Category Archives: Google
Bing Maps Versus Google Maps in Charlottesville
I just got off the phone (although I have Skype , too) with a client overseas who had been questioning whether the railroad near the Belvedere development was abandoned. She answered her own question when she said, “I’m looking at it now, and it appears that it’s still in use – there aren’t any weeds growing over the tracks .” I know I’m a “tech savvy Realtor” and all, but that statement still blows me away, as does the fact that Bing is winning the mapping race in Charlottesville right now. This year I have worked with a fair number of international buyers, and my tools to work with them have become better and more efficient. Continue reading
Google Street View in Crozet
The Google folks drove through Crozet – likely just before Memorial Day weekend this year.
Google Transit in Charlottesville
Read all about it at Charlottesville Tomorrow . Shame Google’s Street View folks decided Charlottesville wasn’t worthy . Continue reading
Agent Genius Spheres and News
Agent Genius , the national real estate news magazine, launched two new features/branches this morning – AG Sphere and AG News – If you’re a consumer curious about what some of the best and brightest real estate minds have to say, or if you’re in real estate and want to learn about real estate trends, technology , mortgage news , even finding a local real estate professional and general movements within the industry, check them out. *Disclaimer: I am honored to be one of the writers at AG, but that doesn’t influence how impressed I am by what they continue to do. Continue reading
What’s outside the window?
I’ll be adding these photos to my listings soon – what’s outside the window of the house, what the street looks like, what’s to the left and right … not just because a client mentioned it to me the other day, but also because Google just released Panoramio : Have you ever looked at a photo and wondered what was beyond its edges – just what was left of that castle or what the facade of Notre Dame looks like from close up? … I only wish we could integrate this into the MLS … but we’re relatively limited in the photos we can upload and then we’d likely run into the “you can’t have your own branding!” Continue reading
Do you Google people you meet?
It’s simple business intelligence. 
– If I’m in a meeting with my laptop open and my phone rings with number I do not recognize, I’ll quickly Google the number (it’s amazing how many Realtors’ cell phone numbers aren’t found via Google) – if it’s a client and it’s important, I’ll likely leave the meeting* to take the call. … *I love volunteering and working on various Realtor committees – they bring value to my business in a variety of ways – but if a client calls while I am in Strategic Planning for the Virginia Association of Realtors, my and my clients’ Strategic Plans come first. Continue reading
What will MLS data standards do for the consumers?
With the recent talk of how forthcoming data standards are going to make property data sharing more efficient and thus better for consumers and Realtors, here is one of my requests – I’d love to see a (Google) Mashup (or the MLS would be even better, and I think a no-brainer) providing an overlay of school districts. … Even better, make it so that registered users could make their own pages with all their important locations to help them organize their thoughts and help their Realtor representatives better understand their thoughts and thought processes. Continue reading
Google 411 gets better
1-800-GOOG-411 has saved me a few times, and if I didn’t have a GPS in my car, I would find this even more useful -Today, your GOOG-411 experience just got better: during your call to GOOG-411, just say “map it”, and you’ll get a text message with the details of your search plus a link to a map of your results right on your mobile phone.Having the information texted to my phone was mighty useful. This is even better.We may never need to implant RFID chips into our shoulders. Google will already know where we are and where we’ve been and probably predict where we’re going next (before we know ourselves).
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