San Antonio's Rockstar Turned Realtor®

What do rock and roll and real estate have in common?

Me.  If you've known me for awhile, you probably now that I don't just call myself "rerockstar" because it sounds good.  It's actually rooted in my past.  This week, Monday March 7th, join us at The Hip Roof at 1PM (Eastern) as Maya Paveza grills me on rockstars and real estate.

The Hip Roof held their first webinar last week with ActiveRain's Ben Kinney and it was a an hour full of interesting facts and information about what makes Ben Kinney tick and how he's using different tools - traditional and technological - to increase his business.

If you haven't signed up for The Hip Roof yet, come and check it out.  The forums are active and full of agents asking and answering questions - sharing ideas and thoughts on how to utilize today's tools and grow your business.  There's even a bit of fun.  Of course, I'd be crazy not to mention The Devil's Avocado, my blog about all the ideas and thoughts on the real estate industry.  Part confessional, part ravings of a madman, it's a blog I've had in my head for too long.  So come join us over at The Hip Roof and bring your questions to the webinar on Monday at 1PM (Eastern).  I'll be there - will you?

Disclosures: CMP.ly/2 and CMP.ly/5

I recently posted this photo of a much younger Mark McGrath and I on Facebook, thought I'd share it with you here.

Or are they?

I had a great conversation with a new friend the other day and it drove home some thoughts and beliefs I already had, but know that many people struggle with when it comes to social media.  If no one connects or responds, are we making an impact?  If no one comments on our blog post, does that mean no one likes it or found value in it?  If a Tweet goes out and no one mentions it ever again, did anyone even read it?

You can read the original post, Social Media: Where is everyone? on my site, but I wanted to share it with ActiveRain as well.

Download the complete slideshow from the Xplode website.

Friendship and Family - Community Amongst Realtors® and Punks.

Punk was not a mainstream movement.  Disregarding the commercial system of the music industry, punk had to find it's own way to build both fans and a distribution network for their music.  In order to sustain their own survival, punks had to build friendship and family amongst themselves, their fans, and the various related industries (record stores, promoters and venues, college radio, etc.).

With real estate, we are constantly building community; whether amongst our peers and the related industries or our clients and residents of the local area.  In order to succeed and excel in our industry we must network, build trust, and become the center of a community that values what we have to offer.

Our need and desire to build this community spirit is vital to our industry and our careers.

For punk rock, this sense of friendship and family was deeply rooted in protectionism.  As the "odd" kids in music, punk stood out like a sore thumb and as is the case with many things that disassociate with the mainstream, punk had no choice but to band together and support each other.  For real estate, I think it's less about protectionism and more about a desire to build a better industry.  Although we all function under the banner of independent contractor and are free to conduct business how we wish, there is a common thread that binds us all together as an industry.

The foundation of all we do.

The spirit of friendship and family in our industry comes in many forms, but it is the core foundation of much of what we do.  Sharing new ideas or discussing thoughts and concepts of real estate, blogging about the latest laws or changes in the mortgage industry, calling an agent when they have a good week or a bad week, helping the families of agents when disaster strikes, reaching out to another agent to say thanks for a referral...I could go on and on with examples of how we are a community.  We function as friends, family, and peers.  In order to improve our industry we must always continue and expand upon this key fact.

It may seem rather obvious that this is true and we all function under this theory, but the purpose of this section is to reinforce this fact and have a reference point for all my other points.  Without the sense of friendship and family keeping us tied together, we lose the foundation of all other concepts of real estate in regards to punk rock.

This post is meant to explore some of the ideas in my presentation, "Punk Rock and the New Agent" from Xplode Austin and is part of a series covering each of my slides in the presentation one at a time.

What does punk rock have to do with real estate?

I was honored to be given a chance to present at Xplode in Austin this week and as promised, I wanted to cover my slides a bit more in depth.  The conference was geared around real estate technology, but with so many great speakers covering so many aspects of the technology we use (or should be using), I thought I would go at things from a different angle and speak about some of the lessons I learned from my music career and my love of music growing up, particularly punk rock.

Punk rock represented a certain freedom to me and many of the attitudes and skills that small punk rock bands employed gave me a lot of ideas when I was first starting out as a new agent.  I had little money, but plenty of time on my hands, so I had to think creatively about my career, my brand, and how to xplode my business.

If you missed Xplode Austin or it was too far away for you to travel to, don't worry - Xplode is heading out on a 2011 tour and new cities are being announced.  A day jam-packed with great speakers, new information, opportunities for networking, and a huge dose of fun and rock and roll.

Punk Rock and the New Agent - Slide Breakdown

Friendship and Family - Punk Rock and the New Agent

I've never liked GoDaddy.

I mentioned in my comments to Elizabeth that I use Dreamhost and have discount codes to bring the cost to $6.99/month for unlimited disk storage, unlimited bandwidth, unlimited email accounts and much more - including one free domain registration.

If you'd like the code, here it is:

ROCKSTARSPECIAL

You can enter the code at checkout or just follow the link above and the discount will automatically be applied in all of the information as you sign up.

Tegley ???

I love CAPTCHA codes.  I found this one this morning while here on ActiveRain and had to laugh.  I wrote my message, started to type the letters from the CAPTCHA and then realized I had absolutely no clue what the second word was.  I think there's an "m" and a "y" at the end there, but that's about all I could see (or guess).  In addition to the usual non-sensical words that appear, I've found many instances where the words were more like an ink blot test.

Did you know?

Although it seems like it would be fairly obvious, I've seen people do the "I could've had a V8" head smack when they realized what the two symbols to the right of the text box were there for.

Headphones - Click this icon and you'll be played an audio version of the text.  This is often helpful when the words apear blurry and you can't read them, but it's also useful for making websites accessible to all.  If you're blind, you can't read a CAPTCHA and the text-to-voice software that you would use to "view" websites would not be able to read the text...as it's an image file.

Circular Arrow - You can use this button to refresh the words if they are unreadable or look like you've been out on a bender.  One note of advice, every site is different with their refresh button, if you've entered any text (comments, email, etc.) I highly suggest you copy what you just wrote and then click the refresh button.  I've lost some great text over the years when the whole page reloaded instead of just the graphic.  In the case of ActiveRain's contact pages (where this was taken from), the button only refreshes the graphic (9 times out 10 you'll find this to be the case, but it's that one time that will make your blood boil).

You CAN build a better blog.

You've probably heard me talk about 31 Days To Build A Better Blog a few times and you know I'm a big fan.  Having run the challenge on this blog and RErockstar.com (as well as covering my efforts as part of the Build a Better Blog Group), I not only had a good time doing the daily tasks, but learned a ton of information from Darren Rowse, one of the most recognized names in blogging (if you don't read his ProBlogger site, you're missing out).

Through the course of the challenge, Darren gave us a daily task and explained the substance and theory behind each task.  Through the 31 days, I was challenged to find new ways to look at how I constructed blog posts and the information in them - things I still practice on my blogs today.

Two days left to save.

The 31 Days To Build A Better Blog Workbook is a downloadable e-book available at the ProBlogger site and normally costs $39 (well worth what you'll get out of it).  However, I just received an email from Darren that he's put it on sale for $19.95.  With the promo code below, you'll save an additional 25% (final price: $14.96).  This promotional price expires on December 1st (at 5AM Eastern).  You must use the promotional code when ordering the workbook:

PROMO CODE: november25

I've just started a new blog (it's somewhat of a secret at the moment) and I'll be using the 31 Days To Build A Better Blog Workbook to build quality content and its online presence over the course of December.  After going through the 31 days on my other blogs, I swear by it as a way to sharpen your blogging skills, increase traffic, and learn blogging tips from a pro.

If enough people order the e-book and want to start up another master-mind group focusing on bringing your blog to the next level, I'd be more than happy to join in and discuss what I've learned and some of the tips and tricks I've picked up along the way.

The promo code is also good for ordering The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers for $22.48, a discount of 25% off the regular price of $29.97.

Disclosure: CMP.ly 5

Your message has been delivered.

As lightning fast as the internet is, I'm not quite as fast.  I will respond to your message soon.  If you need to contact me immediately, please call or text (210) 646-HOME.

As I give my clients my full, undivided attention I do not answer phone calls or emails during showings or appointments, but leave me a message and I will get back to you as quick as possible.  There is nothing more annoying (in my eyes) than an agent who is yapping into the phone with one client or has their head buried in their smartphone while at an appointment with other clients.

If you are seeing this video and didn't send me an email, don't worry - you can still email me anytime!

While you're here, check out a few of these posts that you may have missed:

For San Antonio Buyers and Sellers:

Looking for local San Antonio neighborhood information and photos?

San Antonio Home Buyers - Why Many Agents Won't Show You A Home "Right Now!"

For Sale By Owner Conversation - Thoughts For San Antonio Sellers

San Antonio Videos - People, Places, Neighborhoods, And Homes

Is there a new 3.8% "sales tax" on real estate in the Health Care Bill?

San Antonio Map of Real Estate Market Data

San Antonio Sellers - Is Your Home Being Found?

Thanksgiving time - my favorite recipe for turkey.

San Antonio buyers and sellers: this agent's thoughts and advice.

Tips For Selling Your Home at RErockstar.com

Realtor® Speak 102 - A series of posts

And don't forget to visit RErockstar.com for lots of great resources for buyers and sellers!

For real estate agents, ActiveRain members, and industry bloggers:

Using Twitter To Your Advantage When Writing Blogs

How I almost quit real estate in 30 days or less.

The Code of Ethics - Bite your tongue!

It's Time To Bury This Monster.

31 Days To Build A Better Blog Challenge - Daily Task Master List

Deed Street - A new way to make your real estate tweets work for you (and help consumers).

A quick and easy way to satisfy new FTC disclosure requirements on your blog - CMP.ly

Does Google know you exist? Or are you just another face in the crowd? A simple test.

A stern warning (or lack thereof) - Flickr is watching you.

Ambassador Series: Learn blogging SEO from a master for free. (on of many posts in the Amabassador Series)

What is ActiveRain? My rambling answer to Jonathan Washburn.

Re-defining ROI in the age of social media.

The "Google Is A Scraper" Saga Continues.

And don't forget to visit AgentGenius for some of my early posts about being a new agent and lots more!

QR Codes and Real Estate.

Lately, QR Codes have been all the rage in conversations online amongst real estate types.  Just look here on ActiveRain for blog posts about QR Codes and you'll see what I mean.  Then there's the tweets, the posts outside of the ActiveRain, the magazine articles, the conversations, the vendors, the classes and webinars...

(If you're asking, "What in the world is he talking about?," I'd recommend reading this simple explanation of QR Codes from Lani at AgentGenius - published way back in 2008.)

QR Codes are being talked about everywhere I look.  So today, while reading an email that mentioned them I threw out the idea on Twitter that I just don't get all the hoopla.  Although I think QR Codes are pretty cool stuff (I love new technology), I just couldn't seem to find (in my own head) a real justification for all the talk about them.

The Curious Response.

Within seconds of my tweet, people started to chime in.  The results ranged from the I don't get it either variety to the thought that they are still an emerging technology.  I even had one person reply that they had a showing on their listing thanks to a QR Code (they didn't go into any detail).

While I can see the case for QR Codes being somewhat new and interesting and I fully agree that as they become more pervasive we as an industry might need to revamp our entire way of doing things, I still struggle with what makes them any different than a trusted search engine.  Perhaps we should first consider how we're using them before I make any judgments.  As with any new technology, the possibilities are endless, but let's stick with the basics for now - adding QR Codes to real estate marketing materials.

Want more info?  There's a QR Code waiting just for you.

So let's pretend I put a QR Code on my marketing materials for a new listing.  The idea is to give people more information by using the QR Code.  You put it on your flyers, your signs, and all promo materials.  The QR Code is simply an encoded message to the QR Code Reader telling it to perform some action - in this case, to visit a website (let's say a single property website for my latest listing).  A potential buyer pulls up out front of the listing, but the flyer box is empty...there's no info about the property without them calling me up and asking (and no one likes the phone these days...how 1980s of you!).  Being savvy tech-types though, they notice the QR Code on my sign, whip out their latest Andro-App-Berry, and quickly take a snapshot of the QR Code.  Whiz-bang, they are teleported to the website of my choosing to learn all about this fantastic property.

To me (and this is part of why I don't "get it"), it would make just as much sense to google the address or the agent's name and get the same info.  Yes, perhaps a QR Code will get you to the information you're looking for quicker, but does the speed outweigh the quest for more information?

QR Codes go mainstream.

The most frequent response to my tweet was along the lines of they'll be useful when they're more mainstream.  Of course, I have to agree with this - any technology is more useful as it approaches its peak of adopt-ability (laser discs weren't very useful until more people had...oh wait...just kidding).  I'll definitely be curious to see how the mainstream adopts and makes use of the QR Code, but even then I have to admit I'm not that impressed (I'm interested and excited, just not impressed).  I think I just need something more concrete than what I've seen so far.

Are you using QR Codes?  Have you had an success with them?  Any interesting stories?  Give me a reason to love the QR Code...please.

photo courtesy of PSPorter

We always have a need to scan and send.

Documents are the life blood of a real estate agent.  With all of the advances in technology, there are all sorts of pdf files flying back and forth between agents and lenders, lenders and title companies, and clients and agents (and every which way you can imagine).  Of course, there are plenty of times when you're away from the office and don't have a scanner or fax machine available.

Enter GeniusScan.

Thanks to the iPhone and the GeniusScan app, your problems are solved.  Simply take out your iPhone, open GeniusScan, snap a photo, make a few adjustments, and send your document out as a pdf file.  It's super easy and so far in my tests, the results have been excellent. 

The photo to the right is a screen capture as I took a picture of one of my signs laying around the office.  The orange grid the overlays the photo allows you to choose what area you want to include in the scan.  As it's next to impossible to take a 2D photo in a 3D world, GeniusScan allows for 3D movement of the orange grid in order to best capture your scan.

Once you've selected the area you'd like to scan, simply press the "Select" button and GeniusScan goes to work.  Even with text documents, GeniusScan does its best to enhance the text and make it readable.  Occasionally, I've had to take a second photo when I noticed some shadowing or blurred photos, but overall GeniusScan has produced each and every time.  To see what the scan of the RE/MAX Access sign turned out like, check out the GeniusScan generated pdf file.

Other uses.

If you're a blogger and do reviews of restaurants and other businesses around town, this could be a great way to capture menus or other info that might not be available on their sites.  Use it to scan receipts so you don't have to hang onto all that paper.  Business cards?  I'm sure there's a million things you could use it for - what are you going to do with it?

So take GeniusScan for a test run - it's absolutely free.  That's right, free.  You can download GeniusScan from your iPhone, iTunes, or check it out from the iTunes Preview site at Apple.