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Find Real Estate Foreclosures With New Widget

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As someone on the prowl for a nice house at the right price, I can tell you firsthand that the market continues to drop, giving strong buyers their pick of the litter.  Unfortunately, folks who are forced to sell, are in quite a pickle.

Foreclosure.com, a major source for foreclosure listings and data,  has released a WordPress-compatible plugin that allows bloggers, real estate agents and others to instantly add listings to their Web sites.

Foreclosure.com offers users a free 7-day trial. After that, interested parties pay a monthly subscription fee.  The downloadable widget also acts as a potential revenue source, giving publishers a slice of the subscription fee pie

Sign up here.

Those who search listings will be able to view aerial satellite images of all listings, as well as property types, cities, states, numbers of beds and baths and listing prices.

The widget also helps agents and other real estate professionals stay on top of their listings and share data with clients.

Originally posted on June 3, 2008 @ 8:50 am

Jott Launches Feeds

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Thanks to its top-notch voice recognition system, I have been – and continue to be – a huge fan of Jott. Today they released a new feature called Jott Feeds.

In a nutshell, it lets you listen to your favorite news & RSS feeds, like those from your favorite blogs, Twitter, Google Calendar, or Facebook, all from your phone!

If you already use the Twitter Jott Link, you might be interested in the Twitter Jott Feed. Now, by calling the same Jott number, you can not only Tweet while on the road or away from your desk, but you can also listen to what others are saying. Give it a try:

1. Set up the Twitter Jott Feed here.

2. Call 866-JOTT-123, or your local Canadian number, and say “Jott Feeds” when asked “Who do you want to Jott?”

3. Next, say “Twitter” when asked “Which feed?”

4. Listen to your friends’ updates!

The company is always open to feedback. So let them know how you like the feature.

Originally posted on June 3, 2008 @ 2:11 pm

Do It Yourself With Showroom411

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Home sales might be down, but there’s still a high demand for Do It Yourself resources.  Launched this week, Showroom411.com is your source for 70,000+ pages of home improvement articles and videos that will help you take home matters into your own hands.

From living green to finding local contractors in your area, just save the articles you find useful in your personal folder for easy access at a later date.

After a free registration, you can also upload your own photos and import URLs for personal projects, helping the community follow your progress and advice.  These DIY tasks are displayed in a virtual showroom and can be commented on by other community members.

Showroom 411 is an ad-supported Website.  If you’re interested, we recommend starting here.

There is also a blog that reviews new products and keeps you abreast of what’s happening in the home improvement space.

Originally posted on May 25, 2008 @ 10:20 am

New York Times Plans API

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With enough scandals to earn the pet name New York Slimes in some circles, The New York times has suffered a dramatic fall from grace.  While it’s no secret that papers across the world have suffered blows to circulation at the hands of the Internet, the Times is hoping to boost online readership with an API that will make the entire newspaper “programmable.”

By opening up the Website’s code, programmers will be able to mashup structured content. The Times expects to make the full-blown API available to the public in approximately six months.

At the forefront of digital technology over the past year with a Facebook app, news aggregator and reader comments on the homepage, NYT has proven they are willing to adapt.

Read more at ReadWriteWeb.

Originally posted on May 26, 2008 @ 1:45 pm

Little Widgets Equal A Lot of Money

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Currently the largest widget syndicator service in the world, Clearspring has just secured an $18 million round of financing.  The company, which says it tracks 4 billion widgets a month,  plans to use the new-found cash to expand its viral marketing network and make more of an international push.

Publishers, developers and advertisers can spread their content over 80 social networks and track results – even making some money along the way.

From Honda automobiles to Snapple beverages to recording artist Radiohead, Clearspring widgets are used by a wide array of people and corporations.

Personally, I’ve used the widgets to help promote one of my podcasts.  While the player is customizable and sleek, I’ve always been disappointed that the audio will not play until 100% of the file is downloaded.

The company’s founding principals is to keep it simple, always improve, listen, adjust, and innovate – and basically, enjoy the ride.

Originally posted on May 21, 2008 @ 10:53 am