Tom Flanagan is the director of information technology at Residential Properties Ltd., a Providence-based real estate brokerage. He was recently a panelist at the 15th annual Real Estate Connect conference in New York City on the topic of “The Death of Flash? Can we move beyond closed systems and on to the open Web?”
PBN: Did you draw any conclusions from the conference? Can HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript help you go cross-platform with your app?
FLANAGAN: HTML5 and CSS3 offer some exciting possibilities. There are some great features, including video, geolocation and [Scalable Vector Graphics]. However, not all browsers and browser versions offer support, and standards are still being finalized. Also, 75 percent of Web video is viewed using the Adobe Flash Player. It’s been interesting to see companies such as Adobe, Apple, Google and Microsoft scuffle over the future of Web video.
I do believe that the explosion of mobile devices is fueling the need for an open web. Mobile devices are positioned to out-sell personal computers by 2012. The need for cross-platform applications is certainly growing.
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PBN: One of your areas of expertise is social media. What are some little-known tips for using Facebook, Twitter to sell real estate?
FLANAGAN: Social media has really changed traditional social boundaries. Having a certain level of social media etiquette is important, especially in real estate. I always recommend to our sales associates to be authenticate and consistent. The best tip I can offer is to develop unique content for each site. Twitter is very different than Facebook or LinkedIn. Posting engaging content to each individual site can be far more effective than just randomly uploading links to open houses or listings.
PBN: What changes has Residential Properties undertaken on its website since the last time you spoke with Providence Business News in October 2008?
FLANAGAN: We’ve recently added some really cool features that have improved the user experience. One of my favorite additions is “One Click Login” which allows our users to register or login utilizing their Facebook or Google accounts. We developed a Quick Search with a “fly-out” menu for a faster property search. Also, we converted all of our Flash media to HTML, CSS and JavaScipt. It’s so nice to see our home page slide show animate across multiple devices, including my iPad.
PBN: What are your current top picks for tech products for brokers and agents?
FLANAGAN: Smart phones are imperative; we have many iPhones and Droids in the office. The ability to sync your e-mail, documents and calendar from the palm of your hand is extremely efficient. Tablets like the iPad are excellent for listing presentations and deliver the “wow factor.” There is also some great cabin tech available as well. Every Realtor’s car should be equipped with a GPS unit and hands-free calling via Bluetooth.
PBN: What IT trends can we expect in 2011?
FLANAGAN: Cloud computing is very hot right now. There are a lot of great cloud services available, including e-mail, accounting services, document storage and more. Real estate agents are on the road and working remotely, and cloud computing offers a tremendous amount of benefits to the industry.
There were dozens of new tablets released this month at [the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show]. Consumers will have plenty of devices to choose from this year.
Also, businesses and government agencies are gravitating more and more towards open source applications. Open source software can be modified and redistributed freely. You can build some fantastic products that are not only feasible but are easy to implement.
