Michael Montez Online

So I bought a skateboard on Monday. It has been a few years since I last rode. So I practiced on Monday night and it was like riding a bike. No problem. So Tuesday morning I grabbed the board and headed to the office. No problems, I fell once, hitting a rock and stopping the board instantly. No harm no foul. I used my ninja skills to fall and roll. On my way home, that’s another story.

On my way home I was rolling to the bus stop (yes I rode the board and the bus) when I saw a picture opportunity. I reached into my pocket to grab my camera. As the stars aligned and with my hands in my pocket, I rolled into a pebble. This pebble was all that was needed to halt the board and send me flying. My hands are still in my pocket and this time I used a much less graceful ninja tactic. I landed on my face. No shit – face first on the concrete.

If you don’t know how bad my vision is, let me give you an example. If you take a picture and then make it real blurry, and I mean real blurry – that is what I see without my glasses. So to fall on my face and have my glasses shatter was not a benefit. Especially considering that I had just left the office. I picked the remains of my glasses, gathered my board and walked to the bus stop. I could feel the warm drip of blood as my face started to bleed. The bus arrived 5 minutes later.

I wiped all the blood from my face, but my face continued to bleed. The bus pulled to a stop and the doors opened. As I got on the bus the bus driver informed me that, “I can’t let you ride with an open wound, sorry.” I was in no mood to argue, but I really wanted to ride that bus. Instead, I was forced to utilize my skateboard, the one working lens of my glasses and my memory to get home. I arrived home, took a rape shower and ordered a pizza.

So where are they now. My glasses are done, I had a few contacts left and I am using those. My board is at the house, I will continue to practice riding. I will have a killer scar and I am sure it will help with the ladies.

Real Estate Agent Web sites are dead. Google and Trulia will be where you go to find a house. You may not even need an agent of your own. You will know the price, you will know how much you should pay, and you will need an agent to prep the paperwork. But before this can happen (and it really should), Google and Trulia need to step up. They need to lay the ground work for a nation wide Multiple Listing Service (MLS).

An MLS is:

actually a database – an extremely convenient way to know what is available for sale at a given moment. That is why real estate agents developed the MLS. Quick knowledge of home inventory made agents more productive.

Google and Trulia already want to index these databases full of data. Google has a section called GoogleBase. Real estate agents are fighting to get their listings into GoogleBase. Some companies exist soley to push properties into GoogleBase. So why not start the nation wide MLS with Google. Google would need the following action to take place:

1) Google builds an extensive backend system for Agents and Brokers. This backend allows for property information and image uploads. Agents and Brokers start adding properties to the DB and can also manage the DB via their user account (to remove or edit listings).

2) Google purchases one major existing MLS provider – somewhere in Los Angeles or San Francisco. Then they integrate the existing data into their GoogleBase product. Basically showing the rest of the Real Estate world what is possible. Once the properties have been transfered and are searchable on Google, no one will ever want to post their properties to some useless local MLS service.

3) The general public starts looking to Google for property searches. Your home search does not start with “Los Angeles Real Estate”, but rather with “3 bedroom 2 bathroom 90066 (Zip Code)”. All the properties that fit your search query are displayed on a Google Map. You choose which houses you want to visit and the order of the visit and Google gives you turn-by-turn directions to those properties. Complete with details and agent info.

So where does this future leave a company like Agent Image or Advanced Access? Agents will still need a web presence, but they will not need a fully functional web site with properties and communities. Instead, the Agent will need to rebrand themselves as a resource of real estate and the community. There will still be people who want to know exactly what you have to offer. The best way to display that is through blogs and video content.

Companies like Agent Image should concentrate on basic web presence: name, photo, phone number. For the bold agent who “get it”, they can offer branded blogs and custom video presentations. We won’t build web sites, rather we will build a portal that will pull the video, blog, and RSS resources that will show just how much of an expert you are. We will need to be the media experts for your company/business. We can perform local market media buys. Our services will be media, not web sites.

…These are just my initial thoughts…to be continued (and edited)

UPDATE: 2008-01-28

Found this company called http://www.dothomes.com/

They are in the UK and trying to build a national DB – I hope it works.

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2) Watch the photo gallery:

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Mitra has proposed that we make it a group affair to celebrate our love for one another.

I have accommodations at the Cartwright Hotel with 2 queen beds and am offering up one bed/two pillows for Friday and Saturday night, first come first serve – you’re more than welcome to join me. I must admit, the plaid chairs in the pictures are a turnoff, but its right in the middle of the financial district, downtown San Fran….

We will spending time with Eric – and hang with my NC friend John at some point.

Other than that I foresee a MuniPass, pizza, Chinese, Hawaiian, crepes and other various inexpensive eateries, stumbling around to dive bars, streetfests, and the MOCA or Alcatraz or some other such attraction (I’ll go Friday day if you don’t dig culture)….. Anyway, the point is – we aren’t going fancy and its about the company.

Well, it’s been 5+ years, and it served me well, but the time for my black beetle has come. On Saturday I sold Black Betty.

So what happens now, where am I going to? Well, I still plan to move to New Zealand, but I think I will visit first. It’s a great country with a strong economy. I know visiting will only solidify my desire to move there, but it’s always good to walk before running. So I will be using the beetle money to pay some debt, buy my NZ plane ticket, and book some hotels. I will be riding the bus and I am looking to pick up a bike for that “getting around” feeling.

In sooner travel plans, I will be in San Francisco next weekend (Jan 18-20). It will be our “last weekend with Mitra bonanza”. I can’t wait, it will be pretty bittersweet.

So last weekend Michael Jung, Toby Cheung, and myself made a break for Sin City. High roller, Michael Jung, had some free rooms at the Rio so we wanted to take advantage of it. Well we did. As always, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas so I will keep the details limited. I still love Craps, I am less excited about WSOP Table Poker, I love breast and strippers, and I love a great $5.00 prime rib. Here are some images from the trip.