These are all valid questions, but there are other concerns that would have a severe impact on several people and their families should the government fail to reach an agreement (like military personnel having to work while not getting paid until a budget is passed). I am going to focus on one specific repercussion: the housing market.

The Data

According to DataQuick, the percentage of homes purchased by borrowers using federally insured FHA loans in the month of February was, on average, over 33%. In some major markets, as indicated to the right, some markets saw 43% percent of their inventory purchased through FHA loans in the month of February.

In peak months, i.e. the Spring Market, FHA purchases account for well over 50% of the market activity. What does this mean for you as an Agent or Broker/Owner?

The Consequence

Depending on how long the “government shutdown” lasts, it could mean that half of the business you are expecting to close might- quite suddenly- disappear. Consider the following: In New York (my market), a Broker may have 25 deals in the pipe ready to close within the next 8 weeks. If trends are any indication, 8 of these transactions will not close in the event of a shutdown that spans two weeks or more. In a market where the average commission is >$10,000 per side, that’s $80,000 in GCI minimum. And we haven’t even taken into account VA loans, another federally staffed body, which accounted for 6.4% of all home purchases.

The Verdict

The good news? Government shutdowns rarely occur, and the majority of them last a few hours. Our most vividly (and referenced) government closure in 1995 lasted six days.

Earlier today, President Obama was quoted as saying, ““It may turn out that somebody who was trying to get a mortgage can’t have their paperwork processed by the FHA and now the person who was going to sell the house, what they were counting on, they can’t get it.”

As the saying goes, especially with government, I suppose all we can do is hurry up and wait.

I’m a bit of an anti-Appleite, due mainly to the unfazed and (mostly) uneducated enthusiasm that all Apple fanboys seem to have over every Apple product that comes off the line. Even more so, my wholehearted disagreement with their stance on Flash, alongside their rigid and totalitarian policies regarding the app store, only go to heighten my fervor.

It will come as no surprise, then, that I squealed like a little girl at an RPattz sighting when I heard that the GPad G10 finally hit the market. It runs on Google’s Android 2.1 OS (and not Chrome, as was speculated as a possibility).

Unfortunately, after checking the specs, it doesn’t look like it quite stands up to the iPad. The price is a meager $184.99, compared to the iPad’s $499, but it falls short nearly everywhere else. Below is a short checklist:

• Size: The G10 has a 7″ screen, whereas the iPad has a 9.7″. Size may not matter to some people, but the G10 will have to reach that fabled 9.5″ mark before I consider putting my hands on one. Winner: iPad




• Speed: The G10 clocks in with a 800Mhz DDR2 processor; the iPad runs at 1Ghz. The A4 chip designed by Apple is not only faster, but it is designed to consume less power than the G10′s Telechips ARM.  Could the G10 have gotten away with using something like, say, the Tegra 2 chip? Perhaps; they probably should have. Winner: iPad




• Memory: Both products run on 256Mb of RAM. The GPad has a built in 2MB drive, which is expandable up to 32GB. Apple’s iPad has a flash drive with either 16, 32, or 64GB. You do the math. Winner: iPad




• Camera/Media: Both devices support HD playback, but only one supports flash (can-you-guess-which-one?) The G10′s 0.3MP won’t be capturing anything that will end up in the Guggenheim, but the iPad lacks a camera altogether. Winner: G10




• Everything else: Everything else mainly ends up in a tie. Both have WiFi, accelerometers, multi-lingual support, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The G10 has a lot more out ports of varying types, but the iPad has 3G connectivity and shiny accessories.

Conclusion: The iPad wins this one by a mile. But give it time, my Droid loving friends, give it time…

“While we are currently experiencing delays on orders of one of our more popular phones. We view that as an anomaly driven by a combination of supply and popularity,” Brenda Raney said. “At present, we feel that we have done everything possible to ensure we have inventory to meet customer needs around the Droid X–the proof will be in the execution on July 15.”

Grrrrrrrrrrrr.

Give it a go!

Secundo: QR Codes!!

I’m sure you’ve noticed these by now. Here in NYC, a lot of stores have them posted on their door. Consumers can scan in the QR code and get info like hours of operation, menus, specials, etc.

On West 20th in Chelsea, you can find a Calvin Klein billboard with nothing but a huge red block of QR. As a matter of fact, I just received something in the mail here at work that had a QR right next to the return address. They’re practically everywhere.

How can Realtors use this? This could be used to cater to your tech-savvy consumer base with minimal effort. Before they become “mainstream”, which they invariably will, those familiar with QR codes will smile internally- as if you have just sent them a secret message- and see you as someone who “gets it”. Here are some ideas:

• Place QRs on your sign riders that link to the property’s website. Passersby could then simply scan the rider to get all the info/pictures they need.
• Place a QR on the back of your business card. Have it link to your blog, agent page, or something similar.
• You can create QRs that dial a phone number or send an SMS. Place this either on the back of your business card or on the next batch of postcards you send out.
• QRs can also be used to display text. Place a QR somewhere with a personalized message aimed at this section of your clientele.

Of course, the possibilities are endless. I prefer using Kawaya to generate my codes, but other sites do exist. Keep in mind, these are the things you can write into a QR code:

• Contact Info
• Web link
• SMS
• Phone number
• Geo-Location
• Calendar Event
• Email Address
• Text Display
• Wifi Network

With that in mind… create some QR codes today and try them out! They are an easy, fun, and savvy way to get your message across.

(note: QR codes only work with phones that have scanning ability)

I first heard about Chat Roulette about a month  ago. Since then, about 20% of the people I know have tried it out at least once. For the uninitiated, Chat Roulette is an even mixture of exciting, random, creepy, and desperate. You simply go to the website, click new game, and you will randomly connect with a perfect stranger online (note: webcam required!)

When I first tried it out, I did so with the thought that this could, perhaps, be yet another way for Realtors across the nation to make money. Think about it: you are talking to random people across the WORLD. There’s bound to be someone who’s moving somewhere, right??

In most cases, no. Chat Roulette is filled with adolescent teens, creepy exhibitionists (all of which are male), and a very small minority who are actually looking to talk to someone from a different part of the globe. In my first expedition, I was myself: simple, boring, Zane. Only one out of every 15 people actually bothered to talk to me; doubtless because I was neither an attractive female nor a shirtless teen with a gallon of gel in my hair. Nevertheless, I was determined to try and find SOME way to monetize this for you Realtors out there.

That is precisely why I decided to execute the following experiment. Documented below, you will find my alter-ego trying very hard to sell some real estate. It will become obvious that Chat Roulette is filled with distractions; I have edited out all graphically obscene incidents.

In all seriousness, there is some potential for Chat Roulette as a way to make money via viral marketing exposure or audience participation (see bit about Miller Lite) if you’re a band or national/global company. Otherwise, it’s just  place to kill some time. Or brain cells.

**On a serious note: I recommend that any parents out there strongly guard against their children going on this site. While, ideally, it’s a great forum to meet new people and explore new cultures, in reality, it is a haven of men exposed in real time from the waist down.**

Watch in Full Screen to read text:

Recently, however, I began to notice that I was getting what I deemed to be superfluous amounts of company updates sent directly to my inbox. Some examples:

In response to this, I gently suggested that the company reserve this type of information for venues such as company blog/webpage, subscription based newsletters, or even the Fan Page/Group wall. I reasoned that such company-specific news is something that people want to have the choice to read, and not sent directly to their Facebook inbox for them to almost have to read. After all, I’m going on Facebook to see what’s new with the people I want to know about (and to do a quick scan of the people who just show up on my feed).

My friend reasons that, if someone friends a business, they should expect to hear about that business. I agree, but only insofar as to the extent that I described above. Maybe it’s just me, but if I were to send everyone who is a fan/group member a message on Facebook about listings, recruits, etc., I would do so with the fear that I was being a tad offensive, and that I’d risk losing members.

For retailers, I can see getting messages about upcoming sales or specials- if I signed up to receive them.

What do you think… does joining a company group constitute consent to receive messages in your Facebook inbox? Are the examples above the type of information that should be getting sent out? I’d love some feedback.

There is a thorough amount of interactivity, the information streams, and there is no more waiting in the mail for your latest issue.

For advertisers, content can be localized and interactive. Can you imagine taking out an ad spot on this tablet that allows the reader to browse your featured homes of the month… virtual tour, narration, and all?

I’d love to hear what you think about this… have a look.

Participants will include Eric Bryant, of MyRECoach.com, Tyler Hurst of TDHurst.com, Jay Thompson of PhoenixREGuy.com, and yours truly.

It should make for some interesting discussion. To further the drama, I am sticking to my guns as a proponent of why we SHOULDN’T be spending our time trying to guess what Web 3.0 is/will be.

I am ready to rumble.

Do you think this type of technology, while still relatively expensive, can help justify print ads in the Real Estate Industry? Imagine taking a full page ad out in the paper that, when held up to your webcam, suddenly and mysteriously produces an image of your company’s president speaking straight to the consumer. As you rotate the physical ad, the president delivers different messages in front of different homes in different locations. Would you like to try this out? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Example#1- If I Google “Comcast”, a quick scan of the first page of results causes my brain to process the following info: Comcast’s website is www.comcast.com, there are several Comcast locations in my area, Wikipedia has a Comcast article, and I can view a video of a Comcast technician sleeping on a couch on YouTube.

Example #2- If I search “Comcast” on the Twitter feed, a whole different set of information is revealed to me: someone’s Comcast bill is $150 and they think it is absurd, more than three people hate Comcast “with a passion”, Comcast is offering free premium shows online, and it took Comcast 22 days to install Evan’s cable, but only three days to respond to this blog article.

Spot the difference? Google has built a kingdom around their ever evolving search algorithm. In order for any one webpage to rise to the coveted #1 position, certain criteria must be met, and a plethora of factors can affect its overall score. How long has the website been around? How long is the domain registered for? How many external links point to this site? What is its traffic? How reliable is the content? How rich is the content? You get the pictures.

Google has perfected the science of crawling, organizing, and outputting information. Crawling, organizing, and rendering- however fast it may be- still takes time. Someone texted me earlier today to ask if Kanye West was dead. My first response was to ask google for confirmation, where no mention of the egomaniac’s passing could be found. Second stop? Twitter. It was flooded with news of Kanye’s death. For a very brief moment in time, tens of thousands of people were talking about Kanye West’s alleged death.

And Google had no idea. (Searching “Kanye West” on Google now yields results about a Twitter hoax)

More and more people are placing an increased value on real-time search. Enter Bing.

Bing’s search engine market share has quickly grown to over 10%. It launched in June with 0% market share… It is a rapidly growing beast.

Despite it’s sometimes gimmicky strategies (You mean I can really get $1.50 back for purchasing a $250 cardigan from J Crew? Sweeeeet….), Bing has made some fairly strategic moves to position themselves as the number one search engine by 2015. What sticks out the most, though, is its proactive decision to partner with Facebook and Twitter. Bing will now license data streams (Hellloooooo Revenue!) from Twitter. And remember that $240 Million investment from Uncle Microsoft to Facebook two years ago? It’s all coming to a head now.

Perhaps Google will always rule mainstream search. It is an ever changing encyclopedia of information whose heart has a slow, resounding rhythm.

The NY Times could tell how popular Superbowl Commercials were via Twitter,  Pizza Hut and Comcast qualm  would-be cyber revolutions before they begin, and companies monitor the general public’s sentiment on a day-to-day basis. Real time search is here to stay, and it is growing at the pace of a TMNT. It’s life blood is circulated by a frantic, fickle, mass of millions who move at the speed of light and can change the tide of information in a frenzied heartbeat.

And Microsoft has that pulsating heartbeat in the palm of its hand.

***UPDATE****
About 5 minutes after I published this, I went to Tech Crunch’s site to see what was new. This is what was new.