Blog Technology

Update:

Ok, so I did some research on what is called "Blog Optimization." Why? Well, I'm trying to make our blog a little higher up on the search engine. Let me tell you what - blog optimization is much like website optimization, i.e. extremely expensive and difficult. I'm not in to expensive. I'm ok with difficult. Thus, I tried to find ways around the expensive part.

Lo and behold I found some ways around the expensive part of blog optimization. You can create a blog and then do what is called link reciprocation. For instance, if you go to Active Rain's website you will see very quickly that it is a real estate resource concerning blogs. I went there, registered, placed a link for my blog on there registry, and then also placed a link on my blog homepage to their website - link reciprocation! They aren't the only folks who offer this service. Below are a list of folks to visit:

Technorati
Free Feeds
Inman News

These are just a few of the people who offer link reciprocation, RSS feeds, and so forth. There are also free search bars that push you up in Google's crawlers. The options are pretty endless.

Then there are the paid sites you can visit, register, give them large amounts of money, and they do automatic link reciprocation, page optimization, and you are automatically placed into a network of websites who have also paid these same people and give allowance for link reciprocation de facto.

You may be asking, "Dustin, did it work?" Yes and no! I have now placed myself in the running, so to speak. I will begin to move up on the searches. However, there are a couple of people who not only do free link reciprocation, but they also shell out the bucks for professional page optimization. I don't feel this is necessary - yet. :)

So while my efforts don't have immediate fruits, much like fruit - they will blossom over time. Besides, I'm fairly positive that blog optimization is much like long term real estate: it's based on referrals, not out sourcing. In other words, the more that people like you say, "Hey, that guy Dustin has a good blog site. You should visit," and then people come and we get more hits on our site, the higher up we are in Google's ratings. It's a referral based business.

That's all I have for now! I could post so much more. Please, if you have any comments feel free to share them.

Dustin...
www.4frontrealty.com

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I'm going to post more about this topic later tonight, or possibly tomorrow. In the mean time, if anyone how multifaceted, complex, and intricate the blog world is then please feel free to comment.Technorati Profile

Dustin...

Tryptophan, Thanksgiving, and other stuff...

Does tryptophan (an amino acid found in turkey) cause us to get drowsy?

I'm a fairly healthy guy. I consider myself to have an athletic build, although I'm no Brad Pitt, to be sure (who is?). I am in the gym 6 mornings a week. I do cardio, weight lifting, and racquetball once a week. Needless to say, I've been considering the negative effects that the pounds of food I am going to eat within the next day or so were going to have on my body. We are going to have cheesecake, peanut butter balls, homemade fudge; of course there will be turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, ad nauseam. In my time of consideration I began to wonder, "Self, I wonder if the tryptophan in turkey has anything to do with weight gain over the Thanksgiving holidays? I mean, after all, you get drowsy, lay down, and all of that food turns into fat while you are sleeping." Such ponderings led me to investigate the tryptophan culprit. My findings were surprising.

According to studies, tryptophan doesn't have anything to do with Thanksgiving drowsiness at all. In fact, according to Snopes.Com, "tryptophan doesn't act on the brain unless it is taken on an empty stomach with no protein present, and the amount gobbled even during a holiday feast is generally too small to have an appreciable effect." What does have an effect on our energy levels are 1. the amounts of food that we eat (which my amount will be almost illegal), 2. the kind of food that we eat (after all, it is mainly a carb infested meal), and 3. alcohol consumed (which in my case will be none - I don't drink). These 3 factors, either just one or all 3 combined, are the determining causes of energy levels on Thanksgiving day. Surprised? I was!

So go ahead - eat the heck out of some turkey. Gobble up (pun intended) the massive, mounted, and mouthwatering, munchables laid before you tomorrow. Just know that after you've partaken of the banquet of butt/thigh gainer, you will become sleep...veeeeeery sleepy - but it has absolutely nothing to do with tryptophan.

I hope everyone has an absolutely outstanding Turkey day. If you don't celebrate Thanksgiving...well, I still hope you have a super day off of work. And just in case anyone wants to read about the history, the unabridged and authentic history, of the Thanksgiving miracle, check this out:

Bridgeway Bible Church (scroll to the bottom where it talks about Thanksgiving)

Dustin...

Texas Homestead Exemption

What is the Texas Homestead Exemption? How does it benefit you?

Texas Homestead Exemption --

The Texas Homestead Exemption, in addition to providing legal protection regarding your home, will also save you money on your property tax bill. This homestead exemption reduces taxes by lowering a home's taxable value. In addition, all school districts offer a $5000 homestead exemption. Some districts taxing units offer a percentage exemption of up to 20% of a home's assessed value. This means that homeowners can lower their property taxes by applying for these exemptions for which they are eligible.

Here's the thing - You must actually OWN your own home and occupy it as your principal residence by January 1, 2007. You can have only ONE principal residence and ONE homestead exemption.

Here is the link for the form needed in order to apply and be eligible:

http://www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/taxforms/50-114.pdf

If you are in the market to purchase a home before the 1st of the year then you couldn't have picked a better time. First of all, because the market is a bit slower during the "off" season, sellers are a little more willing to negotiate on price. Second, the typical transaction from start to finish (including the home search) takes anywhere from 30-60 days. This means that if you have a strong and knowledgeble real estate professional (like us) then you can get your search done, negotiations done, and the closing done -- all before the 1st.

Dustin...

Caffeine addicts, anyone???

Does this popular sign ignite twitches, involuntary gleam's in the eye, or sudden and multiple lane changes?



Sadly, if I am driving down the road, humming a tune to one of my favorite songs, and otherwise in an otherwise amiable mood, and I see this logo out of the corner of my eye -- well, I become a crazed fiend on a driven mission. It's one of the main reasons that I don't put an Ichthus (Jesus fish) on my car. Embarrassing? Yes! True? Yes!

I know, I know - some people are dogmatic about the inflated prices, lack of caffeine in each drink, and trendy, socio-psychological, and subconscious coercion of this franchise. Sadly, even if these were verifiable realities, I'd still go. I just love the drinks. I love the atmosphere. I'm a statistic. What can I say?

So, when I see a new Starbuck's, I get excited. What will it look like inside? Who will be working there? Will I know anyone when I go in? What kind of merchandise might be different than the one that I normally go to? These are all questions that absolutely MUST be answered. Lo and behold, there is a new Starbuck's in town for just such an occasion. It is located at the corner of 281N and 1604W. It's sort of next to the new Best Buy. I'd give you a map, but the Starbuck's website doesn't show the new location yet. At any rate, it's there. You should go. I'm going to.

Dustin...

An introduction to our blog and its purpose

Good morning,

Who are we?

We are a team of real estate agents and administration staff who have been in the real estate industry for a combined time of over 20 years. What makes us unique in comparison to most real estate professionals is that we are a group, not a team or a single agent.

A group functions as a whole - if run correctly. A group has the client in the forefront of its concerns, because each group member benefits from giving "wow moment" service. We understand that you, the client, aren't a sale...you are a person. Involved in the sale of your home, or the purchase of your home, are the lives of many people. As a result we pay particular attention to all the specifics of your needs.

More, a group is run as a single unit vs. independent and autonomous agents. A group - if run correctly - concerns itself with consistent, weekly training. For instance, at the 4Front Real Estate Group, we do weekly training on topics like Contract Writing, Listening to Buyers Needs, Understanding the Listing Client, Where is the Market Currently; we cover scripts of all sorts, and we are constantly keeping an eye on sites like Inman News, Realty Times, and our own San Antonio Board of Realtors. So if one person is struggling in a particular area, then he/she has an entire team of professionals to help them overcome obstacles.

Ok, enough about us.

What this blog will offer -

Most real estate blogs only focus on...well, real estate. They forget that the client, people like you, although you are interested in what is going on in the market and in the real estate world has 2 things going for them -

1. The Internet - you, the client, is far more educated than clients have ever been in the history of real estate. With sites like Trulia and Zillow you no longer need us to show you what is available in terms of average sale price, etc. Although these websites have quite a few faults that make them fairly unreliable, they are still a great resource for education.

2. Saturation of Agents - nowadays any man, woman, or child can get a real estate license. The rigidity of regulations on getting a real estate license has declined dramatically. As a result, you, the client, can randomly dial a number on your cell phone and most likely hear, "Hi, this is Joe Agent. What can I do for you?," on the other end. Next you can barrage the other person with questions from A-Z where real estate is concerned. You will get answers. The unfortunate flipside to this is that the information you get will, most likely, be information that is inaccurate, and based on a lack of knowledge. But still, you can get information.

Since we are aware that this is the case, and since we too have lives outside of real estate, our blog will focus on anything and everything. In fact, you can e-mail me with a topic that you'd like to know about, hear about, or talk about, and I will accomodate you. The focus of this blog will be YOU, not us.

So that's it! It's not complex. It's rather simple actually. I encourage you to make comments, e-mail me, call us, and build a friendship with us. We are people just like you. We have a variety of backgrounds. We are highly trained, intensely professional, but we also like to smile, dance, read, and watch 24 (I don't recommend getting started on this show - it's like a drug).

We look forward to getting to know you!

Dustin...
www.4frontrealty.com