I downloaded Google Chrome just to see what it does.  It seems like it is a bare bones browser but that will change as developers figure out add-ons for it like they have for Firefox.  Internet Explorer loads so slowly that I hate it, and I hate that RMLS hasn’t figured out how to make their system compatible with other browsers.

In contrast to IE, Google Chrome is fast. I don’t know enough tech or code to know if the bells and whistles are what slows IE and other browsers down but Google Chrome loaded three chronically slow sites faster than my other browsers.  Google says they built it this way but we will see when they have add-ons.

The one irritant that I haven’t figured out how to change is the page scrolling. The browser doesn’t have smooth scrolling and jumps about three quarters down which is off putting when you aren’t familiar with it.  I expect new features and to be added on in the next month as people ask for them.

I have found one glitch. One site showed the most recent post as August 29th.  Looking through Firefox the most recent post for that site was September 2.  That is a weird glitch and shows why they are still in beta.

As far as the real estate side of it, I would suggest checking how your site works on it.  There is an option to send notes to google about problem pages.

And from the man who wrote “The Guide to Understanding Comics” Google had him write a comic on Google Chrome and why it is so fast but resistant to crashes. http://www.google.com/googlebooks/chrome/#

After looking through the comic book I have changed my mind about Chrome.  I will probably use it more as they have me sold, until someone proves them wrong, that they are the web-safe browser.  Extra features will come that will make it better.

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Although I have been back for over a week now, I am finally feeling fully recovered from my exciting time at Inman Connect San Francisco.

One of the big highlights for me was seeing Benn and Lani (the mad scientists behind Agent Genius) win the Inman Innovator Most Innovative Blog award, especially since I write over there as well.

It’s All About Relationships

Another great aspect of the week was seeing the real life success of online social networking.  I frequently teach Portland real estate professionals about the benefits of online social networking via sites like Facebook, ActiveRain, LinkedIn, Trulia Voices, Flickr and Twitter.  Unfortunately, I am not a REALTOR® (sorry for yelling) and I don’t have the opportunities to play with these in a real-life manner.  At Inman Connect, however, I was able to meet with many people I had met online (and who are incredibly great people offline as well) who were able to share their varied success stories they’ve had marketing themselves and real estate online.

I will be highlighting some of these real estate movers and shakers as they share their success stories with me in an effort to better educate the Portland real estate community that there is a fountain of opportunity waiting for you and all it will cost you is a little bit of your time.

An Offer for You

If you work in the real estate profession in the greater Portland area and you have a success story with online marketing, please let me know and I’ll happily feature you here as well!

photo credit: Afferent-Rapture.com

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I was searching for something on google and saw faded marking at the end of each web result.  One is a up arrow and the other is an X.  IF you click the arrow, that selection jumps up to the top.  If you click on the X, it disappears.  At the bottom of your page it will show a link that says, “Results you have removed.”  So those links aren’t removed forever.

The genius move here is that google found a way for us to improve it’s search capability.  With thousands of people give google feedback, it will quickly learn what is useless such as a FED report for 2001 that comes to the top of a search.

The vital point to this, I believe, is that your posts have to substantive.  I get hits constantly because I wrote a small blurb about an Extreme Makeover home going through foreclosure on my blog.  Someone in Yahoo! Answers linked to me for an answer and I get hits on that search almost everyday.  I expect to fall out of  relevance to that with this system.  Don’t be scared to jump into the blogging world but be prepared to be relevant to get the most bang for your buck.

I just checked another office computer and it didn’t have the icons.  Logging out of gmail I see that the icons are gone so it is linked to users of google’s services.  I will do google’s dirty work if it means I can get better results on other searches.  It also saves your choices so those sites will come up first.

Another interesting thing is that at the bottom of the search results there is also a link that says, “Know of a better page for _______?  Suggest one.”  This allows you to add your page on the list for that result.  I see abuse starting immediately but I don’t think it will work.  I bumped a couple of people up…besides myself.

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