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Google Applications Make Agents More Effective - 2010-05-16
GOOGLE APPLICATIONS MAKE AGENTS MORE EFFECTIVE

The single most sweeping change I have witnessed in my thirty years as a real estate broker in Atlanta is in the area of communication technology. That area includes communication with clients and customers, communication of information, and communication of offers and transactional data.

I remember my introduction to the world of real estate brokerage in 1979. We carried huge listing books, made obsolete every two weeks with new printed editions marked "confidential." We had no fax machines, so we either delivered documents ourselves or paid courier services a premium for "three hour service."

We had no cell phones - yes, they existed but no, we couldn't afford them. Only the most successful agents had a "car-phone" at that time. I was able to afford a pager, and we all had numeric codes we used to crudely communicate. Even so, I remember stopping at competitors' offices and asking if I could use their phone to return a page.

We had no computer in the office, but we did have an IBM Selectric with changeable font balls, which was really cool. It even had an auto-correct key that magically erased typographic errors. Our first introduction to the new "computerized multiple listing service" was an "acoustic coupler" which featured molded rubber cups for inserting the phone after you dialed a special number. That same device had no screen, but boasted a silent printer that used "thermal paper" which later turned brown if exposed to sunlight.

Today's active agents have recognized that they no longer serve as gatekeepers of secret information.   Instead, they must offer professional advice to help consumers make sense of the flood of data already on the Internet. And the key to that service is communication.

This is where the folks at Google have made my life easier. Here are some the products I use every day:

* Google Voice allows me to have one phone number and yet have the phone ring in up to six different places simultaneously, so I never miss a call unless I choose to do so.

* Google Mail, also known as gmail, delivers and stores and handles all my e-mail, even though I have my own domain name. In addition, Google includes the world's best spam filter for free.

* Google Docs allows me to read and write all my documents in any popular format, including Word and WordPerfect. And one more thing - because all these documents are stored at Google and not on my personal computer, I can access my work anywhere in the world that I can find Internet access.

* Google Picasa stores all my photos in high resolution, allows me to organize them, modify them, enhance them, and export them.

Next week, we'll see how Google makes my real estate business easier, and allows me to serve my clients better.

 
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