Today was my first venture with Pezaudio and setting up a Podcast for AZ Real Estate Networking and paving the way for other AZREBN bloggers!

David Lopez has accepted an offer to join AZREBN as a regular contributor/writer sharing his expertise with audio broadcasting. David has a long history with audio technology and I will leave that for you to hear on this podcast interview below…

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If you haven’t put technology on your ‘to-do’  list to investigate for your real estate business then I’m here to tell you shouldn’t waste anymore time!

I personally am a gadget junkie and anyone that knows me personally will tell you that I love working on the Internet, love trying and testing new gadgets and can always find me on my computer!  I’m all about learning new technology that will help my real estate business. Fry’s Electronics in Tempe is a hot spot of mine along with www.newegg.com!

Jay, Jonathan and I were invited to be guests of Diverse Solutions a vendor that offers the dsSearchAgent IDX solutions for real estate professionals. I have nothing but good reports from my clients that find my Search Phoenix MLS page with the dsSearchAgent mapping system a breeze to work with and very user friendly.

The added modules and upgrade features available for agents and brokers is pretty slick. If you haven’t take a stroll on Diverse Solutions website, I encourage you to do so! I think once you share this product with your clients, I am confident they won’t be looking anywhere else!

Some of the features you will enjoy are the instant, single page interface so that your visitors spend less time waiting and more time searching.  A complete custom RSS feeds that can be created by you, assistant or your visitor.  You will also find integrated Google Steet View in the property details of every single property (when available).  Built in flash slideshow with the option to view full size photos and not jumping off the page!  Complete color customization so the the IDX solution perfectly matches the colors of your websites.

One of my favorite features is the dsAgentChat® dialog chat boxes so visitors can chat live with you while actually searching the MLS.  If you aren’t near your computer then you get a SMS text message direct to your cell phone and able to text a response immediately!  Isn’t technology fantastic!!

The ARMLS Tech Fair turned out to be a blast hanging with Robert Luna and Corey Kozlowski with Diverse Solutions, Jay and Jonathan.

If you are interested in taking a test drive or want more information visit ARMLS site here.  If you have any questions or thoughts about how the dsSearchAgent IDX works or other features, send me an text/chat request and I will be happy to give you my testimonial personally!

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More information to come, but this is going to be a great event!
Rob Gibbs

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I’ve been ask to join some fine local Phoenix professional bloggers, Jay Thompson and Jonathan Dalton to share some insight on blogging and networking.  I will be there representing the AZ Real Estate Blogging Netwowrk that I founded in April of 2008.  Jonathan is the owner/author of the new blog, NEWARMLS.com where you can find more details about the fair and information pertaining to the newly launched Flex MLS platform.

Jay Thompson, Broker/Owner of Thompson’s Realty and is a veteran blogger here in the Phoenix metro area. Jay also joins me as a contributor to AZ Real Estate Blogging Network blog.  His expertise and knowledge far exceeds most bloggers here in the Valley of the Sun. You could say Jay is the ‘Grand Daddy’ of Phoenix bloggers. Of course, he has been called various nicknames just in the brief year that I’ve known Jay. I invite you to google, ’sexy phoenix realtor’ and see who shows up numero uno!

You will be able to find Jay, Jonathan and myself at the Diverse Solutions vendor booth. DS will be there demonstrating and showing their fantastic product that is an IDX search product with additonal features.

If you would like to see how Diverse Solutions has been implemented on my personal website and Arizona Real Estate blog, you can find the MLS IDX search page at my Phoenix Arizona Real Estate Homes weblog.

The Tech Fair will bring together leading vendors with up-to-the minute technology designed for the real estate industry.  This two day event will give the vendors the opportunity to show off their products all under one roof.

The vendors are prepared to answer your questions, concerns and curiosities about products you might be considering that will enhance your business.

The fair will be held on Thursday and Friday, August 21-22 and will be held at Monterra at Westworld, 16601 N. Pima Road, Scottsdale, AZ from 9:00 am - 5:00 pm.

Be sure to stop by the Diverse Solutions booth and say, “hi” and check out AZ Real Estate Blogging Network.

There will be ongoing instructions and demonstrations on how Diverse Solutions works and you will be able to see it live on our websites.

Other vendors that will be attending are HomeQuest, 1parkplace, HomePages, Market Leader, SuccessWebSystems, iHomeFinder, TrackRE Technology, MarketLinx - AgentAchieve, Pocket Real Estate, Cyberhomes, VoicePad and more…

Be sure to bring a business card as there is going to be a drawing for a portable GPS each day!!

Looking forward to seeing you,

Candace Robinson

AZREBN Founder/Member

www.AZRealEstateBlogs.com

www.PhoenixArizonaRealEstateHomes.com

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First, I must say I have no other SmartPhone to compare an iPhone too.  I am coming from a Motorola Razr as a mobile phone, so I don’t know how it compares to a Blackberry or Treo from personal experience.  If you are looking for such a comparison, I might suggest you visit My Tech Opinion.  Particularly read the comments if you are with Verizon or TMobile customer and can’t see yourself switching.

The Good

As far as the iPhone goes, I absolutely love it.  I can Twitter great.  I can update my location on Brightkite.  I can take some pretty decent photos, and post them to my personal blog: My Side Door via the WordPress App.  I can take notes via typing or voice recording on EverNote, and then view/listen to those notes later from my desktop PC (that’s great for when you have a blogging idea when you are out and about and don’t want to forget it!).  Of course I can read/send email, read/update my calendar, and read/update my contacts all real time, as if I were sitting at my desktop, thanks to the integration between iPhone and Microsoft Exchange (if you aren’t managing your business email/calendar/contacts via Microsoft Exchange, we’ll talk later about the HUGE boat you are missing).

Naturally, I can text message people, and place and send calls, but what phone can’t do that.  Being a movie buff, I like the BoxOffice application that tells me what’s playing and when at Desert Ridge or the Cine Capri.  On more than one occasion, I’ve used the integrated Google Maps feature to chat with a client about where we are going next, or help a lost soul find their way.  Many people enjoy the free internet radio service Pandora.  I honestly haven’t used it much, but my limited use has been favorable.  The iPhone is also an ipod, which I enjoy on my 4 hour bicycle rides.  It’s also ideal for watching video podcasts, like GeekBrief.TV.  Facebook, Pownce, Loopt, and Jott all have iPhone apps, for those that are heavy into those sites.  Facebook is the only one I use, but honestly, I’m not a big Facebook user, which is a mistake I know I need to correct.  So far, a Flickr app is missing.

I also use the application SportsTap to keep track of the Diamondbacks (when basketball starts up, that will include the Suns).  My kids play a number of free games when they are able to pry the iPhone from my hands.  Tap Tap and Moonlight Mahjong are their favorites.

Finally, many websites have iPhone or mobile web support.  FlexMLS’s mobile website is: wireless.flexmls.com.  Other sites that have iPhone support (like my blog, Brightkite, or ESPN), tend to notice that an iPhone is browsing them, and then switch into a simpler display mode.

The Bad

So, what’s not great about the iPhone?  The most important thing to me is the quality of the 3G network in my neck of the woods (North Scottsdale).  It’s horrible.  To combat this, I’ve turned off 3G unless I’m some place other than my home, office, Starbucks, or any other location north of Frank Lloyd Wright and East of Loop 101.  The regular Edge network is fast enough, and has better coverage.

With 3G turned off, that also helps the next major shortcoming: battery life.  I have an iLuv docking station at my office, and then a Belkin TuneBase FM for my car, which means it’s actually on a charger most of the time.  During a recent Diamondbacks game, however, I was able to nearly deplete the battery with some fairly heavy usage in just 3 hours via twittering, browsing, texting, and taking some photos.  At the time I was sitting next to a Blackberry user, and he had a similar experience, however.  Speaking of taking photos…that’s the fastest way to kill the battery.  I left it on camera mode this last Saturday morning and drained the battery in 2 hours.

My final gripe is with Starbucks and AT&T.  Starbucks decided to allow 2 hours of free wifi per day for its customers.  “GREAT!” I screamed, as wifi is even faster than 3G.  But here’s the catch.  You have to log in to the system when you arrive at Starbucks (via Safari), a process that is very time consuming, but 50% of the time doesn’t seem to work.  Then, if your session expires, which it seems to do very quickly, you have to log in again.  This might not be a big deal on a PC, where Firefox remembers your userid/password, but on the iPhone, I’m required to start over from scratch each time.  It’s a big enough hassle that I’ve completely stopped bothering.  I’m griping about it, because Starbucks has this arrangement via AT&T, and AT&T sells the iPhone.  The system should transparent when I’m on my iPhone at a Starbucks, and there shouldn’t be a 2 hr time limit for AT&T customers.  Stop requiring logins AT&T & Starbucks!

I’m not going to complain about the lack of copy/paste or SMS messaging (this is me not complaining).  The former is odd, while the latter I wouldn’t use much anyway.  I will complain about the speed of the text entry on some blogs/websites.  I have no idea why, but for example, when typing into the reply box on Trulia Voices, the iPhone goes into brain freeze mode, and typing speed is limited to 1 character per second…or maybe slower.  The lack of flash support can be frustrating as well.

Keeping it from getting ugly

If you decide to get an iPhone, you will almost certainly decide to get a protective case of some sort.   Lately I’ve been a bit fumble fingered around the iPhone, so it’s been nice that it’s protected.  I feel fortunate to have lucked into buying a Griffon Elan Form 3G after scouring the shelves of the Apple Store for 30 minutes.  This is a hard case with a leather outer, so it’s comfortable to the touch, while being protective.  Most people that have held my case, and have the silicon gel cases prefer my case.  Another ok buy was the Apple clear anti-glare shield for the screen.  Judging by the condition of this screen protector, I’m glad I have it.  However, it seems to scratch somewhat easily, leading me to considering the Zagg InvisibleShield here in a month or two, as that shield is not supposed to scratch and has a lifetime warranty.

Should you get an iPhone?

That’s a tough question.  The 16GB version is $399.  The unlimited voice, data, and texting plan is $140/month (or so) plus tax.  It’s undoubtedly the most expensive mobile phone solution there is.  For those that love their Treo for it’s lockbox access, that alone could be a deal breaker.  For Blackberry users, I can’t find a compelling reason to want a Blackberry, aside from the keyboard, and honestly, I’ve gotten quite a bit better at using the touch screen for a keyboard.  The first time I used it I thought it was impossible.  Now it’s a breeze.

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One being this SPOTLIGHT section that will feature a Blogger and their blog! This area will be used as a place where we can get to know an existing blogger or perhaps celebrate a newly designed or new bloggers blog!

We are excited here at AZREBN with this added feature and look forward to sharing other bloggers with you! If you or someone you know has an exceptional blog and want to shout out about it, please contact AZREBN at info@azrealestateblogs.com and nominate them for the “BloggerSpotlight” of the month!

If you would like to join our group please be sure to fill in the email form up on the upper right hand corner of the homepage and click on the RSS button for the feed. Also, email AZREBN at join at azrealestateblogs.com to be included in the announcements for our local monthly meetings.

Announcing Candace Robinson’s new Phoenix Arizona Real Estate Home’s blog.

Candace is using a Wordpress theme for both this site and her personal www.PhoenixArizonaRealEstateHomes.com site.

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Here is a quick video on

How To Do A Basic Post in Typepad…

How to post on TypePad from Rob Gibbs on Vimeo.

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Contest: Win Flip Mino Video Camera!

Once again wordpressthemedesigner.com brings to you another exciting contest! Get a chance to win the trendiest gadget that has been rocking the blogging world - the Flip Mino Video Camera. This contest is graciously sponsored by the best Affiliate Network in the planet, Market Leverage.

How to Join:

Step 1: Subscribe to the Feed - click here! *compulsory

Step 2: Blog About This Contest *compulsory

(a) Copy and Paste Contest Details >> click here for html code <<

(b) optional: add a paragraph or two containing any of the ff suggested topics: (1) why you think wpthemedesigner.com rocks! (2) why you think marketleverage.com is the best affiliate network in the planet (3) why you want to win this contest.

Total: 10 points

Additional Points

Sign-up for Market Leverage under WPTD. If you have not joined Market Leverage yet, then joining this contest would be the most opportune time to do so. Besides, you get a higher chance of winning this contest. What could be better than that, huh? Click Here, you will be automatically redirected to the sign-up page. I will be able to verify it, so no worries.

Bonus: 5 points

Contest Prizes

1st Place - Flip Mino Video Camera
2nd place - $100 ML Reward
3rd place - $50 ML Reward

Contest Ends on August 17, 2008. Each point counts as your name being put down once in a randomizer using random.org

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Those are precisely the reasons that you should never use wordpress.com for a business blog.  There really is no such thing as a free lunch.  Wordpress.com is the free, hosted version of the wordpress multi user software.  Because it is free, the terms of service are quite restrictive.

You might do the simplest, most natural things on your blog and wake up one morning to find the dreaded notice “THIS BLOG HAS BEEN DELETED OR ARCHIVED FOR VIOLATING THE TERMS OF SERVICE”  Advertising on a wordpress.com blog can get your blog deleted.  Linking to your real estate sales site might get it deleted.  Posting listings from your office or for your clients might get your wordpress.com blog deleted.

When that happens, whatever amount of work you have put into that blog simply vanishes, never to return.

All the pages are gone, all the posts are gone, all the links are gone, all the trust and authority you have built up is gone.

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My friends, Jason Berman and Todd Carpenter are adding their expertise to help us all become better bloggers. If you have never met these guys, I can promise you that your trip to Vegas would be more than complete just by getting to know them. Speaking at REBlogworld is a “who’s who” of some of our industries top social media guru’s. Take a look at the information on the web sites and on the REBlogworld Blog. This will be one weekend where you might not want everything to “stay in Vegas.” The knowledge you gain from this trip promises to be worth bringing home with you. However, like I said, I know some of these guys and believe me… It won’t be all work and no play! :-)

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