonathan Washburn (ActiveRain Corp) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 02:48:07 -0500

This video might be a little too racy for Bob's official post on this new feature but not for my blog! It reveals an interesting perspective on how members of Tumblr, another blogging network, are using reBlogging. Plus it is hilarious to boot.

Video Tutorial #2: The Basics of Shooting

Jonathan Washburn (ActiveRain Corp) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 20:38:13 -0500

This post has been reblogged 2x already. I wonder if the SEO structure starts to change now that 3 people have reblogged it and linked back to Tara's post.

No matter what happens with this particular post, I am sure the Google Juice of her entire blog will be increasing.

Via Tara Jones:

Reel Tech TV Episode 2

So now that you know how to turn the camera on how do you know what to shoot? It's not as easy as you may think. We're going to walk you through a typical home tour with some photographer 101 basics.

First of all, try and find the focal point in the room. Is it the stack stone fireplace? The decorative hood over the range? The unique spiral staircase? Whatever the feature, try and showcase it first to grab the viewers' attention. The key to remember when creating a video home tour is giving them a "tease". You don't want to show them every light switch and electrical outlet...you want them to come see the house in person so you can sell it to them! With that in mind, keep it simple. Just a one to three shots in the main rooms (we'll get to what the main rooms are later) will do the trick.

Second, NEVER shoot into windows. Why? No matter how powerful the light is in the room it can never overpower the sun. That means whatever is inside will turn black (or extremely dark) and all you see are the windows. Therefore, never set up an interview by a window (since you won't see the person's face) and try to avoid pans into the windows since you will completely throw the color off in the room.

Third, keep your shots steady. Viewers can get sick watching a shaky video. Have you ever seen Blair Witch project? That photojournalistic technique is not recommended when selling real estate. If you have a tripod, use it. Try and find a flat surface where you can place your camera for pans or zooms (see below) so your shots will look more polished and professional. Always try to begin with an establishing shot...a shot that shows the entire room before beginning a pan or zoom technique.

So what are pans and zooms? Clearly stated, a pan is moving the camera from side to side and a zoom is closing the camera lens in on a particular object. To accomplish a pan correctly make sure your camera is steady. If you're panning a room try and keep the "horizon line" (think about being on a boat) straight. This means you want the floor to remain in the same spot throughout the shot. Keep the same idea in mind when panning up and down, say, on a staircase. The sides of the shot should remain consistent to keep a professional look and feel.

For zooms, don't use it unless it's necessary. Just because you have a feature on your camera doesn't mean you should use it! Ask yourself these questions: What am I zooming in on? Why am I zooming in on this object? Will it add any additional information to the viewer? I once watched a video home tour where the photographer zoomed in on a plant. Why? Does the plant come with the house? Do I need to know something additional about this plant that I didn't get from the first shot? Think about detail whenever using the zoom such as a decorative back splash or exquisite crown molding. Anything that can not be picked up on the initial shot or pan of the room MAY require a zoom.

Next video lesson: Downloading your video onto the computer (Gulp!)

For more log on to ReelDwellings.TV

What You Need To Do Before Leaving For A Vacation

Jonathan Washburn (ActiveRain Corp) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 01:05:56 -0500

Looks like Loreena decided to give reBlogging a shot after all. This is my first reblogged post. Loreena, thanks for giving me the opportunity.

Now if only I had time to actually go on vacation!

Via Loreena Yeo - Realtor(R)/Broker proudly serving Frisco TX Real Estate:

Here is a simple checklist for you to do before you leave for your "extended" vacation:

- Inform all your past clients/ current clients about your vacation. It is a good opportunity to build rapport.
- Set your Out-of-Office reply with an appropriate message.
- Get yourself someone you can trust/ an assistant to handle your escrows/ phone calls and emails while you are gone.
- Change your greetings on your voicemail.
- Make sure everyone involved with your escrows are aware of your absence.
- Set up your phone for international calling (if that's where you are heading).
- Back up your computer. (If you dont have time for any of these, make sure you do this one!)
- Scan all your documents that are currently in escrow.
- Scan your Seller's Disclosure notices for your listings and all other related documents about your listings.
- Make sure all your bills will be paid on time, set automated payments if needed.

Now as a blog-aholic, make sure you have your blogs covered while you are gone. Pre-write if you have to.

Related Articles:
Did You Know You Are Going On A Vacation?

Copyright © 2008 by Loreena Yeo (3:16 team REALTY). What You Need To Do Before Leaving For Vacation.

Localism talked about in geek's blog: Anarchogeek

Jonathan Washburn (ActiveRain Corp) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 15:52:18 -0500

Being mentioned in business publications and blogs is always nice, but nothing equals the sheer joy of having a developer/geek, who's in the know, write about your company in his blog. Developer/geeks have an uncanny ability to measure the pulse of the up and coming, and I've found that if you can please this sub-sect it's usually a very good indication you are on the right track.

So it is with great excitement that I bring to you Localism's first hard core, non real estate industry related, geek blog write up. I highly recommend clicking through and reading the complete article.

The following is an except, click here for the full post.

"The ideas i’ve been mulling over, hacking on, and playing with are how to share things i’m personally interested in doing. Places where you see somebody is already sharing, but in a broken way. An example i like is Localism, it’s a real estate website, but instead of sharing property listings, it creates a space for agents to share information about communities. It’s the hidden knowledge that real estate agents have, and creating a site for it helps some agents show off how damned well they know their beat.