Elf Designs» Online Tools

Say Goodbye to Real Estate Agents!

MJ — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 20:34:42 +0000

A couple of months ago, I was involved in witnessing how the purchase of a condo went and what it entailed. I had to deal with a Real Estate, which was standard procedure for anyone involved in the home buying process. Although there are pros and cons to going with a Real Estate Agent, the fact is the business of selling homes is changing. This can undoubtedly be attributed to the presence of the Internet. What used to be impossible to obtain without the help of an agent is now available with the click of a mouse. A myriad of information is now available online.
Home appraisal values, for example, used to only be available to individuals within the real-estate industry. This has changed. Sites now have access to private databases, making instant estimates of a property’s value available and obtainable to virtually anyone interested. Additionally, Zoocasa has partnered with a major property valuation company and has made the availability of local market information available to anyone possible. Individuals can enter any address in the country and by the provision of details (ie. number of bedrooms and/or baths), individuals can get an instant price estimate. This is great for homeowners as well, as it provides a realistic indication of the value of their home.
This industry will evolve online. As it does, more services will be available. Zoocasa’s appraisal site (where “Zoopraisals” are available), for example, helps consumers with specific portions of a deal. Perhaps the most interesting thing about the evolution of this industry online is that sites such as Zoocasa don’t charge for appraisals. Rather, it makes money by what the internet does best – ads! It charges real estate agents fees to have their ads pop up along with the data.
The presence of websites like these represents the weakening position of real estate agents, which is great news for any potential buyer. After all, can you really justify paying your agent commission, which often costs about 5% of the value of the home?

The Internet of Things

MJ — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 23:41:09 +0000

Technology has evolved at an exceptional speed. Nowadays, a car is more than just a vehicle, it’s an intricate computer system, controlling things like the audio-visual system or the rear-facing camera that assists with reversing. Lost are the days where OnStar was the only roadside-assistance service. Now with virtually any smartphone a myriad of functions can be performed. The automobile has now, more than ever, been integrated with the Internet. This is just one example of how an idea, which has been around for over a decade, is becoming reality. The Internet of Things is finally becoming real!
The Internet of Things, first discussed in 1999, represents the idea that Internet connectivity might spread beyond the devices we’ve traditionally used, such as computers, laptops, and now smartphones. Objects are becoming more interactive and are communicating with the Internet. It is interesting to see this concept get manifested in both high-tech ways and simple ways. Even more interesting is society’s willingness to adapt and accept these ways. More and more individuals are shopping online and we will continue to see an increase in the number of individuals using NFC/Google Wallet to pay for things. If you don’t believe me, think of the following examples:

Existing networks – wireless networks and wi-fi-enabled devices are extremely common. We can see the use of these networks through the increase in tablet and cell phone usage. In addition, the Nike+ running shoe, for example, contains a sensor that sends information about your running pace to your Apple iPod.
Scanned codes – QR codes have grown in popularity and can be frequently seen in stores, on billboards, or through advertisements. QR codes link a real thing to the information world and virtually any object can have a distinct code.
NFC (near-field communications) – provides ways for devices, such as a smartphone, to wirelessly read information from a tag on an object, just by being in close proximity. This unleashes an endless way to track inventory or to provide individuals with ways to learn about a product. NFC technology is also turning smartphones into virtual wallets.

The Latest Interest Network

MJ — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 20:58:18 +0000

UberMedia has a fresh take on Social Networks with it’s latest project Chime.In. Chime combines Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit to create what UberMedia CEO Bill Gross calls an “interest network”. Like other social networks, Chime.in lets users share content with others. It has a newsfeed, profile pages and a system for following other users. The social network doesn’t have status updates, though. Instead it has “chimes,” which are a cross between a Facebook status update and a blog post. A chime displays a headline, the first few sentences of a chime, a piece of multimedia (an image, a video, etc.), a profile picture, interest tags and options for liking, commenting and sharing.

One of the most intriguing features is that users have control over their profiles, including the advertising and sponsors that run on the page. Users can include their own ads on the page and keep 100% of the revenue, or they can let UberMedia sell ads for their page and split the revenue 50-50. Gross believes that control over revenue makes Chime.in more appealing to publishers that want to monetize themselves in social media.

There are so many social networks available today, so it will be interesting to see how well Chime.In does. The revenue sharing could be the one feature that sets it apart however. Only time will tell.

How Chrome Has Changed

MJ — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 05:21:59 +0000

There are a variety of reasons why you should be using Google Chrome – speed, simplicity, security, and the variety of add-on features it has. On Friday, Google released an update for Google Chrome – Google Chrome 15 Beta, which I encourage you to download. The most visible change is the redesigned tab page. Users have the ability to switch your default to have all your apps centered in the new tab. Users can navigate between most visited sites and bookmarks with a series of sections on the bottom of the screen. There is a new “bookmarks” entry as well. Additionally, users can synchronize the Address/Search bar history across multiple installations. Google Chrome 16 Dev has multi-user support, where users have the ability to log onto a single instance of Chrome with different accounts.
Currently, you can download apps, extensions, and themes from the Chrome Web Store. Although there aren’t a huge amount of Chrome apps available, this will soon change, making this function extremely beneficial. Google has recently pushed offline versions of Gmail and GDocs, which is also extremely beneficial and practical for users.
If you are interested in downloading the most recent version of beta, click here.

The Evolution of Commerce Online

MJ — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 19:38:09 +0000

eBay announced that it’s new commerce platform called X.commerce, aka X.com, will aim at connecting a variety of online and offline services for merchants. This will range from and include: sales, payments, financial management tools, etc. This is the fourth addition to the company, which umbrellas eBay Marketplaces, PayPal, and GSI Commerce.
The technology, known as “X.fabric,” aims to be an open platform for all companies. X.commerce resembles an e-commerce operating system, like Windows or iOS – with eBay, PayPal, Magento and GSI
A company called Outright is assisting with the build. Currently, they already assist small businesses with online accounting management, in addition to aggregating data from merchants’ accounts on PayPal and eBay. Today, Outright is one of the top apps on the eBay Marketplace. With the new platform, customers will “be able to connect with PayPal, eBay and other applications, such as inventory management systems, with just one set of API’s.”
The biggest benefit will be to merchants, who will be able to integrate offline and online commerce efforts. What does this mean? For merchants wanting to launch a mobile app, for example, the platform would enable the merchant to plug the app into existing data such as store inventory, prices, special deals, etc.
Further details are suppose to be unveiled by eBay during October Innovate Developer Conference.

If This, Then That

MJ — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 20:46:49 +0000

Have you heard of the awkwardly named but handy site called Ifttt.com (short for “if this then that”)? It’s a service that syncs other web services so that you can automate common tasks like sharing links, saving Instagram photos or responding to Twitter posts.
At the most basic level, users can connect any two services together. Here’s how Ifttt works: If you want to share links with friends on the web, you might post the link on Facebook. Ifttt automates this process. Hence the name – if this, then that. In the example of sharing a link, all a user has to do is create a task such as: IF a new link is posted to WordPress, THEN grab the link and post it to Twitter and Facebook. Another example is anytime you post an image to your Instagram account, Ifttt.com can grab a copy and sync it over to your dropbox folder, instantly creating backups.
There are endless possibilities on Ifttt, so they’ve introduced a new feature called recipes, which are a way of sharing your tasks.

Searching the Internet for the Environment

MJ — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 20:19:19 +0000

Ecosia is a typical search engine in that it will help you find what you are looking for on the web. The difference is that through searching, Ecosia gives back to the rainforest. The way this works is that if you saw an interesting sponsored link and decided to click it, the sponsoring company pays Bing or Yahoo, who then gives a portion to Ecosia, who then uses it to support the WWF efforts in the Amazon rainforest. Not only does Ecosia donate money, but you can view their business report here, and see all the money they have donated here. By making all of their records public Ecosia believes that this will ensure their credibility. In the first year of operation, Ecosia was able to generate over 125,000 Euros.

How to Sit with Friends at Sold Out Concerts

MJ — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 22:57:15 +0000

Goldstar is a membership-based website that offers discount tickets to various events. They include live entertainment, like theater, comedy, sports, music, performing arts and even things like wine tastings, sushi making classes and rodeos. Goldstar has 5,000 venue-partners around the U.S. (from Cirque du Soleil and Ticketmaster to the San Francisco Giants) and counts Matt Coffin, Emmy Award-winning actor Neil Patrick Harris, and former Ticketmaster CEO Sean Moriarty as members of its advisory board.
Today, they unveiled a new feature called “Sit with Friends”. This feature allows Goldstar members who buy tickets to receive a personalized link that they can then share with friends via email or their social network of choice. Users can use that link to purchase tickets to the same event and get automatically seated with their friends.
Goldstar is currently in limited cities in the U.S. but has plans to expand in the future.

The Evolution from Coles Notes

MJ — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 17:24:09 +0000

The beginning of a new academic year is just around the corner. September 2011 is just days away! We both know that there is an uneven mix of keeners and slackers in any class.
NoteWagon is another tool that students have today, that didn’t exist a decade ago. This site is for both the motivated student who takes pride in copious, excellent notes, and others who miss class, or have difficulty keeping up.
This site encourages bookworms to share their notes online with other students. As a reward, they get credit for it. Each time one of their notes is viewed and printed they earn tokens that can be redeemed for gift cards or cash. Students who want access to those notes have to buy tokens first.
This represents another market for sharing content, which benefits the student, as they are able to share and collaborate on content for various courses.
The cost is similar to the cost of photocopying, at about $0.10 per page.
This site launched launched last year and is available for 20 schools and has 25,000 students registered. NoteWagon hopes to serve as a social network for each and every class, where students have the ability to talk to each other and collaborate on material in a Wikipedia-like manner.

A New Way of Learning

MJ — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 21:21:07 +0000

According the their website, Khan Academy’s mission statement is as follows: “A free world-class education for anyone anywhere. The Khan Academy is an organization on a mission. We’re a not-for-profit with the goal of changing education for the better by providing a free world-class education to anyone anywhere. It doesn’t matter if you are a student, teacher, home-schooler, principal, adult returning to the classroom after 20 years, or a friendly alien just trying to get a leg up in earthly biology. The Khan Academy’s materials and resources are available to you completely free of charge.”

Recently, Khan Academy was featured in a video lecture by Bill Gates titled “The Start of a Digital Revolution”. This lead to more exposure for the website and has led to the latest development. Etextbook maker Kno announced Monday that it will integrate thousands of tutorial videos from Khan Academy into its books.

Check out the video for a taste of learning via youtube: