MyTechOpinion asked…

What technology product or service has made the biggest impact on your real estate business? And why?

The biggest impact? The simple answer is, Video of course!

No other technology that can do what video does. Nothing!

Nothing delivers the emotion, the passion, the sense of humanity in such a short time that video does.   But when we talk about video, which video are we talking about?

Think of it this way.  My wife likes shoes. She has cute little ked’s, running shoes, clogs, flip flops, flats, slingbacks, Mary Jane’s, Mules, and those Expensive Italian Pumps.

Just as the varied shoes in my wife’s closet, there are many distinct styles of video.

“Honey, why do you have all those shoes again?”

Take the virtual video tour for that million dollar listing…

< Public Service Announcement here>

This is a great place for video but be careful. It’s no place for amateur filming and shaky cameras.  It’s time to bring in the professionals. They’re the production experts.

On the opposite end of the spectrum you’ll find the video discussion.  Sites like Seesmic allow a video conversation to take place.  

Even lighter, might be something like 12 seconds. A site that limits you to only 12 seconds. That’s it.   “How much time do I have left?”

Vlogging is like blogging only in video format. Often times a Vlogger will record a short recap of their actual article and embed that video into their post allowing the reader the option of text or watching a short video.

Once a video is recorded it needs to be uploaded, hosted and distributed.   The question is, to what site or sites?   YouTube might be your first thought. The sheer number of eyeballs might be nice, but do you really want all those insane comments?   Luckily there are other options available. Sites like Veoh, Viddler, WelcomeMatt and MLBroadcast can help control your video’s viewer experience.  

Let’s not forget about video email.   My client might be halfway around the world, Email might be the only option, but there’s nothing stopping me from adding a quick visual.   “Hi Tom, I just received the rate lock confirmation and we’re clear to close!  Enjoy the rest of your vacation!”

Then there’s the “Video’s nice, but I don’t have time for to record video” excuse. I know you were just thinking that - right?  Time is what you make of it.  Video is often faster than blogging.  Don't have time to video?

Not true.

• Ian Watt has his Flip camera in his cupholder.
• Keith & Tilton put a couple of cameras on their dashboard and had a conversation.
• Tim Ayers' tapes a Flip to his Steering Wheel, and yes he does take turns!

You have the time if you need it

So while the answer is Video, we can see there are many different versions, many different flavor of video.  So then, which version is it?

My answer to that is the same as my wife’s answer to when I asked my wife why she needed all those different shoes.  Each version has it own instance when it’s absolutely right.  And like my wife’s shoes, there is no “ONE“, I need them all.

I hope that answers your question, now go out and shoot your own video!