Experiments & Expressions

I just removed Wallnote from my list of web-based to-do programs. The interface is simple, intuitive, and just works. Wallnote supports multiple lists and allows you to add a description to each task. You can also use it to write quick notes about things.

The unique thing about Wallnote is that you can use it from your desktop or a browser. Although, you need to be on Windows with the Active Desktop enabled. If you don’t want to enable it or you’re a non-Windows user, it’s not a biggie. You just have to open a browser to view your lists.

So why did I cut it? No RSS, no list sharing, and the interface was slightly quirky on Pocket IE.

Overall, I think Wallnote is a great app and does a good job of what it’s intended to do. It just wasn’t the right fit for me.

I posted about my quest for a new online to do list system. I’ve quickly run down each of the items, eliminated a few, and updated my list. The second list includes the to-do list applications that I cut along with the reason(s) they were cut.

Updated List

• Ta-da List
• Bla-bla List
• voo2do
• Remember the Milk
• Orchestrate
• Rough Underbelly
• ToodleDo
• ListPool

Apps cut:

Tudu Lists

Simple. This one has some neat interface features, and can be installed to your own server. I didn’t like this one because the maneuverability was slow, although it was relatively intuitive.

WebToDo List

This one looks like it’s been around for awhile and the code hasn’t been updated. It doesn’t have any of the cool features I was looking for.

tasktoy

This one seems powerful. Just a little too much for my needs. This one has nice features, but the interface could be simplified. It makes use of repeatable tasks and could be used for managing multiple projects.

Time Tracker

Has a built in timer for each task. Nice use of drag-n-drop. Great idea. Cool interface. This is off the list because it doesn’t have RSS or tag capability.

TaskTHIS

I like the way this one sounds. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get registered. I sent an email to the developer to notify him of the issue. If it gets fixed, I may add it back to the list.

Wallnote(Updated: Sept. 14, 2006)

If your guidelines aren’t as strict as mine, you should try this one. It works well. Read more.

How do you manage your daily and ongoing tasks? Are you able to easily categorize your tasks for your different clients or roles (i.e., personal and work)? And what about access? Are you able to read and manage your tasks no matter where you are? If you’re ready for something different like I am, try a web-based task manager.

For me, I use Outlook and sync to my phone. And on my phone, GregSoft’s TaskPlus software gives me a lot of what I need. However, I’m relatively limited (read: I don’t like how it works) if I want to use it for different roles and multiple clients.

Again, it can be done and I do it. The effort to manage the complexity of my tasks just isn’t efficient enough for me. I’ve even tried paper lists. Those just get crumpled in my pocket yielding little personal accountability.

When all else fails… I turn to the Internet.

In an age of Web 2.0 apps, I decided to put some constraints on my search for the perfect task manager. Bare minimum requirements are:

• Multiple list support
• Categorized tasks
• Tag support
• RSS support
• Mobile (Phone/PDA) view support
• Deadline capable (You can set a deadline for the task)
• Must be simple (no enterprise-level, project management, or multi-app integrated systems)
• Hosted (No setup or installation necessary)
• Free

In addition to the bare minimums, these “added features” would be nice, but not necessary:

• Mobile edit support
• Task prioritization
• Drag-n-drop support (to reprioritize or move tasks to other categories)
• SMS/text message reminders
• Repeatable events
• Sharable, password protected lists

To Do Lists: Making the cut

There are many web-based to-do lists out there. These are a few that I found so far. They don’t necessarily have all the bare minimums, but they are at least worth a look.

• Ta-da List
• Bla-bla List
• Tudu Lists
• voo2do
• Remember the Milk
• Orchestrate
• Rough Underbelly
• Wallnote
• WebToDo List
• ToodleDo
• tasktoy
• Time Tracker
• ListPool
• TaskTHIS

I will be briefly reviewing each of the applications. If they make the first cut, then I will review them for a longer, one week period. When I make a decision, I will post the winning task manager with my review.

If you have any other online to-do list application that is worth reviewing, please let me know. Also, please feel free to share your opinions about what task management system you use.

I recently found an agent in New Hampshire who proudly boasts (and should) his search engine placement as part of his online listing presentation. And I bet it’s really effective for him. Having a strong search engine presence is an excellent low cost, high ROI way to get new listings out to a large number of qualified people.

If you’re not doing it already, add some concrete search engine rankings to your listing presentation. Not everyone will be interested in them. But if your numbers are impressive, impress them!

More than SEO

Excellent search engine placement is only one kind of Internet-info you could add. You could also include things like:

• Property marketing reports from REALTOR.com,
• Unique visitors to your website, or
• The number of websites a property gets posted to

Sellers are starting to respect good SEO. But if you’re not quite at the top yet, pick other information that strengthens client confidence. They need to know that you will get their home sold the fastest and for the most amount of money.

If you’re remembering to check your website statistics, where do you get most of your traffic from? Is it Google, Yahoo, MSN? Uh, maybe MySpace?

A recent WebProNews article points out that MySpace drives more traffic than MSN. At least for retail marketers this is good information to know. But how can real estate businesses benefit from such a phenomenon? Can real estate social networking on MySpace work?

Personally? It’s not quite the right fit. Retail and real estate are two totally different markets with different expectations. I see how a niche site like ActiveRain would work, but not MySpace… Even if the twenty to thirty-somethin’ demographics are the same.

So what can I learn from this?

Know where your traffic is coming from, then strengthen your weak areas. Good search engine optimized sites usually have a solid chunk of traffic from Google. But be sure you’re getting traffic from others too.

Search Engine Watch is a good place to set some reference points. Their July 2006 statistics show the percentages of searches each engine received. If you’re statistics lines up with theirs, then great! If not, figure out why not.

Get what you get

These types of reports are not any sort of holy grail. They’re good to get an idea of what to expect. The most important thing is to try to understand why you get what you get. You can then create goals to get where you think you should get. Got it?

This past weekend, Labor Day weekend, is one of the most popular camping weekends in the U.S. It’s also one of the weekends that most REALTORS^® are unreachable (yet Home Depot remains open… I know because I was there!). But what is Labor Day?

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, it’s a holiday for workers. Labor Day began as a way to pay tribute to the workers of America. And apparently, it’s the only holiday that is not devoted to any person, religion, or people group.

If you think I’m making this stuff up, be sure to visit my Labor Day source.

Duplicate content is becoming a very big deal. A lot of people copy-n-paste articles because it’s easy. Even if you’re trying to share good information with your readers, it’s not a good idea to copy. You’ll get banned from search engines and it infringes on others’ rights.

One legitimate way of getting unique content is to buy it. Do a search for “PLR Articles” and you’ll find a bunch. It’s very easy to find good real estate related articles that you could post on your website. The down side is that in many cases they’re not completely unique. You’ll have the rights to use articles, but so do a small number of other people.

So is it really unique? Nope. You’ll probably get banned from Google for that one.

But wait, there’s more!
I’ll be reviewing a piece of software called Website Content Wizard. This software automatically rewrites articles for you. This means it will make articles unique! You can purchase inexpensive PLR articles, stick it in the software, then post the rewritten version on your site. Voila!

I suppose you could rewrite just about any article on the Internet, but there are some ethical issues you’ll have to deal with.

I checked out the 14 second solution and it was pretty impressive. Most software like this isn’t worth the money. However, this one looks like it has some excellent features. Now understand that it is written for affiliate marketers and not real estate agents. But if it really does what it says, the Website Content Wizard could help to simplify your blogging life.

Check it out the demo here:
Website Content Wizard

If you have a Sprint PPC-6700 (Verizon XV-6700), one of the things that you’ll find (or shall I say lose) is that it’s easy to lose your stylus. It’s a great device, but stylus storage could use a better design. I’ve learned to carry my phone with my finger on the stylus so that it doesn’t slide out. Even with my special phone carrying technique, I’ve resorted to clumsily using the back of fingers to do detailed work. Yes, I lost my stylus… again.

As an owner of a PPC-6700, my best advice is to buy a bunch of extra styli. The best price I was able to find was at Amazon. If you’re a Treo owner, I’ve provided a link for you, too.

• PPC6700/XV6700 Stylus 3-Pack
• Palm Treo 650/700 Stylus 3-Pack

Okay, it’s my fault. I broke it. As I tested my Talkr podcast, I broke my Feedburner feeds. So sorry to all you RSS feeders.

What happened?

All my feeds are forwarded to FeedBurner. This allows me to better manage my feed statistics as well as offload the [minimal] feed bandwidth. When I Talkr-enabled my site, I setup Talkr so that it pointed to my local feed. As you guessed, my site redirected Talkr to my FeedBurner feed. Now here’s the kicker, I setup FeedBurner to read my Talkr feed. This was so it would pickup the generated audio. Big mistake.

Are you thoroughly confused? Here’s a visual:

My site redirects to FeedBurner. Talkr feeds FeedBurner. FeedBurner feeds Talkr. It’s an endless loop. So the feeds were never updated.

How’d I fix it?

I created a special feed just for Talkr. If you really want to know the technical, I created a new RewriteRule in my .htaccess file. This feed will not get redirected and it allows Talkr to retrieve any new updates. So no more crazy redirects.

Thanks for your patience!

Welcome Google Base Data API. And say goodbye to listing control.

Google recently released the data API for Google Base. With it, websites can communicate with Google Base obtaining any information available. I think this is very cool and have already started to play. Listing agents will also love the exposure they can give their clients. However, I know a lot of real estate brokers that won’t be too happy.

You see, there’s a lot that you can do with this new service. Most notably, people will be able to stick everyone elses listings on their own website (provided the data is in Google Base). They won’t even need special IDX access to do it. This is where I think we’re going to see some trouble.

I’ve heard in multiple cases of brokers that are very tight fisted with their listings. They won’t share anything and always check the “don’t include in IDX” box. With Google Base, it really doesn’t matter. If an agent entered a listing in Google Base, it is now fair game to anyone and everyone.

Any guesses on how long before the lawsuits start flying? Or at least complaining?