Tag Archives: text messaging

Sepo21

SeanB

4

3locations offers FREE Mobile MLS® Search

With the recent improvements to 3locations Mobile Optimized MLS® website (http://3lx.ca), we are pleased to announce the launch of FREE Mobile MLS® Search (in and around Vancouver, BC). You can use any mobile phone to send a text message to 778-321-4411 with the address of a home you are interested in and our system will send you the 3 closest listings. 3locations has direct access to the MLS® and it’s available on your phone whenever you need it.
As you know, Realtors provide the MLS® with their real estate listing information. You should ask your Realtor to provide you with a FREE 3locations Mobile MLS® account. Or you can find a Realtor at http://3lx.ca
As well, you can use the following widget to send real estate listings to your phone.

Sepo18

SeanB

2

Vancouver Sun Business: House hunting goes mobile with new text services

My favourite local real estate columnists, Derrick Penner penned a great new article about what is happening with mobile technology in the real estate industry.  Shopping for a home goes mobile was published on the front page of today’s Business section in the Vancouver Sun.
There are some good quotes from Vancouver Realtor Kye Grace (@KyeGrace) throughout the article. He says “There’s no doubt that mobile is where it’s at… and in all reality, the consumer is going mobile.” I need to talk to him to see what system he is using.
The article mainly talks about old technology, using a call to action on a For Sale sign. This method is over supplied and under utilized by consumers. Realtors tell me all the time that they aren’t getting the traction they were looking for. This is why we focus on MLS search and delivery. We Make Mobile MLS Easy!
The article also mentions an iPhone app. Of course, the App Store is dominating the mobile space and can’t be ignored. 3locations is working on phone apps that combine the MLS with the best practices of social networking.

3locations Mobile MLS

3locations Mobile MLS

Mayo21

SeanB

1

Bad News: 60% of teenagers text while driving in the U.S.

Vlingo, a mobile application development company released a report yesterday stating that 26 percent of people in the U.S. admit to texting while driving. The Consumer Mobile Messaging Habits Report polled nearly 5,000 people to come up with their findings. The report concluded that drivers in Tennessee were the worst offenders (or most honest) with 42% of respondents confirming they Drive While Texting (DWT) and Arizona posting the lowest score of 18.8%.
The Vlingo report states that the problem has to do with the explosive growth in the popularity of text messaging with nearly 60% of all mobile phone users texting on a regular basis in 2009. The problem increases when you break down the report by demographics, with 49% of adults aged  20 - 29 and where close to 60% of those aged 16 to 19 will read and send text messages while operating a motor vehicle.
The answer to this problem lies in tougher legislation. As of May 2009, only 7 states in the U.S. have laws completely prohibiting a person from using SMS while driving.
“Texting is such an integral component of our daily lives, and more people are texting. The good news is that many state legislatures are starting to take up this issue, and today more advanced technologies exist that can increase safety on the roads” says Dave Grannan, CEO of Vlingo.

Mayo17

SeanB

1

Mobile advertising to grow 36% in 2009 and reach $229M

Fierce Mobile Content reported May 5, 2009 that U.S. mobile advertising will grow from $169 million in 2008 to revenues of $229 million in 2009. Global media and forecasting firm Magna credits the revenue growth to the increasing number of wireless subscribers using text messaging and the mobile web. The forecast predicts that SMS advertising will perform strongly, with text messaging platforms representing the “best near-term potential for advertisers” who want to use mobile phones to support broad-reaching marketing campaigns. This contrasts with slower growth rates for other types of mobile media campaigns such as mobile search, in-call media, mobile video, mobile coupons and mobile gaming.
Magna explains that “few (types of) media have captured the passions of consumers, marketers and inventory owners alike as the mobile advertising space has.” The popularity of mobile phones, with more than 270 million U.S. subscriptions at the end of 2008 (according to the CTIA) and the increasing use of text messaging (virtually every device has the capability to receive SMS) is supporting the growth in advertising revenues.
Also, smartphones like the Blackbery and iPhone are driving growth with the popularity of phone applications among consumers, marketers and carriers. This results in exponentially higher levels of data (and mobile web) consumption. This segment of the market will continue to expand rapidly as more mobile operating systems create “App Stores” to drive similar products to a wider range of devices.

Mayo16

SeanB

1

MLSearch: listing information, when & where you need it

3locations is developing Mobile MLS Solutions for Realtors and real estate companies. Our core product is MLSearch. It allows users to search for and receive real estate listing information on their phone. Our goal is to create the easiest and fastest way to find MLS information. We beleive MLSearch will beat any product on any device in finding active listings and we are looking forward to testing our theory.
MLSearch works by text messaging an address to our system’s phone number. Our criteria does not require the exact address of a real estate listing to produce search results, it will simply deliver the three closest active listings to the desired location. We decided that 3 is the ideal number for each search to ensure that the user will receive the information they are looking for and two comparable listings.
Through a third-party database access agreement with local real estate boards, we download all of the MLS listings and geocode them with latitude and longitude coordinates. This allows us to preform proximity search requests by address, neighbourhood or intersection. As well, we can determine the distance between two listings or between a listing and another location (i.e. school, restaurant, store or work).
The best feature of this service is that it works with all phones. Text messaging is a core service and its usage increased 160% in 2008 over the previous year. The key to the success of SMS has been its simplicity, reach, price and reliability. About 75 billion SMS text messages were sent in June, 2008 averaging about 2.5 billion messages a day in the U.S.
For more information on 3locations and the Mobile MLS Solutions we are developing, please contact seanbrawley@gmail.com

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