Is "Getting more organized" on your New Year's resolution list for 2012?

Have you thought about how many apps and websites you have granted permission to access your personal information in 2011?  To change the access, it can be difficult to know where to go to revoke access and delete the apps.

MyPermissions.org is a new site that makes it simple to clean up your app permissions.

"With direct links to your Facebook, Twitter, Google, Yahoo, LinkedIn, Dropbox, Instagram and Flickr accounts, you really have no excuse for putting off the chore of cleaning up your app permissions," writes Nancy Messieh on The Next Web.

The only thing the My Permissions site doesn't do is ask permission to access your accounts in order to use it.  "The page acts as an online bookmark, and when you log in to your accounts, all you have to do is click the link of any given service and you'll be taken straight to your app permissions page." 

With more and more stories about services being hacked and personal information being released, it's better to be safe than sorry, although most of the time, the levels of access are harmless says Messieh.

You can also sign up for monthly email reminders to check your apps permissions, so you can stay organized all year long.

Read the full story at The Next Web.com

Learn more about MyPermissions.org

Posted in Technology And You

A new site called Nestio lets you organize your rental search all in one place.

"Nestio is a free web and mobile tool to help you organize, collaborate, and stay informed on any listing you find online," states the Nestio website "Forget the long email threads and clumsy spreadsheets, you can now collect this information in one, centralized location."

You can use Nestio to save listings from any site and view them, sort them and even compare them side by side, in terms of size, cost and neighborhood.

Prioritize your listings as you get more information and easily delete the ones you don't want.

Share your listings with roommates, family or friends by email or Facebook.

Nestio also offers a note taking feature and allows you to add your own photos as you go.  You can also keep  track of where you are in the rental process, using their scheduling system for contacting and viewing.   It will even track your listings and notify you of any updates.

Get "The Big Picture".  Nestio lets you plot your listings on an interactive map of the area that includes nearby businesses.  It can even calculate your travel time to and from the office!

Nestio also offers a free app for your phone which allows you to add and view your listings on the go.

Join Nestio for free and save time by organizing your apartment search all in one location!

Go to Nestio.com for more information.

Posted in Technology And You, Real Estate Market Conditions

Are you one of the tens of millions of cell phone users who have faced unexpected charges of $100 or more on your cell phone bill?  Edward Wyatt for The New York Times reported that, "A 2010 study by the Federal Communications Commission found that one in six mobile users had experienced bill shock and that 20 percent of complaints received by the FCC during the first half of 2010 were for $1,000 or more in overage charges."

The FCC and wireless carriers have reached an agreement that the carriers will begin sending alerts to consumers who are nearing their monthly limit for voice, text, or data services.   The new system will be up and running within a year.

The new alerts come at a time when data usage, especially, has grown with the popularity of tablets and better smartphone technology.  Wireless contracts usually include a flat fee for text, voice and data and any usage over those limits incurs charges that are usually far more expensive than the per-unit basis under the monthly allotments.

Even unlimited plans have their limits.  Downloads are limited to a certain number of megabytes which, "unlike a number of calls or minutes, cannot easily be tracked by the uninitiated." writes Wyatt. "Last October, the F.C.C. highlighted the case of a 66-year-old retiree in Dover, Mass., who received an $18,000 bill after a promotional no-limit data plan expired without warning."

Carriers will provide free alerts by text or voice when consumers approach and/or exceed their limits on voice, data or texting.

Roaming charges can also catch the consumer unaware.  Most times these occur when travelling overseas.  Some carriers already alert users to the fact that the call will incur additional charges, but not all carriers do.  The new alerts will require all companies to alert their customers of potential roaming charges.   

Consumers can opt out of the service if they choose, reports Wyatt. " At least two of the four types of alerts must be started by carriers within 12 months, and all alerts must begin within 18 months."

Read the full story at The New York Times.

photo credit: derrickcollins

Posted in Technology And You

Have you started adding video to your website?  Did you know that YouTube is the second largest "search engine" in the world.  Think about it, 7 out of 10 Americans watch video ads online.  Video attracts viewers but how do you convert those viewers into customers?

In an article on ReelSEO.com, Jim Folliard & Tom Foster of Fairfax Video Studio, offer these great tips to convert video viewers into customers. 

1.)    Enough about you!  Focus on the viewer, not yourself. "If you were at a cocktail party, would you spend your time talking with the person who is solely focused on himself?" asks the article.

2.)    Answer Common Questions.  You know what they are.  Every business owner knows the common questions that customers ask.  Give advice on these topics to generate leads.

3.)    Experience Sells:  Explain how you have been able to help customers in the past.  What is your expertise? Position yourself as the Go-To Expert in your field.

4.)    Pay attention to quality.  Low quality and low budget video is not going to present a good image.  Viewers are going to make a quick decision based on this. Make sure your video and audio, both, are high quality.

5.)    Smile!  "It might feel unnatural and awkward, especially if you are talking about a serious topic," states the article, "but smiling while you are talking comes across great on video. Smiling makes you more approachable and people will feel more comfortable contacting you."

6.)    Include a Call to Action.  You are looking to get action from your videos. "Do you want people to call you?  Should they fill out an online contact form?  Is there a book or report they should download?" says the article. Don't be afraid to tell them what they should do next. "A call to action lets Web visitors know exactly what they should do after watching your video."

7.)    Be Yourself!  "Above all else, it's important to come across as "genuine".  Don't try to be someone you're not, viewers will see right through that.  Video is a perfect way for someone to get to know you, so let your personality shine!

Investing in online video marketing is a necessary investment in your business. Video is a powerful marketing tool to help you generate more leads and new customers. 

Read the full article on ReelSEO.com.

photo credit: sea turtle

Posted in Technology And You, Marketing

Metro Broker, Greg Howard of Metro Real Estate Group uses the latest technology to sell real estate across the Denver and Colorado Springs metro areas and the entire front range.

Interviewer:  Hi I'm Kathy Soltero with MetrobrokersTV.com, and today in the studio we have with us Greg Howard.  He is with the Metro Real Estate Group.  Greg, thank you so much for coming in and talking with us. 

Greg:  Thanks for having me. 

Interviewer:  Tell me first of all about where you're actually located?

Greg:  Our main office is in downtown Colorado Springs at 612 North Tejon.  We used to be at 625 and we just recently moved down the street, three blocks. 

Interviewer:  And you said you are doing a lot more of business here in the Denver Metro area. 

Greg:  I have, I have spent a long time living here in the South Denver area and I find that I have got more of a client base here currently than I do in the Colorado Springs market.  So, even though I'm marketing to the Colorado Springs, I just have a lot going on here. 

Interviewer:  You drive up and down the I-25 corridor.

Greg:  I do, I do.   It's not so bad; I am on the North side of the Springs.

Interviewer:  You use a lot of technology in your business; tell me a little bit about that. 

Greg:  I do, it starts off with my website.  My website, through my website you can find property searches on anything from way north of Denver all the way to the south side of Colorado Springs, a little bit into the foothills.  You can find information about HUD properties.  There is a lot of informational videos on there as well.  So if you want to know what it takes to buy a HUD property, you can click on that and watch it as well.  Other things I do with my website, all my listings get their own private websites, so that I can actually market them and people can find all the information on the house without having to look in at a piece of paper in the yard.

Interviewer:  So, automatically when you take a listing and you put it into the MLS or whatever, your website just picks it up right away, and you can create a website for it or. 

Greg:  I create a website, but it's fairly automated.  I have things that I have to enter, and then when I do all my marketing, I market that website and that website takes them directly to the information of the house, pictures, and virtual tours.

Interviewer:  What kind of new technology have you really embraced with your real estate?

Greg:  Getting away from flyers, that's probably the best thing that's going on right now, you've seen lots of gimmicks that agents have used, I say gimmicks, lots of tools that agents have used to capture leads or capture buyers for their listings.  I use what's called the QR code or Microsoft tag on all my listings and on my flyers.  If you take a smartphone you can click on that, and I can give you any information I so choose, it can take you to my website or the website of the home or to the virtual tour or can be all the disclosures for the property.  So somebody can actually pull up in front of the house and take a picture with their smartphone and they can get all the information they want on the house. 

Interviewer:  So that works like they just take a picture of it, is that...

Greg:  Well, there is actually a...

Interviewer:  Is there a scan or...

Greg:  Well you basically scan it; there is an app that you have to download in your phone.  But it's very easy, you can even go to my website, and get that app, and you just click on it and it automatically directs you to either information or a website. 

Interviewer:  It sounds to me like, through your website to that, buyers or sellers could look all over the metro area.

Greg:  They can, they can, there's really no place from, let's say, Boulder, all the way to the south end of Colorado Springs that they can't view homes. 

Interviewer:  Tell me what's your website is, so they can go, check it out. 

Greg:  It's really easy, it's greghowardrealtor.com.

Interviewer:  That is pretty easy. 

Greg:  Yeah.

Interviewer:  Greg any other information you want to pass onto customers, as far as how they can get a hold of you.

Greg:  My cell phone is a great way to do it, it's area code 719-445-9515 and the other thing is, I am doing a lot of work in the South Denver metro area now so, I'm actually trying to focus on that, so that's just Colorado Springs. 

Interviewer:  Okay, very good.  Greg, thank you so much for joining us again today. 

Greg:  Very good, it's a pleasure, thank you. 

Interviewer:  And for more real estate related videos like this one, be sure to tune your web browser to MetrobrokersTV.com. 

Posted in Technology And You, Buyer Resources, Seller Resources, Metro Brokers Agents