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Twitter and Blogging 2.0
2008-05-26 02:46:00 Why Twitter became the application du jour The key to Twitter's wildfire adoption was in opening its API to developers who then built Twitter applications on top of the feeds. Mashable lists 140+ Twitter applications. Twitter.com isn't actually the primary recipient of its web traffic, Larry Dignan @ ZDNet says 90% of Twitter traffic are its API calls. On the negative side, Twitter now has famous network down times because too many users are accessing Tweeter via those applications.Why Twitter's popularity is crashing it Here's why: Twitter's broadcast model, although similar to "closed circuit" radio doesn't broadcast on a simple mass media standard, like radio airwave. Each "tweet" is stored in a huge database, and then must be broadcast across a variety of media - to mobile phones, websites, or one of the many Twitter desktop clients - and specifically to a group of followers. Problems arise, according to Om Malik when a burgeoning number of Twitterers like Scoble have 25,0...
The slow death of the mass media business model
2008-04-02 14:23:00 First, music, then motion pictures (did you realize there are sites popping up that stream movie videos illegally? ), now books. The Internet has unleashed intellectual property leakage that frankly, can't really be resolved because there will always be an unknown someone in the world (say, a theater employee in Shanghai), uploading copy, and untouchable by governments and regulatory institutions like MPAA. Book piracy on the internet will ultimately drive authors to stop writing unless radical methods are devised to compensate them for lost sales. This is the bleak forecast of the Society of Authors, which represents more than 8,500 professional writers in the UK and believes that the havoc caused to the music business by illegal downloading is beginning to envelop the book trade. Tracy Chevalier, the author of Girl with a Pearl Earring who also chairs the London-based organisation, said that her members were deeply concerned that the publishing industry was failin...
Kinkos disfunctional business model
2008-02-14 10:08:00 We're traveling this week and had to make some copies at Kinko's (now given the tongue twisting name of FedexKinkos... which causes one to consider - does a brand name have such ego that it needs to insert itself into a simple, effective name like Kinkos?). I've always thought Kinko's was dysfunctional - a combination of demanding customers, poor service provided by a staff that seemed to be hired because they lacked the people skills to become barristas, and ugly fluorescent interiors. Well, Kinko's also has a completely backwards business model based on their main product: copies. Copies made by their service staff - collated and stapled if necessary - cost 8¢ per copy. If I hook up my laptop to their LAN system, I can print directly to Kinko's printers for 49¢ each, 600% higher. It's the only model I've ever seen where automating a procedure takes the back seat to giving employees something to do, like managing a copier.It's backwards... I can't even think of an ...
Free the Net!
2008-01-31 22:47:00 This is a pet peeve story.Up to early 2007, free wifi signals dotted the urban landscape of San Francisco and one could just park the car, open the laptop and voila! be on. Now, people have figured out how to set up WEP passwords due to the imagined threat of "drive-by" spammers who, as urban myth has it, find a free wifi signal to unleash their spam distribution. We had grown accustomed to wifi being like electricity... open and free. I (and I'm sure countless others) mentally note every free wifi coffee shop in the neighborhoods where we have meetings so we can refer to them immediately. These shops always get my business. Coffee shop owners complain of wifi-loungers, so they should do what this brilliant bakery chain Panera Bread does - they offer free wifi except between the lunch hours of 11:00 - 2:00 when wifi use is restricted and clocked to 30 minutes. Panera is my meeting spot of choice whenever I'm in SoCal. Every restaurant chain should do this. Booking a conference a...
The new Investment Banking paradigm
2008-01-28 03:22:00 If one subscribes to the idea that a real estate transaction is basically matching capital with opportunity, and that the transactional process has become more transparent due to internet data, then it's logical to see that any intermediary based transaction is also fair game. Investment banking and venture capital is a relationship based business that matches investor bases, often institutional investors, with opportunities - stocks, bonds, M&A, start ups, etc. Like any other lucrative business model, maintaining the mystique of "high finance" and managing deals behind the scenes keeps power contained within the select few who live on Park Avenue or in Woodside. TheFunded.com, a website where entrepreneurs post data and feedback on the venture capital community, begins to level the playing field for entrepreneurs who pilgrimaged to so many VC meetings in order to figure out where their investment opportunities stood. Techcrunch notes TheFunded is now creating a database of V...
Can the new refi boom usher in new lending models to keep the industry ethi
2008-01-24 23:40:00 (from Bankrate.com 1/24/08)Mortgage broker friends have been telling me there is a refinancing boom happening with mortgage rates sliding. With the new boom, I'm hoping the shady mortgage lending practices of the pre-credit crunch days have been scrutinized by and made more visible to the consumer. However, I hear once again those ubiquitous, vainglorious mortgage broker radio ads with that call to action - "mortgage rates have again hit all time lows and won't stay there, so call now". We're ready to see the Charles Schwab-ization of mortgage lending - with rates visible to the consumer without hidden backends / yield spread premiums, or prepayment penalties that can indirectly compensate brokers. With product simplification, all the Schwab-like mortgage broker would add is his/her fee. I'm sure mortgage brokers will cry "it just isn't that simple", and that's likely true now, but we're heading in that direction because mortgage lending will, like airplane tickets an...
The Emerging World of Free
2007-12-17 08:48:00 Chris Anderson, author of the Long Tail, talks about the premises underlying his new book "The Emerging World of Free" in this must-see video (h/t to Guy Kawasaki). Real estate professionals collectively fret over the erosion of their income as they realize how much closer to "free" their services are becoming. Anderson explains that this is simply the manifestation from a business model paradigm based on gatekeepers using scarcity of knowledge as a value proposition to one where knowledge becomes free on the internet. Examples Scarcity paradigm - knowledge, content are controlled by a scarce few Abundance paradigm - knowledge and content are distributed by the masses Manifestation Gatekeepers uphold scarcity and charge their "arm and leg" for it Knowledge becomes free because there is little marginal cost to posting said knowledge on the internet Example - Mass media 20th Century model - broadcast media - infinite reach but limited channe...
Disintermediation: what can it mean for your business?
2007-12-16 02:26:00 Nowadays, with syndication formatting, content is free to go wherever it is needed and anyone has the choice to subscribe to it directly. Not all content is formatted for syndication, but Blogs do it automatically with RSS [some with 'RSS convert to email']. By taking advantage of this modern reality you don't necessarily have to depend on or pay for media intermediaries. That's right, you may actually save on advertising cost by publishing with a Blog and connecting direct. Read on here Chris Kinetic Knowledge / Real Estate Blogsites PS: And please ask us for the Business Bloggers Bible
Disintermediation of the mortgage broker
2007-11-27 11:36:00 Short history of mortgage lending How mortgages are processed Innovation driver / Catalyst pre-1970 Banks and S&Ls (and before that, insurance companies) managed the loans directly with the consumer 1970-1980 Mortgage lending extended to mortgage/credit companies (Countrywide started in 1969) as alternatives to banks. Eventually these operations adopted retail branch operations. New business model 1980's Banks begin to offer wholesale rates to the new layer of mortgage lenders and brokers who could focus on servicing the consumer client. The "PC revolution" carved up the vertical operations of mortgage banking. New business lines are formed to focus on certain aspects of the loan processing. Loan securitization makes it easy for mortgage lenders to set up shop. 2001-2006 By 2004, mortgage brokers are participating in 68% of home loan originations. But banks have realized and regret they lost control ...
See any new theatrical release online free!
2007-11-25 16:04:00 Did you know you can now watch just released feature films free without interruptions on new online movie sites that are as easy to use as YouTube? I didn't know until yesterday. Hollywood and the MPAA may as well give up. Free feature length films online were the final pot of gold in the war on online piracy. Finally, the Pandora's Box of free online movies, served up instantly in streaming format, has opened and is proliferating. The masses, including me, have heard and read about pirated movies offered up via Torrents and other file sharing protocols but have abstained from downloading these properties due to: 1) illegality, 2) threat of viruses and other malware within the download, and 3) well publicized lawsuits by the MPAA against individuals who were caught file sharing. Now, sites like Movies-on-Demand.tv, Online Cinema.org and Movie6.net make watching streamed full length features as simple and safe as watching YouTube. It does this without any downloading, without cu...
No analyst firms cover real estate. Bloggers do.
2007-11-20 01:14:00 It's one of the businesses of Wall Street to research and make portfolio recommendations. There is a cottage industry of analyst firms that survey industries like technology, media and finance, and aspire to consult with both the sell-side brokers and the buy-side portfolio managers at corporations and investment/pension funds. Before the internet, the research analysts at the investment banks and the analyst firms held proprietary research and data that they could leverage either for more transactional revenue - trading and consultative services like investment banking or M&A - or, in the case of the analyst firms like Gartner or Forrester, subscription revenue. The internet as data equalizer seems to threaten the analyst firms' livelihood by making it more difficult to provide data of proprietary value. (The same parallels can be made about the analyst industry to journalism, another research intensive industry) Now all the analysts are writing blogs, and Forrester itself ...
Real estate coaching 2.0
2007-11-19 01:23:00 Real estate training and coaching isn't even at Web 1.0; its most basic business model relies on personalized one-on-one coaching methodology. Brokerage training programs rely on a series of classes. Well known California based programs like Mike Ferry, Buffini and By Referral Only (all headquartered within 50 miles of each other in SoCal) rely on a hierarchy of coaches to personally deliver the message of their programs - the strategies and tactics of managing a professional career. And frankly one-on-one coaching works because it is customized to the individual, but it costs more and doesn't scale well. Real estate training should harness the Webinar - a virtual classroom where students can show up in their pajamas and coffee logged in on a web conferencing system like Webex and participating on a parallel phone line. The advantages: Students: Students prefer Webinars for convenience and don't need to commute to a classroom setting.Training content remains the same. Th...
DOJ Antitrust Launches Site on Competition in the Real Estate Industry
2007-10-11 10:41:00 The Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday launched a website to ostensibly "educate consumers and policymakers about the potential benefits that competition can bring to consumers of real estate brokerage services and the barriers ...
SB1291 Finally Signed by the Governor
2007-07-05 21:41:00 On Monday, Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano signed SB1291 as ammended into law. This was the bill that caused much discussion here and elsewhere that, in a nutshell, originally attempted to force automated valuation model providers such as Zillow.com to stop providing estimated home valuations to our fine citizens. Also in late June, the AZ Board of Appraisal finally ...
Disintermediation
2007-06-23 20:35:00 Want to know more about John Lackey’s shoulder? He’ll tell you. (The notable thing here is that it took a cortisone shot to help him, making this more of a significant problem that originally thought, though the prognosis is good.) On the heels of Curt Schilling’s well received blog (which has had no update since his injury), Lackey’s blog is an interesting step in getting information out directly from the player. Barry Bonds, I think, started this phenomenon, though his site didn’t really do much in the way of getting his information out without the filter of the press, instead focusing more on fluff. I was unaware of Lackey’s blog, but think the idea of disintermediating the beat writers is a froth until we figure out the rules. Did Lackey say too much? Did Schilling get shut down on talking about what shut him down? I’ll still trust guys like Peter Abraham, Matthew Cerrone, and the Globe’s excellent “Extra Bases” section...
By: The RotoFeed
DOJ vs. NAR: Point2 Agent Weighs In
2007-06-22 20:28:00 Something that should be of great interest to both real estate professionals and real estate consumers is the ongoing lawsuit betwe-en the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the National Association of Realtors (NAR). For those not aware (and if you are an agent and not aware of this, shame on you) the DOJ has filed suit against the ...
Redfin, 60 Minutes, whatever?
2007-05-14 22:59:00 The real estate blogiverse is all abuzz about the 60 Minutes segment that aired last night featuring Glenn Kelman of Redfin. I TiVO'ed the segment, but haven't viewed it yet. Why not? Because honestly, I don't care. Love him or loath him, Kelman is a master of spin, and a marketing wizard. The guy probably ought to run for ...
SB1291 Passes on Reconsideration
2007-05-01 02:08:00 SB1291, the bill that would (as amended) ensure that Automated Valuation Models (AVMs) used by sites such as Zillow.com has passed the Arizona House and been transmitted to the Senate for consideration. After initially failing to pass the house by the required 2/3's majority on April 24, Representative Stump moved to reconsider on April 25 ...
?JB? says, ZILLOW SUCKS!
2007-04-29 09:51:00 Received this email yesterday: Now I often get the occasional email or comment from a raving fan. More often than that I get an email or comment from a raving nut case. But I don't think JB is a nut case. I think JB is simply confused, and perhaps ignorant of Zillow, AVMs in general and ...
SB1291 Fails to Pass
2007-04-25 03:19:00 The bill we've been discussing here the last few days failed to get the required 2/3's majority in the Arizona House today. Voting results: THIRD READ: DATE AYES NAYS NV EXC EMER AMEND RFE 2/3 VOTE RESULT Vote Detail 04/24/07 32 22 6 0 Y Y FAILED Greg has a nice summary, including a ...
More on SB1291, Zillow, AZ Board of Appraisal and Big Brother
2007-04-24 05:44:00 SB1291, mentioned here and there over the past few days has been amended — with some common sense for a change. Greg Swann sums up the recent activity well, no point in rehashing it here. Kudos to state Representative Michele Reagan (R-Scottsdale) for doing the right thing. Hey, anyone with dogs named Lucky and Bozo can't ... |
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