Free Virtual Tours- DirectShowing.com

After evaluating many options for virtual tours, we have just started using DirectShowing.com for free virtual tours.  The setup is extremely quick and simple- here is an example:  http://www.directshowing.com/tour/?tour_id=5065.  For the 360 virtual images, we experimented with several free programs and two paid programs.  We ended up purchasing software from The Panorama Factory for $79.95 and have been very happy with it- we take the photos on a tripod, overlapping each one until we reach a full 360.  Then, we import the photos into Panorama Factory and stitch them together, then upload them into a DirectShowing tour.  Direct showing charges a fee ($25-$45) to add your tour to Realtor.com, but it is free to use other than that.  And, it creates a webpage that you can link to in your listings.

Tech Ideas from a Knoxville GRI Class March 23/24th 2010

Here are some of the tech tools used by real estate agents in Tennessee.


Slydial

A cool way to leave a message directly to someone’s voicemail, without the phone even ringing!

Phonetag

Mileage Genie

Xpenser

I use xpenser on every business trip…so cool.

smarter agent

shout out

Creative Commons

Tetherberry

myfi
this type of “card” is available from many different cell phone carriers

Joopz

Vlingo

Jott

Animoto.com- great tool for real estate listings

Just found this great service- perfect for making videos of your real estate listings. Add your photos, choose from a great library of music and Animoto automatically creates a video with unique effects (each video is different) for you. You can post to your blog, to Facebook to YouTube, etc… with ease. Here are a couple of examples done from Stahle Team listings:

Xpenser.com a fabulous way to track expenses

Just found this great new program called Xpenser. You can use it to easily keep track of your expenses even when you are on the run. Send your expenses via Email, iPhone, SMS, Voice, Twitter, IM, and more- you can even attach a photo of your receipt. Then, you can view your expenses in a report online and tage them according to any category you want. It’s a sweet little program!