The Future of Real Estate Marketing…NOW!
There are a few things in life that I REALLY enjoy; my family, good wine, good scifi books and movies, Michigan Football, real estate. And when I come across articles and ideas that combine some of my favorite things in life and some of my favorite people, well, GAME ON!
Joseph Ferrara is one of those rare characters you get the opportunity to meet once in a while in your life. He shown a great grasp of real estate marketing and how it’s driven by the end-user. Writing for Inman, he pens, er… bangs out this post on MARS, “mobile augmented reality systems.”
Two money quotes from the article:
The MARS user can access and visualize data that is tied to their physical location and environment…
Imagine walking down Fifth Avenue in New York City and getting a guided tour, courtesy of your iPhone. Unlike virtual reality, which seeks to replace the real world, MARS supplements it. This is not the future. MARS is here.
Ok, see, this type of melding of digital information on top of our physical world is truly exciting to me. I recently finished re-reading a book by Vernor Vinge, titled “Rainbows End,” that sets
this idea to a near future reality. The story is well-thought out and true to Vinge’s past books. A premise of the story is that access to the ‘net is done through wearable computers…literally shirts, pants, etc. Another premise, which we are just beginning to glimpse now, is that data search and analysis has become the new economy.
The concept of wearable computers and instantaneous access to data to overlay on our “physical” sight/location is intriguing and exciting. Instead of diving for the iPhone or BlackBerry to figure out where the closest pizza joint is, you would be able to get step by step directions, menus, reviews, tips and likely be able to order your meal enroute.
As real estate agents, we generate a LOT of information. Being able to search and analyze that information has become increasingly important to the real estate transaction. With nearly 90% of the home buyers utilizing the internet, at some point in the purchase process, it is important for our information to be out there.
It is becoming even more important that the information is user friendly and easily accessible.
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