September 2016 - Vendor Alley

Cloud MLX Webinar

September 26th, 2016

It was great seeing everyone in Las Vegas last week. And to be honest I’m still not fully recovered. : )

Anywho, Katie and I had a lot of questions about Cloud MLX and since there wasn’t really a good wifi connection in the Heart Bar we only did a few demos. As you may know Cloud MLX was named “2016 Most Innovative Technology” by Inman News. But as luck would have it we had a Cloud MLX webinar scheduled for CRMLS members this Wednesday at 9AM PT. So if you are interested in seeing what all the hype is about I wanted to give you the info to take a look.

Just click on the link below and it will get you signed up.

Or if you’d rather get a private demo, just contact Katie and she’ll set up a time.

Weekend Update Script from CMLS 2016

September 23rd, 2016

Update (9.23.16 at 9:45pm)

I’ve added the images of the slides and a video to this post.

I thought I would post my script from my “weekend update” session at CMLS 2016. Sorry for any typos…

“Hi, I’m Greg Robertson, and here’s your WEEKEND MLS UPDATE

1. Upstream announced today two key hires to help with implementation and operations.

Upstream CEO, Alex Lange in a statement said, “We think with the help of Penn & Teller we really might get this thing to work.”

2. Speaking of Upstream.

I have no real joke here, just the logo.

3. RPR announced today they found the one REALTOR using RPR to create reports.

It turned out to be the 2 year old son of Joe Lightman, a REALTOR in Spokane Washington, who had somehow managed to get at Daddy’s keyboard.

4. In other related AMP news, Marty Frame announced that in tandem with the release of AMP they will also launch a new API that will replace MLS executives.

In a statement, Mr. Frame said “It was actually a pretty easy thing to do, since no MLS execs follow business rules.”

5. This morning it was announced that Adrese Roundtree will replace Daniel Craig as the new James Bond.

It might be the only time in the film’s franchise history that the new Bond will get less ass than the actor that plays him.

6. Donald Trump threw his hat in the ring to be the next CEO of the national association of realtors.

In a statement Mr. Trump said that if he loses the general election this year, he will run to become NAR CEO.

When asked why he would like to take NAR’s top spot, Mr. Trump exclaimed “I thought the salary was fantastic!”

7. Right on the heels of Zillow’s announcement that Diverse Solutions would be sold to MarketLeader, Zillow today announced it would also be selling DotLoop to Market Leader as well.

No money was exchanged, Zillow said in a statement that the only terms of the deal was that Market Leader had to take Austin Alision and his Twitter account with him.

8. Hey did you hear that thanks to the MLS industry the people at Oxford Dictionaries announced earlier this week that they have added a new phrase?

In 2017 “Industry Relations” will be added to the Oxford Dictionary

9. CMLS CEO, Denee Evans, today announced another major partnership. This is right after CMLS announced a deal with NAR.

The Prince of Darkness. That’s right, the devil himself. Because, at this point, what’s the difference?

10. Also, after the stunning success of showing a video of alcoholics in recovery at the CMLS Gala Wednesday night CMLS announced that next year they will be adding videos showing lap band surgery and the dangers of STDs.

This way nobody will want to drink, eat or fuck at a CMLS conference ever again.

11. Hey, did you hear about the minor crisis at the SW Steakhouse at the Wynn last night?

From what I hear the famed steakhouse ran out of Silver Oak! But don’t worry the HAR staff was quickly relocated to Nobu across the street where the evening when on as planned.

12. Matrix today announced that they have changed the name of their new MLS software product.

Formally known as Matrix 360, they have changed the name to Matrix 2060 to correlate with their new release date.

13. Anyone have any idea of what this number means?

This is how many days its been since the realty alliance said the MLS industry had 10 days left.

Thank for everyone being such a good sport. Good night and have a pleasant tomorrow!

Also Freddy Sarabia (who also shot a video of my MLS Rap earlier this year) was in the audience and got a lot of my session on video. Enjoy!

Looking for a new gig?

September 19th, 2016

Exciting MLS CEO Position in Western United States

“Intermountain Multiple Listing Service (IMLS) serves approximately 5,100 real estate professionals throughout Idaho and eastern Oregon, through relationships with eight REALTOR® associations. IMLS is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Boise Regional REALTORS® (BRR) and is based in Boise, Idaho.

The company is now accepting applications for a Chief Executive Officer to replace the outgoing CEO who is a taking a position with an MLS technology company, after 11 years of service at IMLS. Prime candidates will have experience and connections in the MLS industry, and will continue delivering the outstanding services our subscribers enjoy, while also positioning the organization for future innovation and growth.

Check out this gig and others at the Vendor Alley Job Board.

The CMLS conference is next week???

September 14th, 2016

via GIPHY

I don’t know about you guys but its hard to believe CMLS conference is next week. The agenda is looking good, but I find myself wondering about other stuff like….

What lobby bar is everyone going to hang at?
Should I crash the legal seminar dressed as Elvis?
Do I hit on a soft 16, when the dealer has a 9 showing?
How many people will actually make the sessions?
Is “Sunshine” her real name?
What’s the number of a good bail bondsman?
Who’s holding?
How many days does the MLS industry actually have left? I think its less than 10.

I’m actually on the agenda this year, 8:45am Friday morning.

Start the day with a laugh when Greg Robertson, publisher of VendorAlley.com, gives a “Weekend Update” style segment of industry news, rumors, gossip and lobby bar talk.
Speaker: Greg Robertson – Co-Founder, W+R Studios
Location: Celebrity Ballroom (1-4)

So if you are still alive by then, please join me, should be fun.

Looking forward to seeing everyone next week!

Tipping point for Cali MLS consolidation?

September 13th, 2016

Gregg Larson, of Clareity Consulting, thinks so….
MLS Consolidation in Southern California – Finally?

“I recently had the privilege of being on the “MLS Symposium” program to talk about MLS trends and the future of MLS held in northern San Diego and I saw first-hand how ready the brokers there are for their MLS to merge with CRMLS. Normally I don’t discuss these types of meetings on the blog, but between the news stories about the legal conflict in San Diego and the video of the event that has been released, it seems like the right thing to do.”

The video put together by Jim Klinge (local San Diego REALTOR) is a must watch.

Jeff Lobb joins Revaluate

September 12th, 2016

Jeff Lobb Joins Team Revaluate

““We are thrilled to bring Jeff’s knowledge and background to our team. He’s known for helping brokers, brands and agents strategically grow. Additionally, his charisma, technical aptitude and drive have been evident to me for more than 10 years. We are also fortunate to be retaining the services of SparkTankMedia alongside such a good person and tremendous talent.” Said Revaluate CEO Chris Drayer.

Revaluate is one of the under the radar products that is really interesting. They’ve done a great job with the UI/UX of the product. Jeff is a great addition, he was a early supporter of Cloud CMA, which makes him pretty smart in my book ; )

Congrats!

Vendor Artifact 9.7.16 – IRIS website circa 1996

September 7th, 2016

The site actually still works => http://web.archive.org/web/19961107092217/http://irisnet.com/

“IRIS LIGHTNING for Windows is a telecommunications program designed to help real estate professionals make better use of their Multiple Listing Service. It works with all of the major MLS systems, including Moore Data’s Compass ™ and Super-Trieve ™, PRC’s Stellar ™, BORIS ™, RISCO ™, FBS ™, TRW Redi-Data ™, Data-Quick ™, or just about any other system accessible with ProComm ™ or Crosstalk ™, including regular BBS systems. It is especially useful for accessing Compass and Stellar because it gets beautiful photographs of the houses as well as the data”

Check out the “IRIS People” link and see if you recognize any names.

Powered by RPR?

September 6th, 2016

Something struck me as not quite right about this recent video from Upstream (at least I think Upstream made it). I think the video is well produced (the worse parts are anytime the Upstream logo makes an appearance). The video is kind of like one of the “Prop XX” videos you see during election times, you can’t really tell who is benefiting if it passes, “Consumers” or “Big Tobacco”!

First I find it super interesting that they are hitting on the “re-keying of data”, as Upstream’s main value proposition. The real reason (as I see it), brokers wanting things to go back to how they were in 1995, is nowhere in the messaging. It’s all about saving “significant costs” and “risk of data being entered incorrectly” now. Which I think is smart on their part.

What I don’t get is the “powered by RPR” moniker. To me RPR is just the vendor on this project. I just can’t figure out who wanted this, RPR or the peeps at Upstream?

Cui bono?

Lone Wolf lays off over 60 employees.

September 6th, 2016

After taking full control it looks like new management is making some serious cuts. This is the second cut I’m aware of. I’m told the 60 people recently let go represents over 20% of total staff. Brutal. I know a lot of brokerages depend on Lone Wolf, methinks this space is about to get a lot more competitive.

NTREIS adds TransactionDesk Suite from Instanet Solutions

September 6th, 2016

Instanet Solutions adds over 32,500 new Authentisign® and InstanetForms® subscribers

” Subscribers of North Texas Real Estate Information Systems (NTREIS) will now have the full TransactionDesk® suite as an MLS member benefit including TransactionDesk, InstanetForms, Authentisign, DocBox® along with a robust set of brokerage tools. Members will also be able to create MLS listings using InstanetForms.

The member benefit will include unlimited form creation, electronic signings, document cloud storage, etc. Members will have access to the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) forms. Those that are Texas Association of Realtors® (TAR) members will also have access to the TAR forms library. Also included is brokerage dashboard, brokerage reporting, brokerage branding, brokerage set-up and configuration tools.”

Remember when N.A.R. thought they were going to lock down the forms and transaction management space by providing zipLogix as a free member benefit? good times….good times….