Highlights
Agent Genius Launches AG News & AG Sphere
AUSTIN, TX– today, AgentGenius.com launches a free real estate news service to supplement the Agent Genius real estate magazine/opinion column. Topics on AG News range from technology, legislation, design, to lending and the economy as they pertain to the real estate professional. There is a barrage of information available on the web and it can be overwhelming, so we read hundreds of blogs and bring you the most useful, applicable news available. Think of us as your friend who picks all the peas and carrots out of your rice dish so you can actually enjoy it.
We are very excited to announce that this launch includes the new Agent Genius Sphere which is a single page that collects headlines from the real estate industry’s top sites, creating a simple landing page for readers seeking real estate information. Each site is hand selected with submissions accepted only a few times a year, featuring the most progressive sites in the industry.
We saw a great need for both services and are excited to kick off our second year with a bang! Be sure to add AG News to your feed reader and check out the AG Sphere for all of the most progressive real estate sites. All three sites (the newly designed AG Magazine, AG News and AG Sphere) are in beta and we will be working out the small details over the coming weeks- it only gets better!
The year is starting a march toward its natural ending, friends…and it seems a few real estate careers may be also. This week I found some real head-scratchers in local real estate ads and the MLS. However, I get submissions from all over the U.S., so no one is safe from the eyes of the Blooper Scooper. Check out these blunders:
Do You Smell Smoke?
“House has spark” (Apparently your real estate career isn’t the only thing going up in smoke.)
“Big pep area in kitchen” (Is that the cookie jar where Mommy Dearest stashes her uppers?)
“Dull Viking ovens” (Methinks there’s something in the cookie jar that will perk up those dull Vikings.)
“Large greenhose in back” (Large, naked Jolly Green Giant in yard.)
“Mush added to this house” (Was that the overflow from between your ears?)
I Think I See Flames
“Beautifully remolded guest” (Another cosmetically-altered Barbie hits the Hollywood party circuit.)
“Enjoy a drink poolslide” ( Hell, if the pool is sliding, I’ll need a whole pint of Jack.)
“Each bedroom has own bedrooom” (Hello-o-o, Alice, how are things down there in the rabbit hole?)
“Separate pod to build GH” (That should please my pea-sized buyers.)
“Play room for the kiss” (Something tells me this is the back seat of a ’67 Chevy.)
Still Smoldering…
“Ideal for gusts” (That’s great…if you want to live in a wind sock.)
“Impaccably detailed” (Incredibly challenged)
“Stylish pewder room” (Try burning a match.)
“Stone pillars flake driveway” (Flakey agent got stoned in driveway.)
Nothing But Embers (This Week’s Fave):
“From a bygone error” (You have just written your own epitaph.)
I have two things to say this week: 1. When you drink, you can’t think. 2. When you drink you can’t- … uh, what was I saying? Oh, yes – the MLS. It was so full of bloopers this week that I am led to conclude that happy hour started Monday and never stopped. Read these and tell me if it is any wonder I was driven to throw back a few martinis myself:
Booze ‘N’ Fools
“Free membership to gin inc” (It seems someone else beat us to it, Martini Mary.)
“Grab now use imagination” (That’s what Arnold said to his housekeeper.)
“House has new edition” (Agent lacks erudition.)
“Babblying broke runs in back” (Bumbling buffoon runs amuck.)
“Drop by for cocktail ho” (Oh, is the Sunset Strip for sale?)
Puff ‘N’ Stuff
“Near Sacramento airpot” (I believe his name is Jerry Brown.)
“Claw me for selling” (I’m too busy clawing my eyes out over your spelling.)
“Reduction on mid-century ner Holywod” (Another mid-sixties porn star is looking for work.)
“We can sake your home” (Can I get fried rice with my sake?)
Proof or Goof
“Nice streem” (Said Grandma to Grandpa after his diaper exploded.)
“Nice for dog kids” (Uh, they’re called ‘puppies,” pal.)
“New bd pans included” (Thank you, Nurse Nancy – can you warm those first?)
“Good stable in neighborhood.” (Have you contacted Mary and Joseph?)
“Drawing for plasma” (Is this a blood-bank?)
And This Week’s Winner Is:
“Good school in areola” (Thanks for keeping me abreast of things.)
PROOF OR GOOF, FRIENDS – I’M WATCHING EWE 🙂
Highlights
My secret office organization tip – Sharpies and tape
If you’re still practicing to be OCD, here is a secret I don’t typically share with anyone, but I’m willing to share with you today…
Keeping organized
I used to be obsessed with the P-touch machine. I labeled everything. Drawers, shelves, folders, canisters, and anything that I could think of putting a label on.
But the label makers weren’t as pretty as my own handwriting and didn’t come in every color a Sharpie does, so I got the brilliant idea one day to write in light blue sharpie in my beautiful handwriting on clear tape, placed neatly on the shelves in the pantry. Visitors thought I had written on the cabinets, “what if you have to move things?” they asked. “It’s just tape, look!” I said as if I was performing a complicated magic trick.
Not just shelves!
It’s great to use this tip on files and folders so you can reuse them (especially if you have custom files or designer files), on drawers at the bottom of each section where pens and tape goes, and especially in the break room.
No more label maker, no more refill cartridges and no more mess, especially someone else’s mess! Trust me, this is an OCD person’s dream organizing tip!
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Chris de Jong
October 27, 2008 at 11:55 pm
The new site theme looks amazing & the new “Agent Genius Sphere” feature is sure to be a great resource. Congrats AG crew! I can’t wait to see whats next. 🙂
Todd Carpenter
October 27, 2008 at 11:58 pm
very nice. I love it.
Jay Thompson
October 28, 2008 at 1:30 am
Digging it! Need to explore, but need sleep too.
Nicely done from what I’ve seen so far. The footer is a bit wonky (in FF3)
Benn Rosales
October 28, 2008 at 1:35 am
We’re aware, sleep is needed here, also working on avatars in explorer and ff3.
if anyone has other problems, click reach out in the top nav and drop us a email.
greetings.
Poppy Dinsey
October 28, 2008 at 4:35 am
Well done guys, it’s both pretty AND clever…not an easy combination 😉
John Lauber
October 28, 2008 at 5:35 am
Digging the new look and the sphere page.
That’s some great stuff.
Jim Duncan
October 28, 2008 at 5:39 am
I like it. The theme, the Sphere, the News … nicely done.
(footer looks good in Safari and FF3 now)
Jason Sandquist
October 28, 2008 at 6:35 am
Very nice. Theme looks great. Can’t wait to explore all the new features!
monika
October 28, 2008 at 7:05 am
Excellent! What a great idea. I’ve subscribed to it!
Jon McAchran
October 28, 2008 at 7:06 am
Looks great in Firefox, but I’m having some issues in Google Chrome (and haven’t checked on my Mac with Safari, but I assume it’s the same). Something maybe to check into.
Christine Rich
October 28, 2008 at 8:10 am
Really nice. Read it every day, and looking forward to making more of a contribution. A day without Agent Genius is like a day without sunshine.
Rudy from Trulia
October 28, 2008 at 8:30 am
Looking good guys!
Rudy
Social Media Guru at Trulia
Nick Bastian
October 28, 2008 at 9:18 am
even though I like peas and carrots, I am gonna stick around and read along…
Mana Tulberg
October 28, 2008 at 9:19 am
Sounds and looks amazing.
Daniel Rothamel, The Real Estate Zebra
October 28, 2008 at 9:19 am
Well done! I especially like the new look.
Mike Price
October 28, 2008 at 9:23 am
Love it. Awesome work you guys.
MP
Carson
October 28, 2008 at 9:42 am
I like the category breakdowns being more prominent.
Barry Cunningham
October 28, 2008 at 9:49 am
hatip
Mark Eckenrode | HomeStomper
October 28, 2008 at 10:01 am
looks good and will definitely make it easier for folks to navigate and find the info here.
am i able to make a request? ditch the light gray text for something darker and bump up it’s size a tad. as it is, the eyes have to strain to read it on the white bg and that ain’t conducive to reading all this good stuff 😉
Lisa Sanderson
October 28, 2008 at 10:18 am
Wow, love the new layout and formatting. Easier to find categories, etc, etc. AG just keeps getting better!!
Ravi Shah
October 28, 2008 at 10:57 am
Wow…I love the new look and format. It took me a few minutes to digest but I’m digging it too
Michelle DeRepentigny
October 28, 2008 at 11:01 am
I love the design and layout, but the light grey text is killing me, please …please reconsider text color.
Danilo Bogdanovic
October 28, 2008 at 3:36 pm
Very cool! Looks and functionality are great! You guys are always up to something, aren’t you…
Charleston real estate blog
October 28, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Congrats, it just keeps getting better and better.
Missy Caulk
October 28, 2008 at 5:55 pm
Looks great, I agree with Michelle, hard to read in gray tone for us older bloggers.
Jonathan Dalton
October 28, 2008 at 6:05 pm
I’m somewhat groggy … but I think I like it!
Vicki Moore
October 28, 2008 at 7:38 pm
Really really nice. I haven’t had a chance to look much. But I really like how you show a look into the post when you hover over the local real estate home page. I’ve got to spend A LOT more time checking it out.
Again: Super job. Really well done.
Vicki Moore
October 28, 2008 at 7:40 pm
Oh interesting point about the text color – just saw that. I thought it was soothing but I can see – haha- how it could be a problem.
Irina Netchaev
October 28, 2008 at 10:37 pm
Absolutely beautiful! Great work… it’s in my reader. 🙂
Ken Brand
October 29, 2008 at 6:12 am
The tile effect is…..well, it’s keenly effective and pleasing, inviting in-fact. It’s an elegant way to display more information, save me time. Damn Straight!
Drew Meyers
October 29, 2008 at 7:59 am
Congrats on the release!
Matthew Rathbun
October 29, 2008 at 12:44 pm
As awesome as you two are, I didn’t think it was possible for you to out do yourselves. This is AWESOME!!!
Benn
October 29, 2008 at 1:00 pm
Hi Everyone!
Thanks for your feedback, requests, thoughts and well wishes, I’d like to bring you up to speed.
We’ve corrected the issues in FF and Safari, it is amazing what one tiny character can do when you’re editing- none the less, after 24 hours, and 8 eyes on the issue and absolute frustration, I virtually jumped out of bed at 3 am with the answer – weird how the mind and eyes work. Needless to say, that item is crossed off the board.
As to the font issues, that was actually just something I had not moved over yet. Our font structure is now the same as it was in the previous theme now, however, I did darken the font. There is no way of pleasing everyone, but this setup has worked for us for over a year and it seems to work for the majority. The only other variance is that I need to actually adjust it up one size, and I will do that in the next day or so. I brought it up to 13px rather than the 11 it was previously on. You have no idea what damage a font size can do to a structured theme, changing one thing can mean changing 10 others to gain your balance back.
I’ve also streamlined the navigation across MAG and NEWS to better let you know where you are. Obviously these are two completely different sites so blending is important.
Now that I have the construction finished (I actually thought it already was or we wouldn’t have launched) we can move on to rolling out the full functionality of the site little by little.
Stay tuned and feel free to drop me an email from the submit tip link.
Best to all, Benn
PS NEWS also has it’s own RSS, as well as SPHERE, so please add those to your readers if you haven’t already!
Benn Rosales
October 29, 2008 at 6:31 pm
New update:
Improved search functionality, excerpts, items like “twitter” or “social media” or even people. Right now, it’s on a really broad string, but we’ll be working on tailoring it to be even more specific. Enjoy.
This is part of our effort to bring the more timeless material back to the top for readers searching for specific information.
Any problems you have, please feel free to drop me a note through the submit tips button up top.
Best Wishes, and thanks again.
Tim McDonald
October 29, 2008 at 6:55 pm
Lani,
Please feel free to pick the peas out, but I like carrots! Keep up the great work!