A Web 2.0 Sampler: YouTube, ActiveRain, & iTV - November 2006
Three products show how the power to create and share content is changing the Web as we know it.
Technology changes every minute of every day and at times it seems almost futile to stay informed of the latest and greatest. The recent surge in popularity of Web 2.0 comes at a time when most people are still getting used to the plain old Internet.
So what exactly is Web 2.0? Coined by O’Reilly Media technology expert, Dale Dougherty, the term defines a vast umbrella of blogs, wikis, and social networking sites that make up the “participatory web” -- sites that encourage visitors to actively participate by adding their own comments, suggestions, videos, and other content. Such sites have become enormously popular in recent months, and their influence continues to expand. Here we explore two websites and one new gadget that embody many of the features of Web 2.0 and their applications for real estate professionals.
What Is... YouTube?
YouTube, which was recently acquired by Google for $1.6 billion, is a consumer media website which was founded in February 2005. Originally created as a personal video sharing service, it allows any Internet user to watch, share, and comment on videos uploaded to the website. Videos include movie trailers, television shows, personal testimonials, advertisements... just about anything that can be recorded by a webcam or video recording device can be shared on YouTube. The site’s popularity can only be described in numbers: users watch more than 70 million videos on YouTube daily.
What Is... iTV?
iTV (as it is being tentatively called until its official launch) is the latest creation by Apple, Inc. which is slated for release in the first quarter of 2007. This wireless streaming TV set-top box is best explained by the company’s tag line: “You can take content to your computer or iPod, but now... TV.” In other words, this book-size box detects the presence of computers in your home and allows you to wirelessly feed whatever you’ve downloaded on iTunes and play them on a TV. This includes videos, TV programs, movies, music videos, music, and more. A remote control device is included with the iTV to allow easy selection of media via an iTV menu. According to reports, iTV will work with iTunes on both PCs and Macs.
What Is... ActiveRain?
ActiveRain is best described as the real estate industry’s answer to MySpace or FaceBook. Launched in June 2006, ActiveRain is a free networking site for real estate professionals across the United States. Members are categorized by geographic location and create profiles containing a photo, general information regarding specializations, and more. It takes about five minutes to set up a profile and there are over 7,500 profiles in the network with more added daily.
Potential Uses & Impacts on the Real Estate Industry
YouTube
YouTube is an excellent resource for uploading, sharing and tagging fun and/or informative videos. By creating a free account, YouTube users can find, join, and create a group of family member users to share home videos privately or publicly. Another potential use of YouTube is advertising. Many companies have already taken advantage of this free resource to reach markets that may not watch television or read newspapers as much as other demographic segments. Information on topics such as final walk-throughs, selling in a slow market, or the effects of pools and hot tubs on property values can all be shared via YouTube to reach buyers, sellers, even other REALTORS®. YouTube's future remains to be seen, as the recent acquisition by Google and a host of legal issues concerning copyrighted materials uploaded and shared on YouTube play out.REALTORS® are already creating commercials and virtual business cards on YouTube, and large franchises are uploading video listings of homes on the popular site. In some of these videos the agents simply point a camera on themselves and talk about why consumers should work with them. Others create their own web infomercials. YouTube allows real estate professionals to reach out to a new generation of home buyers and sellers, be creative (if desired), and gain wider exposure on the web by advertising their skills and knowledge, their websites, and even their blogs… all for free.
iTV
Since any media on a PC or iPod can presumably be downloaded to Apple's iTV, the possibilities with this product are endless. The seamless integration with movies, TV shows, and music purchased from Apple’s iTunes store will make media viewable on a large screen. The iTV could help the television regain its standing as a central entertainment appliance in many households, and reduce some clutter at the same time -- stereo systems, DVD players, VCRs, DVD and CD cases may become a thing of the past. No more scrambling to take back late video rentals or forgetting to send them back to Netflix!Potential home buyers can view large photos before buying a home while sitting on their couch, so no more straining to see small photos online. Everything from open house videos taken from a cell phone to professionally-made virtual tours can be watched on the device as well -- even videos of a neighborhood with footage of schools, community shopping centers, restaurants, spas, and cultural and recreational facilities. Helpful information for sellers such as videos containing home staging tips or local market condition reports can be created and displayed on large screens with the iTV, too. This convenience could enhance the buyer’s experience with the REALTOR®, leading to higher potential for customer satisfaction, referrals, and repeat business.
ActiveRain
On ActiveRain, members can create a free, immediate Internet presence that is quickly indexed and ranked by search engines. ActiveRain is constantly growing, which translates to a larger network to share ideas and create out-of-area referrals. The site's blogs and forums are also free avenues of communication, allowing members to increase visibility with home buyers and sellers and other agents.ActiveRain is yet another mode of communication for real estate professionals to share information with one another, obtain referrals across the country, and drum up business. Members can e-mail one another, participate in each other’s blogs and add photos of listings or information on niche skills such as home staging and testimonial quotes from customers. The site also features agents based upon a point system, which can further increase exposure to potential customers and other agents. The more points a profile has, the more heavily it will be promoted on the network. Blogging on the site is very active, as members post comments to exchange ideas and information.
Drawbacks
YouTube
Any YouTube user has the ability to make comments about uploaded videos whether positive or negative; however, YouTube video creators have the ability to set videos to a private setting or delete undesirable comments. As stated previously, copyright issues abound on YouTube. With the recent acquisition by the Google powerhouse, negotiations will be made to resolve them more than likely and the site will continue to grow.
iTV
It’s difficult to predict what the drawbacks of iTV will be as the product has yet to be released. Blogosphere critics have concerns about TV picture quality, but based on the previews at a recent press conference by Apple CEO Steve Jobs, the iTV’s onscreen display and navigation looks polished, although it is optimized for larger screens.
ActiveRain
ActiveRain is primarily targeted towards real estate professionals. Consumers can access the site, but they are more likely to turn elsewhere for assistance in finding a broker to work with. It's great for exchanging ideas and information with other real estate brokers, but according to comments from members in a recent Inman News article, ActiveRain is not an ideal tool for finding new clients.
- Jennifer Hazen
NAR's Web Wizard Report - No. 82 (November 2006)
For Further Reading
ActiveRain Real Estate Network
Business embraces Web 2.0; Tools hitting Corporate America allow users to share and access materials easily, and found success at sites such as Wikipedia, (San Jose Mercury News, Oct. 9, 2006)
Web 2.0: The New Guy At Work; As they seep into corporate offices, Web services will change how you do business, (Business Week, June 19, 2006)
Why Apple will change TV, (RoughlyDrafted.com, Sept. 30, 2006)
Google buys YouTube for $1.65bn, (BBC News, Oct. 10, 2006)
YouTooCanTube: How Businesses Can Put Web Video To Use, (InformationWeek, Oct. 2, 2006)
Real estate network elevates 'Net profiles; Active Rain relies on members to generate content, traffic, (Inman News, Aug. 16, 2006). -- subscription required
Questions or Comments?
Send an e-mail to NAR's Web Wizards.
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