CRT’s Reboot: Progress and New Plans

CRT is now six months into its reboot process, so this seems like a good time to update you on our progress and talk about some of our plans we have that will benefit members in the months ahead. 

From a technology point of view, the most exciting change has been our recent, much-needed upgrade of the department’s servers. The CentOS Linux version we had installed was two revisions out of date and was starting to hold us back in some of the services we wanted to deploy. We’re also in the process of revamping our CRT project Web server.  Once we’re finished transferring over to the new open-source Drupal content management  system, our pages will be both faster for us to produce and more attractive and accessible for you.

We’re also trying to expand our knowledge of how members use current technology by conducting more frequent and more in-depth surveys. These new efforts will be a great complement to our yearly REALTOR ® and MLS Technology Survey. The first new survey on tap is one on REALTOR e-mail usage. We want to really dig into how our members are using e-mail, their response times to e-mail, and related technologies members they are using. We plan to have the results of that survey soon. We're also in the process of brainstorming ideas for other surveys, and  we'd love to hear what's on your mind. If you have a topic idea for a technology survey and would like to share, please let us know!

CRT is also gearing up to provide many more valuable educational sessions for IT professionals during the November REALTORS® Conference in Las Vegas.  We also plan to sponsor a networking event for IT staffs there, so let us know  if you’ll be in Las Vegas so we can add you to our guest list.

Since my last reboot update, we’ve also completed our restaffing.  Andrew Tillman has joined us as senior research and software architect, my old position. (That’s why I call him “the new old me.”)  Andrew brings deep experience developing software development in several fields, most recently in the financial market. His main focus will be to spearhead the open-source software development that CRT is known for.  Of course, as all CRT people are cross-trained, he'll be posting to the blog, writing articles for the newsletter, and traveling to give educational presentations. You’ll see his first effort in this newsletter.

CRT has recently moved to the fourth floor in the Chicago REALTOR® building and now shares space with NAR's IT dept.  It seemed logical for the two areas of NAR that focus on technology to be closer together. The proximity will also make it easier for us to share information and ideas and help both departments serve you, the members, better.

Keith T. Garner
Managing Director
Center for REALTOR® Technology
kgarner@realtors.org

Smart phone technology finally matches the marketing hype

Smart phones have evolved from large, clumsy bricks into elegant handheld devices. Today’s smart phones have some of the functionality of a desktop and all of the capabilities of a digital cell phone. E-mail and Web browsing functions are standard on most smart phones. In many cases, you can also view e-mail attachments, use GPS to find an address or get directions, create virtual tours or video presentations with a built-in digital camera, or chill out to your tunes on an MP3 player. Because you need to buy and carry only one device to make phone calls, listen to music, send an e-mail, and take a picture, smart phones help cut down on device clutter, save you money, and simplify your life inside and outside of the office.  

Sounds perfect for people on the go, doesn’t it? But as Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman said, “There’s is no such thing as a free lunch.” To get all these functions in a device the size of your hand, you have to make a few trade-offs. An obvious compromise is the size of the viewing screen. Although smart phone screens are larger than those found on regular cell phones, it can still be hard to read text, see graphics from many Web sites, or write notes longer than a couple of sentences in such a tiny area.  Imagine squeezing an 8-inch by 11-inch document into a space two inches wide and you get an idea of the challenges. While bigger screens are available, a bigger screen means more bulk, which can make an uncomfortable addition to your back pocket. Phones that have keyboards are easier and faster to use for sending text than a smart phone with just a stylus, but both are slow and unwieldy compared to a standard computer keyboard.

Yet, even with the trades-off, smart phones offer value to people who want just one device that will connect them to clients by voice, e-mail, or Web, no matter where they are.

Ian Smith
Senior Technical Support Analyst
ismith@realtors.org

Let CRT’s speakers show you how

Over the past few months CRT has been traveling around the country sharing our insights into how real estate practitioners and companies can leverage the Internet to personalize their digital presence and stand out among the thousands of real estate Web sites. The solution is quite simple: understand what  users want and then give it to them. So what exactly do today’s users want? All the authoritative information they could ever need or use—with no strings attached. If you can provide this, you create customer satisfaction and gain their trust. Once you’ve established this digital relationship of trust, consumers will turn to you for the services you provide. 

If you doubt the wisdom of this simple truth, just take one example—blogs. There are hundreds of real estate blogs out there, most filled with fluff content designed not to help consumers but to optimize search engine rankings. If instead of vapid talk about your last vacation, you regularly fill your real estate blog with authoritative information on one particular topic, such as a neighborhood or a property type (rental or vacation homes), consumers on a  fact-finding quest will find you. Even more important, they'll turn to you again and again as a comprehensive source of information on the topic that they want to learn more about.  Now what happens when they choose to start looking in that neighborhood?  They come to you since you have already created a relationship through your vast insight. 

The other hot topic that CRT speakers have been talking a lot about recently is how real estate practitioners can use the latest Web 2.0 technologies to set themselves apart.  One great option that seems perfectly fitted to real estate is a data mash-up.  In a mash-up, you combine several types of data that are all related through a common trait, such as a map of an area with school district information or demographic information from the U.S. Census Bureau. Prospective buyers can then search for homes using standard property search parameters (price, location, etc) and also receive information on, say,  population, area income, or other demographic details  they find important. It’s a great way to turbo-charge your search. What’s more, with all this information in a single location, you establish your site as the authoritative property search engine and give the consumers just what they are looking for.

Want some more tips and insider insights into how to maximize your Web presences or otherwise get more from your IT? Then check out the CRT speaker calendar for an event near you.  <a href='http://www.crt.realtors.org/speaking'>speaking page</a>, Or contact us at info@crt.realtors.org to arrange a presentation in your area. We’d love to get a chance to meet you!

Chris McKeever
Strategic Architect
cgmckeever@crt.realtors.org

Cover the full spectrum of computer security threats with REALTOR® Secure

Spam filters and virus intrusion controls are essential to prevent hackers from attacking critical systems. But to protect your valuable data, security management must go well beyond spam prevention. Comprehensive security management programs require the companywide adoption of policies, procedures, and tools that protect data from both internal and external threats. User access management is equally critical to ensure that unauthorized users don’t compromise data. Disaster recovery plans limit business interruptions and get your company back to work quickly.

What if your network went down for a day?  How much would that disrupt business?  What would the potential costs be?  What if a hacker stole the confidential financial data of your sellers, as happened to the retail customers of The TJX Companies? What would your financial and legal liabilities be? What irreparable damage to your company’s reputation would result from such a data security breach?

You do have an easy and affordable way to help protect yourself from these very real threats--REALTOR® Secure. This landmark program, developed and administered by CRT, provides you with guidelines to improve your organization’s technology security through a practical, four-step process.

• A self-review that enables you to assess the strengths and weaknesses of your organization’s processes. 
• Evaluation of your operation’s security by a CRT-approved evaluator. This evaluator will analyze your operation and make recommendations for security improvements.
• Remediation of any security problems found by the evaluator.
• A REALTOR® Secure certification issued by CRT, which is valid for two years. Security requirements and prices vary based on the size and complexity of your organization.

Learn more: Visit the REALTOR Secure homepage, http://www.realtor.org/securefor more details on the program. Or take the first step to more secure data by using the handy downloadable self-review guidelines. 
 

Ericka Luba

Communications Associate

eluba@realtors.org

Google’s comprehensive street-level maps give buyers an online close-up

The launch of Google’s Street View, which provides a 360-degree panoramic, street-level view of a few cities (San Francisco, New York City, Denver, Miami, and Las Vegas), gives prospective buyers a whole new way to get to know a neighborhood. The program essentially provides much the same experience you’d get if you walked or drove through the neighborhood. You can also use Street View to zoom the camera in and get more detailed information about the surrounding buildings in a view.               

The new feature seems tailor-made for real estate. With it, you can provide even out-of-town buyers with detailed neighborhood tours. And when you get questions such as “Is the street quiet and shady?”  “How far is the nearest school?” or “How much privacy does that fence really give?” the answer is only a couple of clicks away. As Google adds more locations, the value of the technology (and others like it that will invariably emerge) will only increase. And since it’s part of Google Maps, there’s no new work needed to take advantage of it.

Although there has been some controversy about privacy rights, but since all the images were taken from the street, it’s arguable that what is shown is public information. Google also has a process for censoring images, but it can be difficult. Despite such minor issues, Street View is a feature that every real estate practitioner should embrace.

Andrew Tillman
Senior Research and Software Architect
atillman@realtors.org