Filed under 360 virtual tours, Collection of the best panoramas by on Oct 8th, 2010. Comment. 
- Image via Wikipedia
Virtual tour of properties
Don Anderson believes the future of real estate showings lies on the interwebs.
The 60-year old broker at Realty Executives has created a business called YouTours that creates detailed videos of properties for sale, providing prospective buyers and real estate agents a look before getting in their car.
"A picture is worth a thousand words, but video is worth more," Anderson said. "I believe this is the way we're going to be showing real estate."
YouTours has been a project in the making for two years. He chose the name because he wanted it to be branded. The videos are hosted on YouTube.
It takes Anderson anywhere between two and four hours to create a YouTour video.
Using a handheld camera, Anderson shoots exterior and interior video of the home. Back at the office, he narrates details about the home for buyers interested in looking at the floor plan and ultimately deciding whether it meets their needs or not.
He said he has had several good success stories, but he cautions that a YouTour video is not going to sell a house for more than its worth. Sellers tend to think it will.
"I tell them exposure is what you need if you have something to sell. If the price is too high, the exposure is going to expose that," he said.
The video will increase the odds that everyone interested will see the property and at the same time result in a full-price offer, he said.
Anderson considers each view a showing. People who have viewed the video may decide there's no reason to physically go look at a property because "they've seen it."
"Same thing happens in the real world. You've had all these showings; it's indicative the price is too high," he said.
Last month, Anderson held his first-ever virtual open house. Using the Web portal YouTube Social, Anderson can connect with people all across the globe for a viewing, allowing others to comment and chat in real time.
He expects to begin posting messages on Facebook, inviting people to come in and preview the properties. He's in the process of building his Facebook friend base, including other real estate agents he hopes will use it, too.
Anderson already is using mobile to promote the website. People text the word VIDEO to 48696. Within 30 minutes, they'll receive a link that directs them to the You-Tours page, where all currently published YouTour videos are posted by address.
There are more than 20 videos currently available to watch. Anderson hopes that one day most of the homes in the Knoxville MLS will have YouTours. He is also looking to do YouTours on entire subdivisions.
A video can cost between $600 to $900 depending on the home's square footage. Anderson said his greatest interest has been in the for sale by owners, who can select various real estate services a la carte through his website sellingmenu.com.
"YouTour is really capable of exposing a property like no other medium," he said. "We feel as these come into the market, sellers will come to expect this type of technology to market their property."
Filed under 360 virtual tours, Videos by on Oct 8th, 2010. Comment.
Top 3 Benefits Of A Flash Virtual Tour For Online Businesses
More and more companies are using the Internet to promote their products and services. In fact, the increasing sophistication of computer technology paves the way for many entrepreneurs to establish purely online businesses. If you want to compete effectively in the online market, then you have to adopt new modes of presenting your products and services. You can do this by providing 360 virtual tours for your customers. A virtual tour maximizes the potential of your website in attracting customers. Understanding the benefits of a flash virtual tour will enable you to appreciate the importance of this technology.
One of the biggest benefits that you can enjoy from a flash virtual tour is increased customer response. Visitors of your website will stay longer if you provide 360 virtual tours for them. In the online market, you will have a greater chance of success if your website can engage visitors for longer periods. By having virtual tour photography on your site, potential customers will not get bored with static photos. The 360 images that spin at a normal pace will give customers a first hand realistic view of your products and services. Because of the compelling 360 tour, site visitors and undecided customers will be enticed to further explore your website.
Increasing online sales is another big benefit that you can enjoy from a flash virtual tour. In the real estate business, websites with 360 virtual tours receive more visitors than sites with static photos only. The increased customer visit usually results to more sales. This is also true for travel websites, online hotel booking, and tourism sites. Owners of these online businesses experience increasing customer conversion within 4 weeks of implementing virtual tour photography. So if you deploy a 360 flash tour on your site, then it is highly probable that you will also enjoy increasing sales from your online business.
Lastly, a flash virtual tour is more user-friendly. This technology is compatible with 99 percent of browsers and computer platforms. The compatibility factor makes the flash 360 virtual tours the ideal format for most websites. This type of programming is superior to Java or Quick Time tours. Flash format is also faster and does not require too much server resources. Your site's server therefore will not suffer from slow downs. It also means that users of your virtual tour photography will enjoy the experience because of faster response and glitch free presentation. If you impressed your customers with a virtual tour, then they will surely buy your product or service and endorse your site to other people.
The key to create flash virtual tours is to find a competent photography or design company that specializes on this type of technology. Look for an outfit that employs professional photographers and accomplished digital graphics experts. It is also best if the design company uses the latest virtual tour software. To further boost the effectiveness of the 360 tour, you have to look for a design company that provides additional enhancements like background music, audio narration, and user-friendly flash-based controls.
Are you looking for the best Flash virtual tour design company? Visit our website today and choose the right 360 virtual tours to improve the performance of your website.
Filed under 360 virtual tours, Articles by on Sep 19th, 2010. Comment.
We’ve all seen “virtual tours” of open houses on real-estate sites. What if every location, every restaurant, store, museum, theme park ride and airport had a virtual tour on Google Maps? In three or four years that may be the case as a result of the acquisition of an Israeli company called MentorWave Technologies (or Quicksee), for approximately $10 million.
Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz first reported the acquisition yesterday.
Quicksee makes it fairly simple for individuals to create “virtual tours” of locations, things and experiences. Obviously this is directed toward Google Maps/Earth (see ideo below) but may go well beyond Maps to product tours and other applications as well.
Right now Google uses StreetView cars (or trikes) to capture exteriors and outdoor locations. The company has also been sending still photographers to document building and store interiors. Quicksee would potentially speed that process dramatically by enabling user-generated tours (which can be done today but not simply and uniformly).
Here’s how Quicksee describes itself:
Founded in late 2004, Quiksee is a privately held start-up company, established to develop, manufacture, and market comprehensive interactive media solutions utilizing its proprietary imaging technology. Our multi-disciplinary team includes scientists and engineers in the fields of new media, networking and optical technologies, and hardware/software integration. Several of our executives and researchers have past experience working in organizations such as Microsoft, Orbotech, and Medcon. Their valuable experience places Quiksee in a formidable market position and allows us to pursue the innovations we are so passionate about.
Based in Herzliya Pituach, one of Israel’s leading high-tech centers, Quiksee works closely with its business clients & media partners to provide customized immersive visual experiences designed to meet their specific requirements. Quiksee aims to become a world leader in the visual documentation market, providing state-of-the-art technologies for people and organizations looking for simple, efficient, and cost-effective visual solutions.
The video immediately below looks as though a Quicksee employee put together a demo of how Quicksee and Google Maps would integrate (perhaps to pitch the technology to Google). It gives us a bit of a glimpse into the future of Google Maps:
Boston-based Everyscape can do a version of this today with still photography. And Everyscape is set to roll out a number of partnerships in the local segment soon (ie., directories).
Microsoft has Photosynth and has demonstrated video integration and live streaming in maps. So Google won’t be the only one offering more dynamic and interactive interior photography in the not-too-distant future.
I would also fully expect Quicksee tours to be integrated to be showcased in Google Maps for Mobile as well.
Filed under 360 virtual tours, news by on Sep 14th, 2010. Comment.
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