SO MANY
WEB SITES . . . . . .SO LITTLE MEANINGFUL INFORMATION
Charles Hanes -- Feb 13, 2008
I’ve been marketing and selling Toronto condo now for almost three decades and
I’ve been pioneering digital real estate for two of them having produced an
interactive multimedia CD-ROM (the best artistic commercial application that I have ever
created) back in 1991 to aid Hong Kong residents in emigrating and investing their money
in Toronto!
This CD-ROM was done in dos which was the ONLY operating system for home computers at the
time. We had no mold of a previous endeavor to copy as New Media actually was new at that
time. As a digital artist I am extremely disappointed with the Internet. Back in those
days there was no Internet. Actually there was no graphics on computers. Just a dark
screen with little green letters and a blinking curser.
When the market crashed in 1989 I knew I had to come up with something new and unique. I
had always balanced my condo career with music, video and television production, most of
which lost money but I loved the lifestyle and the losses could always be offset with
income from condos.
Years later came Windows and that made the process much easier and when the ability to
burn your own CD-ROM’s was introduced (this all sounds archaic doesn’t it) that
connected the dots for me! As a CD-ROM producer I believed that the actual disk gave you a
direct connection with your prospective buyer and, from a marketing perspective, that was
good. The obvious limitation of the disc was handling and distribution.
When the World Wide Web, hyped as the Superhighway came along I was producing custom
commercial interactive multimedia CD-ROM applications for the travel and tourism industry
during the recovering years of the condo industry. The culturally rich “media”
of CD-ROM, from an artistic perspective totally overwhelmed the perceived outreach of this
new medium for communication (“the Internet”).
As someone involved in this media before it actually existed it disappoints me to see how
disappointing the Internet is. It was proclaimed to rid the world of cutting down massive
forests of trees to fill the apparent insatiable appetite for the “written word”
and rhetoric like “paperless society” was used to promote, hype and advertise
the “Brave New World in communications”.
Well, today it has been published that the average email (paperless communication) gets
printed and photocopied over a dozen time! So much for paperless societies! The Internet
was supposed to put “Libraries into your hands”! Have you tried to use the
Internet to buy a condo?
Having custom designed simplycondos.com to be simple to use (“simply condos”)
and to reflect it’s purpose in it’s name, I am continually flattered to receive
rave reviews on the functionality an practicality of my web site. I believe in the Field
of Dreams theory : “Build it and they will come” and I’ve never been
hesitant to do the labour to build something meaningful. If simply condos.com has proven
anything, it is that it is meaningful!
Meaningful information however, is not always enough so we build in a number of very
unique benefits to our users. We give you actual photographs of all of the condo buildings
and position each of them on a simple map. Yes, I know Realtor.com (for example)
integrates maps but I have just spent almost a month trying to buy a Florida condo using
Realtor.com and I could not be more frustrated and/or |
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disappointed. When
you think of the millions of dollars invested in this “Referral Service For Realtors
with Listings” you’ve got to just shake your head!
I understand that this type of public information site works from a “techi”
point of view. I’ve never been caught up with technology as my “thing” is
building useable and functional “applications” that deliver meaningful
information within this highly specialized niche market of residential condominiums within
the overall body of real estate.
Condo buyers and investors have got to become aware of the big fishing game that is built
in to the condo sales industry. Developers hire “top gun” Realtors
(“closers”) to man their sales sites and work with local newspapers and
magazines (most of whom allow the developer to create their own editorial looking pages
for insert at astronomical fees). In the old days, newspapers, radio stations, television
stations and magazines had to differentiate between editorial and advertising but a quick
glance at CNN will tell you that those days are long gone!
I believe in making available all of the information and educating my visitor at the web
site to enable you to be sure that you are making your own “informed decisions”.
I do not allow advertising on my web site even though I receive frequent invitations to
buy advertising specifically because I want to keep simply condos.com simply condo
information. I do so, anticipating that you will respect the major underwriting required
to operate a site of this magnitude and that you will reciprocate by Registering with me
for my FREE Buyer Agency services.
So, here I am, like all buyers and investors of Florida condos, left to emailing Florida
Realtors and waiting to hear back from them. I knew right down to the exact street on
which I wanted to buy (it’s actually right on a gold course in Boca Raton) as
I’m trying to buy close to a very good life long friend of mine.
I found 3 townhouses and the one that appealed to me did not have any email capability. My
total choice to access information was so “old world” that it actually threw a
curve at me. Isn’t the idea of finding a condo on the internet to link with the
information source “on demand”! I called only to be met by more “old
world” technology voice mail (my cell is on all the time). About a week later, after
I had contacted a friend of mine in the area to take care of it for me as my
“Buyer’s Agent” (you always want your own agent working solely on your
behalf and obligated to “confidentiality”, “accountability” and
“full disclosure” to you. The Seller’s agent owes you none of these!) I
received a phone call from the agent who promised to send me the information by fax but,
no fax ever arrived!
The future of the condo industry is so not “old world” that those Realtors not
on the “cutting edge” of this technology simply will not “cut it”! At
simplycondo.com, we’ve been the cutting edge since before the introduction of
Windows, the Internet, and/or the World Wide Web! We are about to set a new milestone in
Internet television so be sure to stay tuned in.
I welcome your collective and individual input and suggestions and would like to ask you
to refer this site to all of your friends and acquaintances even if they are not
contemplating buying a condo. If they are going to live in Toronto any time in the future
they will be looking for a condo.
The bottom line is that I cannot explain why so many web sites but so little meaningful
information. I’m about to change that in Florida and other key American destinations
but launching simplycondo.com working with premier Realtors in each market to bring you
consistent meaningful information (“industry insider information”) from within
each market.
Be sure to tune in regularly. For now, that’s it. I’m Charles Hanes |
