Super Bowl XLIV Contest Winners

By Kori Covrigaru | February 17th, 2010 | No Comments » Categories: Discounts, Pure Fun

Last week, PlanOmatic held a contest to see who could predict the Super Bowl winner and the exact total score of the game. If you picked the Saints, then you’re a winner like Drew Brees. You get a 15% discount on your next order.

The following participants picked the Saints AND the exact total score of 48. Congratulations, you win a free PhotoPlan up to 2,000 sq. ft.

• Ben Lee of Coldwell Banker, Beverly Hills, CA
• Tom Ellens of Realty Executives Platinum Grp, Grand Rapids, MI
• Patricia Spodick of William Raveis, Stratford, CT

Thank you to all the participants. This was by far the most exciting PlanOmatic contest we have ever held.

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Bigger Is Not Always Better (URL’s, That Is)

By Kori Covrigaru | February 16th, 2010 | No Comments » Categories: All, Social Media

I am pleased to announce that PlanOmatic released a short URL redirect for all our tours today. Instead of using a service such as http://bit.ly for twitter posts, you may now use the new PlanOmatic short domain. For example, http://pom.tc/4597 will now forward to http://www.planomatic.com/4597. Neat and clean, right?

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Printing Photos @ 300dpi – Pixel Size vs. Print Size

By Kori Covrigaru | February 9th, 2010 | No Comments » Categories: All, Photography

It’s a tough topic to understand. Shoot, took me a while to finally figure it out. But when I did, it became so simple. Here are the three (required) determining factors:

Pixel size of the photo
DPI (dots per inch), a measure of print quality
Physical size of the print

Asking “Do you shoot at 300dpi?” is similar to asking a bus driver if it’s going to be a long ride… Compared to what? Are you taking the bus home from work, or are you taking a bus from New York to Los Angeles? It’s like asking a cook if they made enough food to feed a classroom… Is it a college classroom with 350 grown adults, or is it my 11 year old brother’s classroom of 25 children?

Here is an example of a question that can be answered:
“Am I going to be able to print this photo in 5×7 at 300dpi?”
And the answer depends on the pixel size of the original photo.

Pixel size of the photo depends on the camera used to take it, and the settings on the camera at the time the photo was taken. Once the photo has been taken, there is nothing you can do to “enlarge” it beyond its capabilities. You can only reduce the print size from that point on.

I’ve been referring to this website to calculate pixel to print size. For more in-depth pixel to DPI explanation, visit this link.

Pixel sizes can range from 640×480 to 4752×3168 and higher. The point is that you can print any photo at 300dpi. Here are some numeric examples:

Pixel to Print Size @ 300dpi:
640×480 – 2.13 in. x 1.6 in.
1600×1200 – 5.33 in. x 4 in.
4752×3168 – 15.84 in. x 10.56 in.

There are many other factors that can affect the quality of a printed photo. This is just a basic pixel to print size explanation. I hope it clears up some of your confusion.

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PlanOmatic Popular This Week

By Kori Covrigaru | January 25th, 2010 | 1 Comment » Categories: In the News, Inman Connect, Real Estate

This past week, PlanOmatic was mentioned by two very well respected companies in the real estate industry.


Marc, Joel and Brian of 1000Watt Consulting released the 1000Watt Index last week. They describe it as “The comprehensive guide to real estate technology”. In this publication, you can find tech companies in categories ranging from iPhone apps to Listing Syndication to Slideshows/Virtual Tours (where you can find PlanOmatic). This index is a larger, more detailed version of the retired 1000Watt “Real Estate 2.0 Mind Map”, which now forwards to the new index. PlanOmatic was included in that publication as well.

Thank you to the 1000Watt team for providing the real estate community with yet another helpful resource in this confusing and ever changing technology world.

Following Inman Real Estate Connect ‘10 in NYC, PlanOmatic was featured in an Inman News article, authored by Andrea V. Brambila. The article, “Real estate startups hawk their wares“, summarizes the companies featured in Start-Up Alley at the conference. This article can only be read in its entirety with the subscription of an Inman Premium Membership. Below is a quote from the article:

For sellers who prefer to stand out through photos, PlanOmatic offers an interactive, dimensionally correct, 3-D floor plan of their property with photos scattered throughout and viewed by clicking on camera icons.

Thanks to Inman for putting on another excellent conference, and for including PlanOmatic in this article.

~ Kori Covrigaru
@KoriCov
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Free Tour Giveaway Winners

By Kori Covrigaru | January 20th, 2010 | No Comments » Categories: All

Congratulations to the winners from last week’s PlanOmatic Free Tour Giveaway:

  • Robert Freedman of Remax Marquee Partner, Manhattan Beach, CA
  • Robert Lydzinski of The Keys Company, Pembroke Pines, FL
  • Jim Cloud of Coldwell Banker AJS Schmidt, Grand Rapids, MI
  • David Gunderman of Alain Pinel Realtor, Alameda, CA
  • Sue Crawford of Coldwell Banker, Menlo Park, CA
  • Carol Weir of William Raveis Real Estate, Southport, CT

If you’re wondering why you had no idea about our infrequent giveaway, feel free to ask.

Thanks to all the participants. Keep in mind that everyone is a winner. If you are reading this email, take 10% off your next PlanOmatic PhotoPlan order.

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Live from Inman Connect NYC

By Kori Covrigaru | January 13th, 2010 | 1 Comment » Categories: All

I’m reporting live from New York City at Inman Real Estate Connect. Already, we’ve met some great people, attended some very interesting workshops, and don’t let me get started on this city. We just stepped out of an interview with Craig Newmark, founder and CEO of Craigslist. Craig is forecasting that their site is getting just over 50 million unique visits per month, with over 1 million new listings added per day. Prior to that, Brad Inman had some great insight regarding the state of the economy, and the real estate market for 2010.

I’m taking a short breather before we go back and turn into real bar tenders. That’s right, the Inman crew decided to provide all of the sponsors with beer and wine for happy hour. They claim this will decrease the wait time for a cocktail, however I believe they have ulterior motives. If you happen to be at Connect, please stop by. PlanOmatic is at booth S2, just outside the Westside Ballroom.

The PlanOmatic Booth

Kori

–
Kori Covrigaru, CEO
@KoriCov
Facebook Me

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PlanOmatic Free Tour Giveaway

By Kori Covrigaru | January 6th, 2010 | No Comments » Categories: All, Discounts

Entering this drawing won’t be as hard as pulling teeth, but will be just as rewarding :)

PlanOmatic is starting off your 2010 on the right track. This latest promotion is for a free PhotoPlan (full-service floor plans & photography). It’s important to know that everyone is a winner. Enter the drawing and you automatically receive 10% off your next PlanOmatic PhotoPlan order!

To enter this drawing, provide us with your name, brokerage and phone number via one of the following channels:

1. Email info@planomatic.com. Use “PlanOmatic Giveaway” in the subject.
2. Comment on our Facebook Fan Page. Funny comments are welcome.
3. Re-tweet this blog post using the green button above on the right.

We are giving away 5 free PhotoPlans up to 2,000 sq. ft. to 5 random participants in our full-service areas. The drawing will take place this Friday, January 8th, 2010 at 5 PM PST.

Good luck, and we look forward to seeing you win.

Kori

Kori Covrigaru | CEO
Direct: 305-432-3839
@KoriCov
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Why Inman Connect is a MUST – Discount

By Kori Covrigaru | January 4th, 2010 | No Comments » Categories: All, Discounts, Inman Connect, Social Media
Meeting and greeting at Inman.

Meeting and greeting at Inman.

Inman is a MUST for PlanOmatic. We wouldn’t be where we are today without the knowledge and experiences from each conference we have previously attended, or sponsored. That’s why I urge you to do the same. This is the best way to develop your business, cultivate ideas, and meet, listen and engage with some incredible people, whether just bumping into them in the hallway, or listening to their presentations. PlanOmatic is sponsoring the event in the Start-Up Alley section. You can find us at booth S2, where you can meet Aaron Rose, VP of Sales (pictured on the left), Chad Gagnon, Production Manager (pictured on the right) and myself, Kori Covrigaru, CEO (photographer).

The folks at Inman were kind enough to provide PlanOmatic with a $100 discount coupon code to distribute to our readers and clients. Click the image below to register, and enter the code “PlanOmatic” to save $100 on your ticket. Believe me, this event is worth much more than what Inman is charging when it comes to the value, and the influence this event and the people will have on your business.

Inman Banner

We hope to see you there. Let us know if you will be attending.

Best,

Kori

Kori Covrigaru, CEO
Facebook Me
Tweet Me: @KoriCov

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“This is the way all tours will be soon!” (Mobile)

By Kori Covrigaru | October 30th, 2009 | No Comments » Categories: In the News, Mobile, Real Estate, iPhone

The quote in the title is from a blog post by Larry Lohrman, author at Photography For Real Estate Blog.  In that blog post, they talk about the PlanOmatic PhotoPlan Mobile, the first interactive floor plan & photography virtual tour to be optimized for a mobile device.

We came out with this feature in April ‘09, and have enjoyed its success, both based on client feedback, and actual use.  Below are some of the many benefits the PhotoPlan Mobile features:

  • The ability to interact with the property’s floor plan, giving more realistic views of the property photos
  • Gallery mode shows photos/floor plans of the property in large, high quality format
  • Call the listing agent directly with the tap of the screen, along with other contact info
  • Navigate directly to the property via Google Maps app
  • One virtual tour link is recognized by both desktop computers, as well as iPhones (We are currently working on other mobile platforms, so stay tuned)

To read more about the PhotoPlan Mobile, and it’s features, please visit our press release.

PhotoPlan Mobile Landing Page PhotoPlan Mobile Photo Gallery
PhotoPlan Mobile Floor Plan PhotoPlan Mobile Agent Page

I have to agree with Larry on this one.  This WILL be the future of virtual tours.

Imagine a world where a potential buyer standing outside a home for sale, visits the website displayed on the rider sign.  Instantly, they have access to property photos, floor plans, price, beds/baths and agent contact information.  What do people currently do when they find themselves in this situation?  Do they write down the web address on a notepad and pen they conveniently brought on their walk, and visit the site at home on their desktop computer?

Mobile access dramatically improves overall exposure for a listing, the listing agent, and makes the mobile real estate search experience, easy, fun and realistic.  Not to mention, it’s not a bad listing tool to present to sellers.  This stuff impresses pretty much anyone.

The idea that mobile real estate marketing will soon be common practice is becoming apparent with each day that goes by.

Are your virtual tours viewable on mobile devices? Have you seen other examples of mobile virtual tours (besides YouTube or video)? Please share.

~ Kori Covrigaru
@KoriCov

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Social Media Worlds Collide

By Kori Covrigaru | September 23rd, 2009 | No Comments » Categories: Social Media, facebook

George’s worlds collide in the Seinfeld scene above.   “If Relationship George walks through this door, he will KILL Independent George .”

So I thought the case would be for me and social media.  I am happy to say I was terribly wrong.

My age: 26
My facebook activated: 2004
Number of rated R/X photos and comments: Your guess is as good as mine…

This has been my dilemma for the past couple years since the real estate industry decided to take on social media.

How on earth can I share my facebook account with these people?  The very people I strive to instill confidence in me and PlanOmatic on a daily basis.  Surely, seeing photos of me screaming at the top of my lungs at my fraternity house in 2004 will eat away at my professional reputation.  Surely, my clients will think I’m a joke… Or will they?

Earlier this summer I caved.  That’s right.  I said “caved”.  I use this term because facebook has always been my shelter.  My alternative reality where it didn’t matter what I said, or what I was doing.  A world where my business didn’t follow me, and no one but my friends and family judged me.  It didn’t matter that I was doing a keg-stand in a photo album named “Black-Out Sunday.”

This world is over:

College Senior Year Roommates
College Senior Year Roommates

A new world is born:

Inman Real Estate Connect San Francisco 2009
Inman Real Estate Connect San Francisco 2009

I sat down to lunch with a relatively new friend earlier this summer.  I explained to him my “situation.”  He was baffled and looked at me as if I was being ridiculous.  From my best recollection, his response went something like: “What do you mean you don’t want them to see your photos?  You mean, you don’t want your clients and colleagues to know who you are?”  to which I replied “But what if I happen to be in an album where people are doing, say,  illegal things?”  to which he replied “If they recognize what it is, they’ve probably done it.”    It occurred to me then that he was right.  Who was I hiding from?  We’re all human in this industry.  That’s what I love about it.

So, here I am, ready and hoping to network with others in real estate on facebook.  I haven’t censored my history.  I haven’t turned on any new privacy settings.  It’s me in the raw.  Kori Covrigaru.  The same Kori who had “fun” in college.  The same Kori who is now CEO of PlanOmatic.  I hope you like me.

Facebook is a marvel, and has changed the way people interact with each other.  It’s been such a good, fun tool in my social life.  It would be a great shame not to use it for business.  Who knows, I might even make a new friend or two :)

How about you? Any social media world dilemmas?  Ever judge someone based on their profile?  Please share your thoughts and experiences.

~ Kori Covrigaru
@KoriCov
Facebook Me

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