I can remember back in 2002 being implored by Mike Fanning, Windermere VP of Technology at the time, to invest in a digital camera. The idea was that as a modern real estate agent I would have the ability to snap digital photos of a listing for upload to the MLS or (this was really hot) a custom Windermere photo gallery.

It’s true. Just about five years ago not everyone had a digital camera, and not every listing on the MLS had a picture.

Then I can remember, a couple of years ago, standing in front of a group of Windermere agents imploring them to put away their digital cameras and hire a professional photographer. We had gotten to the point where a few snapshots weren’t enough. With the rate at which buyers were searching properties on the web, we had to make a great presentation on-line.

And then yesterday, at our last office meeting of the year, I handed down a new directive: embedded video.

Face it, you’re already there. How annoyed do you get anymore at a web page that requires you to actually read big blocks of text in order to get the information you’re looking for? (Like this one!) Video is the new killer app on the web. Why do you think those YouTube guys are gazillionaires?

If you pay attention you’ll notice that video is everywhere on the web now. Even the on-line newspapers are giving you video versions of their top stories. Sites like cnn.com and msnbc.com are adding more and more video every day. Shoot, even I’ve done it, and I barely know what I’m doing.

Even the amusing emails we pass around are moving to video. Don’t tell me you haven’t seen the clip of Jerry Seinfeld on Larry King Live…

Of course, real estate agents will be the last to adapt to this (and every other) new technology. But we’re going to get there, and I figure we (my office) might even create a competitive advantage by getting there before others. I know that my clients will appreciate it, they’ll see the benfit. And it will showcase our listings in a better, more complete and meaningful way.

The technology exists - it’s readily available and relatively inexpensive. Sure, it takes a little more effort and costs a few more dollars. But as we continue to try to meet consumer expectations, it just doesn’t make sense to let this video revolution happen without utilizing it within our business.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 19th, 2007 at 1:48 am and is filed under Marketing, Real Estate, Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.