Foursquare just surpassed the 10 million user mark. Facebook Places has become extremely popular quickly. Whether you “get” it or not people like checking in. A lot.

Quora has recently exploded onto the scene as a new breed of Q and A site with a social and transparent approach. People go to the web with questions, Quora has answers, from real people.

What if you wanted to ask a Quora type question to someone who is checked in at a specific location RIGHT NOW?

Possibilities abound.

Thinking of going to the DMV and want to know how long the wait is? Heading to Applebee’s on a Friday night but don’t want to even think about stopping by if the wait is over an hour? Have a plane to catch and wondering how traffic will be along your path?

Localmind has created an app for that. There is an iPhone/iPad version as well as a web app [iPad version is AMAZING]. By accessing the location based data available via check in sites like Foursquare and Facebook, Localmind can actually connect you with people who are currently at a venue so that you can ask them a question in the moment. Questions can also be left at locations and will be pushed to the next patron to check in where the question is waiting. The video below gives a great visual explanation of the practical uses of Localmind in under 40 seconds. The quote below is by Localmind’s co-founder and upcoming Inman Connect San Francisco speaker Lenny Rachitsky:

Anytime I come across a new technology like this I immediately try to wrap my mind around the possibilites within the real estate space. Shiny object or viable platform moving forward?

My first thought is that the early adopters in the real estate industry on Foursquare/Gowalla/Facebook Places may see some reward here. Being checked in all over town is great, but many would argue that just isn’t enough to generate legitimate business. Especially in a relationship business like real estate.

Where Localmind can be of additional value to the already geo location savvy is that it REALLY encourages engagement with strangers (some would call those leads/prospects/etc). By asking and answering questions you are not only interacting with potential new clients and being helpful, you are also doing it in the moment they need it most while at the same time sharing your local expertise. There are a lot of unanswered questions on the map in Localmind right now in most metro markets.

I can see some genuine connections being made through Localmind and I know that I for one would be much more inclined to want to be connected on the social graph with those that bring value versus those who simply shout about where they are all the time.

A Foursquare check in is talking, Localmind shows that you are listening.

Seems to me that the listeners are winning at the social media game right now, even though most folks are just blabbing away.

Would love your thoughts on Localmind below and the possible uses for the real estate industry.

Written by: Chris Smith, Chief Evangelist, Inman News, @chris_smth

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It is simply impossible to avoid. Buyers remorse seems to be ever more cruel when it comes to technology.

Picture this. You have made up your mind that it is finally time to buy a new camera/phone/laptop. You are done photographing your listings with your 5 megapixel point and shoot. Fed up with taking the battery out of your Blackberry four times a day? Once and for all you are going to get rid of that spam and virus filled PC you have been chugging along with for many too many months.

Often when we buy new hardware it is an emotional and rash decision. It shouldn’t be. Yes, you may be ready for that new tool for your business, but what if the newest, hottest, shiniest model is coming out in two weeks? A model that will surely be smaller and faster and maybe even worst of all cheaper?

Enter Decide.com.

Decide.com has created an algorithm based on 1′000’s of data points to make sure that you not so much buy the right device, but more so that you buy it at the right time!

As someone who has purchased far too many Apple products in the last 3 years I can tell you that having a service and information like this can literally be priceless.

Upgrades are happening so quickly with hardware as are price reductions on older models. Normally you would never see in a Best Buy ad “Great model, but you should wait four weeks until we mark it down or for the new one to come out”.

Decide.com even has a great mobile site so that you can access suggestions like “wait for new model” or “wait for price to drop” while at the store. Talk about transparency and giving the sales guy a truly difficult objection to overcome.

From what I can tell Decide is currently focused on cameras and laptops, both of which many real estate agents are either in the market for or will be soon. If you decide, pun intended, to browse around Decide.com and happen to find an item that should not be purchased due to the data they have complied you can set alerts as to be notified when the time is right.

My first reaction? Super cool site worth spending a few minutes on and remembering for your next purchase.

My second is that what if a site like Trulia or Zillow decided to add a similar algorithm to homes consumers were browsing on the web? Can you picture a buyer standing in front of a home with their phone out getting a “Wait 3 months to buy” recommendation? I can…

Written by: Chris Smith, Chief Evangelist, Inman News,@chris_smth

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I have a fondness for my iPhone. I know many of you feel the same. Waking up and checking Twitter, email and the like with one eye open is typically the way I start my day. Sometimes I feel like I am the only one, but the data we are seeing coming from the mobile space tells us otherwise. It actually tells us that there has never been a more rapid technology platform shift, ever.

So if I love my phone and you love your phone we need to concede that there is a decent chance that today’s tech savvy buyers and sellers love their phones as well! Do you have a mobile marketing strategy? Have you started using text message or QR Code options on your marketing pieces? Is your site mobile optimized? All questions for another day. Today we start with something simple to execute and sure to impress.

Uscapeit wants to become the Google “street view” for the masses. They have created a must download iPhone only app (for now). Their inspiration seems to have come from Google. For those of you that are not aware Google actually sent cars up and down every street in the U.S. and took 360 degree images that they layered into their mapping systems. Uscapeit wants you to be able to do the same from anywhere, anytime including of course a home you are trying to market!

The process of creating what they refer to as a “Scape” is very simple. You hold your phone and spin around in a circle as to capture the entire 360 degrees from where you are standing. There are a number of cool photo apps that accomplish this element already like 360 Panorama for the iPhone and Photaf for the Android. Where Uscapeit takes the technology one step further is that they allow you to stitch together the Scapes you have created into a collection and they then add Googleesque arrows between each one as to allow the end viewer to walk around the collection of images you have gathered.

You could start with a Scape of the front of the home, then lead into the foyer for another, the living room, master bedroom, kitchen, etc… Many of you may remember the virtual tours of the early 2000’s on websites that would allow the web visitor on your site to control a camera in any given room and pan/zoom fluidly. This is a very similar concept but instead of being very pricey it is FREE and instead of being on the “regular” web it is mobile optimized which is where all of the eyeballs are rapidly shifting. No need to call a company and pay big bucks, just head over to the iTunes store, download Uscapeit and start creating great Scapes. Once the Scapes have been created there is one button share functionality with Facebook and email which makes getting them out to your sphere of influence a breeze.

Overall I am very impressed with the Uscapeit app as it relates to a potential marketing tool for Realtors. They have several demo Scapes that you can check out inside the app including one of an apartment for rent which I feel really gives a good demonstration of the potential power of the app for real estate purposes.

Any questions feel free to leave those below. One that I anticipate is “How about something like this for the Android?” Let’s have some fun with that one and I will ask any Android users who find a comparable app to leave a link in the comments below.

Written by: Chris Smith, Chief Evangelist, Inman News, @chris_smth

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Guest blog post by Daniel Weisman

The question on everyone’s mind these days is, “how can I use SEO to get more rental bookings?”

The idea of Search Engine Optimization is that ranking highly in search results will lead to increased traffic and sales. While reaching the top of the Google search results seems to require black magic, keep in mind that it’s magic you already know: promotion. Doing SEO for vacation rentals and real estate mainly requires applying the promotional skills you already have to the tools available on the web.

The original references for all things SEO can be found here and here. For an approach tailored to vacation rental marketing, here are 5 steps to creating an SEO strategy:

1. Define Your Goals

As with any marketing campaign, SEO requires clear goals in order for you to work at it effectively, assess your results, and develop your strategy. Remember: Your ultimate goal is to book more rentals and increase your bottom line; NOT to be number one on Google.

The value of the #1 is intangible, but ROI is a reliable metric of success. Keep track of the time and money you spend on your SEO efforts, and you will be able to calculate the return on the campaign based on increased bookings.

Good SEO Goals:

• More bookings from search results
• Increased site traffic
• Lower bounce rate

2. Build a Website

You can’t have SEO if you don’t have a website! If you’re starting online marketing from scratch, then the first thing that you’re going to want to do is build a website. For vacation rental owners and property managers, Web Chalet, a new company, provides hosting and industry-specific site templates. Their product provides a quick and easy way to get all of your important information on a website with your own domain name and branding. For those who want more customization, wordpress.org offers a free solution for building robust websites.

Think of a website like a shop. You want a great location (domain name), an attractive façade (design), and a great product. Choose an address that’s easy for people and search engines to find. For example, if Paul owns a vacation property in Lake George, then he will be better off with a domain name like LakeGeorgeVacationRental.com rather than PaulsPlace.com. Be obvious and descriptive, and make it clear exactly what your site has to offer.

In addition to making your shop easy to find, you also want to make it inviting and pleasant. Make your site easy for people to navigate and you will be rewarded with love from the search engines and bookings. In their webmaster guidelines, Google esplains, “Create a useful, information-rich site, and write pages that clearly and accurately describe your content.” Keep things simple with clear content and easy navigation.

While we’re on the subject of building sites, we should talk about keywords. Keywords are the phrases that people search to find your site. Before you create any content for your site, think about the keywords that potential customers would use to find you. If I were searching for a rental in Lake George, than I would probably enter “Lake George vacation rentals,” or “Lake George cabins.” These keyword phrases are much narrower than a term like, “vacation rentals,” and they target more relevant traffic. You can do keyword research on Google by using the wonder wheel and related searches tools.

3. Provide Valuable Content

Search engines try to provide users with the best inforamtion, so make sure your site contains highly relevant, up-to-date content. Be sure to include a well-written description of your rental, high-quality photos, an availability calendar, guest testimonials, area information, pricing, and contact information. It’s also a good idea to keep a blog on your site with regular updates about the property, changes and improvements, area news, and special offers. The search engines like to see that a site is actively maintained.

If you already list your vacation rental on sites like FlipKey, then you may not need to create and update entirely new content for your site. FlipKey provides owners with widgets that display the booking calendar and guest reviews, among other tools. You can easily install these widgets on your site and keep all of your information up to date just by managing your FlipKey account.

4. Promote Yourself and Your Site

Even the best shop can fail if no one knows about it. You need to go out and do the legwork to get other websites talking about your site. Most of all, you want to get other websites to link to you. The search engines see these links back to your site and have an easier time finding your content. How do you get people talking?

Listing Sites

Most listing sites, like FlipKey, will provide you with a link to your personal website. You want to list on some of these sites anyway, so make sure that you take advantage of their authority and provide them with a link to your site.

Chambers of Commerce

Chamber of Commerce sites are good places to get noticed on the web. Join your local Chamber and make sure that they include a link to your website in their accommodations section.

Destination Marketing Organizations

Find the local destination marketing or visitor and convention bureau website and see what the options are for getting your site listed. Sometimes all you have to do is ask. You may also find local travel guide sites and directories – if they are ranked highly in search results, then it’s worth talking to them about getting a link to your site.

Local Bloggers

Bloggers are a tougher community to crack, but also a valuable community to be a part of. Think of blogs as your shop’s neighbors. Many of your customers are going to have lunch at the restaurant next door and then ask for a recommendation for a place to shop in the afternoon. If you’re friends with the maître d’, then he’ll recommend your store and not your competitor’s. Get to know the bloggers who write about your area and they will be happy to recommend you to their readers.

Social Media

As I wrote in my article on Social Media for Vacation Rental marketing, Facebook and Twitter are great platforms for promoting your property. As with bloggers, these sites are all about being social and not about hard-selling. Claim a Twitter handle and a Facebook page and get involved in conversations that interest you. You’ll meet some interesting people and find some great supporters to spread the word about your awesome rental.

5. Track Your Progress and Adapt

Finally, make sure you’re tracking your progress. There are plenty of tools available for keeping track of website traffic, but the industry gold standard is Google Analytics. You can create a free account and install Analytics on your website just by following Google’s instructions.

Once you have Analytics up and running, it’s easy to get carried away with the numbers. If you want to see how your SEO efforts are doing, then you will want to pay attention to the Search Engine traffic, which you can find under “traffic sources.” There’s a lot of information to take in here, but if you see the traffic generally trending upwards, you’re on the right track!

About the author: Daniel Weisman is a Social Media Specialist at FlipKey.com, which features more than 100,000 vacation rental properties around the world.  You can read more of his writing on The FlipKey Blog and connect with him on Twitter @flipkey.

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Widgets are a great way to add valuable content, increase your credibility, foster engagement and “share-a-bility” of your content, and make your site more interactive with your customers.Widgets are available for use on most WordPress.com and WordPress.org sites.

I am very excited to be giving a special presentation today in Vancouver, BC at Agent Reboot. My presentation is: “Widget Check: Pump Up Your WordPress Website.”

Here are my 9 favorite widgets for WordPress sites:

• Local News: Twitter.com/About/Resources/Widgets
• Lifestyle: WalkScore.com/Services
• Weather: Weather.com/Services/Weather-Gadgets/
• Social Media: ShareThis.com
• Subscribing to Updates: FeedBurner.com
• Facebook: Facebook.com/Badges
• One Phone Number: Google.com/Voice
• Email Newsletters: MailChimp.com
• Entertainment: Frontdoor.com/Buy/HGTV-Frontdoor-Widgets/55667

The best part – these widgets will work on Canadian or U.S. WordPress websites!

In addition, in the U.S., there are some fantastic widgets available from Zillow.com, Trulia.com and AltosResearch.com – all of which have widget options such as: mapping,  IDX feeds, data charts, testimonials, featured homes, and more.

What are your favorite widgets? I’d love to hear from you and add to this list. Post your favorites below!

Written by: Katie Lance, Social Media Director, Inman News, @katielance

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Even in today’s social world of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, text messaging and blogs – one of the best ways to still reach someone is through email. Have you ever had an open house and couldn’t find a business card a potential buyer handed handed you or couldn’t read the handwriting of the person who signed in? Sure you could search them out via Google or even on social media, but sometimes actually finding someone’s email can be challenging at best.

I just discovered Peepmail, the brainchild of Samy Kamkar (@samykamkar)

Peepmail is a search engine that delivers someone’s business e-mail, even if that e-mail address is not published publicly. Peepmail has a super simple interface. To use it, just enter the person’s name and the business domain where they work.

It doesn’t work 100% of the time – when I plugged in a few Inman News team members it didn’t pull us up but other domains worked just fine. I will definitely bookmark this site next time I need to try to reach someone and can’t quite figure out where there business card went or where their contact info is.

Have you tried this? I’d love your feedback, leave me a comment below!

Written by: Katie Lance, Social Media Director, Inman News, @katielance

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The more I use my iPad, the more I see how valuable it is for real estate agents.

In addition to the “cool factor” – there are tons of great productivity tools for real estate agents and brokers. Not only that, but using an iPad in the field eliminates the need to lug around a laptop – making your job much easier!

Here are my top 5 must-have iPad apps for real estate agents:

1. Keynote – This is a must for all real estate professionals. It is $9.99 but well worth it. Think of Keynote as PowerPoint, but so much easier and more intuitive to use. This is the perfect tool for creating a simple and very slick listing presentation. Don’t want to use Keynote because you love PowerPoint? Download Documents on the Go – the only app available to edit PowerPoint files (also $9.99.)

2. Open Home Pro - This is a fantastic free tool for open houses. No more open house register needed! Simply tap the app, enter the basic details of the listing, and you are ready to go. Once you have buyers come in, they simply sign in with their name, email and any other pertitant info. You can add notes too. After they have entered their info, the screen reads “Please hand the iPad back to your real estate agent.” Love it!

3. Dropbox – Dropbox is the easiest way to store, sync, and, share files online. There’s no complicated interface to learn. This is the easiest way to transfer files from your desktop or laptop to your iPad. This free app is must-have for any real estate agent.

4. GoodReader for iPad ($4.99), iAnnotate PDF ($9.99) and PDF Expert for iPad ($9.99) – All of these apps allow you to annotate PDF’s in a variety of ways. You an edit text, move notes with your finger, draw, and add a personalized signature and so much more. iAnnotate PDF and PDF Expert for iPad support VGA-out, so you can share your work on the big screen if needed.

5. DocuSign – This free app is simply a must for any real estate agent. Send, track and sign documents anytime and anyplace. View real-time business document status so that you instantly know what is completed and what still needs your attention. Create, tag and modify documents for e-signature.

What are your favorite iPad apps for real estate? I’d love to hear your experience using any of these apps. Leave me a comment below!

Written by: Katie Lance, Senior Marketing Manager, Inman News, @katielance

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I am so in love my my shiny new iPad2 that I’ve gone a little app-crazy. One of the newest apps just introduced to me is Keyoobi. At first glance, although not a real estate app, this app seems to be made for real estate agents. More often than not, so much of an agent’s day is spent in the car!

Keyoobi is the first iPad application that lets users see their day’s appointments as a route using Google Maps.  It shows users the amount of travel time they’ll have between appointments, displays the best route to get there, and identifies clients or prospects in the vicinity that may be scheduled in along the way.

(Can’t view the video? Click here)

Keyoobi will:

• Integrate with Contacts, Calendar and Maps
• Work for Enterprise users who synch their calendar and contacts with Exchange servers or Gmail
• Display appointment times and Color code routes based on travel time and appointment time
• Group Contacts with customizable pins and categories that are shown on the route map
• Route your next appointment in real time based on current location.

As a real estate agent – I could see using this to plan out appointments with clients, to plan a route for Broker’s Tour or even to plan a route for taking clients out to view property.I also really like that it maps your route most effectively – saving you time. Who doesn’t like to save time?!

Keyoobi retails for $9.99 and is available for download now in the App Store.

I’d love your opinion about this app – leave me a comment below. What other apps are your must-haves?

Written by: Katie Lance, Senior Marketing Manager, Inman News, @katielance

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Note: I asked Joseph Walla, cofounder of HelloFax to write a guest blog for FOREM. Why? Isn’t faxing a thing of the past?  The reality is that even in 2011, trying to send and receive a fax can be a still be a royal pain – special equipment, special paper, special phone line, and the list goes on. And whether you like it or not, many real estate agents and brokers still rely on faxing for transmitting documents. Joseph and his business partner launched HelloFax about a month ago, and have recently been written up by TechCrunch, Read Write Web, and Slate Magazine. Although there are many online fax products, I love the super simplicity of HelloFax. I would love your feedback on this product especially if you are using it – please leave me a comment below. Thanks! – Katie

Faxing documents is a hassle. You may already subscribe to an online faxing service, hoping that it would solve the problem. But what happens when you have to sign a document? Before you can fax it, you first have to print it, sign it and scan it. Another hassle.

HelloFax solves that problem. We’ve built a web-based replacement for your fax machine, with real world scenarios in mind. The main reason people still need fax machines is to fill out and sign documents. Using HelloFax, you can do it all in your browser.

Here’s how it works:

1. Enter a fax number or email address

Enter in recipient’s fax number, and that’s it. Another feature that’s been getting a lot of use is the email option. Instead of putting in a fax number, you can put in an email address – and we deliver your document via email. About a third of all our documents are sent this way.

2. Upload your documents (of almost any type)

We accept most file types, including PDFs, Word documents, and image files.  Just click on “Edit & Sign” to fill out and sign your document. Don’t need to edit it? Click “Send it now”.

3. Fill it out.

To make it simpler, we actually removed features. You can add text by clicking anywhere on the screen. You can also add check-marks by clicking that option on the toolbar.

4. Add your signature.

We have 3 different ways to add your signature. You can draw it with your mouse, upload an image file of your signature, or take a picture of your signature with your smart phone and email it in. We’re building a tool that can work independently of fax machines, printers and scanners – and are constantly looking to improve the signing flow.

Note: IE 7 and IE 8 don’t allow you to draw your signature. But, for those browsers, you can still upload a signature image or use your smartphone.

Okay, that’s great, but how do I receive faxes? That was our most requested feature. Select your state and area code; then choose from the available fax numbers.. You can also select a toll free number:

Why it is great for Realtors:

• Sign & fax on the go. You’re never tied to your fax machine, printer or scanner.
• Paperless office.  Realtors go through a tremendous amount of paperwork and it’s a hassle to manage.
• With HelloFax, you can stay digital, even with clients who need faxes. For your records, we also email you a PDF copy of every document you send or receive.
• Receive faxes in real time. We forward all faxes to your email account, as they come in.

Special Offer for 48 Hours:

We’re giving away our basic account (usually $4.99 / month) for free to FOREM readers. Here’s the special part. You don’t need a credit card for this free trial. All you need is your email address (so we can send you confirmation emails) and to select a password (to protect your documents).

You can access this offer by signing up for the basic plan through this link: http://www.hellofax.com/content/pricing?promo_code=FOREM.

After 2 months, if you like us, you can continue as a paid member. If not, we’re glad you tried it out.

What you can do for us:

We love and need feedback. We want to build something that you want, rather than something that we think you want. You’ll notice that we respond to most emails within 10 minutes. So, please write. We’d love to hear from you.

Here is a video to show you how it works: (click here to see the video if you are having problems seeing it below)

About the author: Joseph is the cofounder of HelloFax.You can follow HelloFax on Twitter @hellofax

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Guest blog post by 
Jill Mayer from Lyman PR, jill@lymanpr.com, @Jill_Mayer

Note: FOREM fans, I am always on the lookout for technology that will make your life easier and be able to service your clients the best way possible. I came across SugarSync and asked Jill Mayer, from Lyman PR, to write a guest blog post about it!

Realtors are always on the move – whether it’s showing a house, checking out a listing or networking with peers and clients.

Life on-the-go can be difficult, especially if a client, colleague or title company calls and needs a document ASAP that may be stored on your desktop, but you just don’t have the time to make the trip back to the office before your next appointment.

That’s where SugarSync comes in.

SugarSync is a cloud-based file sync, online backup and file sharing service that enables Realtors to manage their important data, anytime, anywhere, and now from any device. SugarSync gives Realtors their own Personal Cloud where they can securely backup and instantly access all of their most important files—thousands of documents, photos and other valued content—from any device they choose. It offers a broad range of device and OS support—from laptops to BlackBerry, Android-based phones and iPhones, and today’s most popular tablets, such as the iPad and Samsung Galaxy.

Working with partners or assistants?

With SugarSync’s collaboration features, you never have worry about duplicate documents and file versions.  With the new multi-user sync feature, you can both save a client’s folder on each of your computers or devices and once a change is made to a document in the folder or a new document is added, it’s automatically updated on all users’ computers and devices.  This means you never have to worry about emailing versions back and forth hoping that you have the same updated document or folder.

Features that Realtors will love:

• Anywhere, Anytime Access – If you’ve got an Internet connection or a smart phone, you’ve got a mobile office. Wherever you go, your files will be with you.
• Sync Without Limits – With SugarSync, you can sync as many computers and mobile devices as you want on a single account — and changes saved on one computer are instantaneously synced among the rest.
• Secure, Automatic Data Protection – As you work, your files are continuously backed up to your secure, personal SugarSync website using SSL encryption. Once in the servers, all data is then encrypted with 128-bit AES.
• Seamless Collaboration – Easily send files of any size to anyone, from anywhere. And you decide whether you’d like to password protect the information and whether the recipient can only review or can edit the files.
• File Versioning – Have you ever saved over a document and immediately wished you hadn’t? SugarSync will save, sync and back up the five latest versions of any given file —automatically. In a tough spot, it can be a real lifesaver.
• Mobile Support – SugarSync is compatible with Mac, PC, iPad, iPhone, Android-based devices, Blackberry, Symbian and WinMo

Special Offer for FOREM fans!

• Those interested in setting up their own Personal Cloud service can get started with a free account by visiting SugarSync.com/signup.
• For persons with greater file storage needs, SugarSync offers a free 30-day trial for plans starting at 30 GB for just $4.99/month. We also offer a variety of business plans that aid SMBs of all sizes – sugarsync.com/business.

Here is a quick video to showcase how it works.  Click here to view the video >>

Questions or comments? Please leave your feedback below. Thank you!

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