Zillow Year-End Update and Report – A Record-Breaking 2010

I’m reporting this “LIVE” from our office in Seattle, WA today where it’s a GREAT day, the skies are crystal clear, the air is brisk and fresh, and the following updates and news is just too “HOT” not to share.

Here’s the latest update and report for those of you who have been asking me “How’s things going over at Zillow?”  I’m really excited to share that I just found out our company had a Record-Breaking 2010!  Wow, I just finished celebrating the New Year with friends and family and now it looks like I’ll have to go out and celebrate some more tonight.  Anybody out and about in the Seattle, WA area this evening?  hehe~

Our website and mobile usage hit an all-time peak in December and Zillow traffic surpassed 13 Million Unique Users Per Month.  This is very exciting news.

SEATTLE, Jan. 3 – Real estate information company Zillow Inc. wrapped up 2010 with a record-breaking traffic month, which capped a year of significant business announcements and usage milestones.  Zillow logged more than 13 million unique users* in the traditionally slow real estate month of December, the most in any month since the company’s launch in 2006. 

That represents year-over-year traffic growth of 77 percent.

Additionally, Zillow is now running the largest online real estate ad network in the country**, thanks to a partnership with Yahoo! Real Estate, which was announced in July.  Zillow sells real estate advertising for both sites and, beginning in the first quarter of 2011, will power all for-sale listings on Yahoo! Real Estate.  Zillow Inc.’s individual business units, Zillow.com®, Zillow Mobile and Zillow Mortgage Marketplace, all logged important milestones.

Additional milestones for 2010 include:

•    Zillow Mobile launched apps on Android and iPad in early 2010, in addition to continuing to operate the number-one real estate app on the iPhone. Consumers now look at homes 20,000 times per hour while using Zillow Mobile. The Zillow apps are the most popular real estate apps on iPhone, iPad and Android.

•    Zillow Inc. became profitable in 2010.

•    Former COO Spencer Rascoff was promoted to CEO of Zillow Inc. in September. He replaced Zillow co-founder Rich Barton, who remains with Zillow as executive chairman.

•    There are nearly 100 million homes in Zillow’s database of all homes; 4 million are for sale and more than 170,000 are for rent.

•    Zillow in September announced a partnership with Apartments.com, which brought Apartments.com’s national database of rental listings to Zillow.com and Zillow Mobile.

•    Zillow Mortgage Marketplace became Zillow Inc.’s fastest-growing business, receiving nearly 300,000 consumer loan requests per month.

•    Data from Zillow’s real estate economics arm, including the Zillow Home Value Index, was widely used by academic and government institutions during 2010. Zillow data appeared in reports by the Congressional Oversight Panel, several branches of the Federal Reserve and numerous academic institutions.

“The past year has been a monumental one for Zillow,” said Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff. “We accomplished many of our goals.  Zillow is profitable and, thanks to innovations and partnerships like the one we have with Yahoo! Real Estate, we’re an even greater resource for consumers and real estate professionals alike. We’re looking forward to celebrating our fifth anniversary in 2011 with anticipation and high hopes for the year to come.”

Now I’d love to be able to say that all this success is because I joined the Zillow team, but we all know that would be a big fib. However,  I do look forward to 2011 being a prosperous year for us all.  I’m confident that my contributions, as small as they may be will have a significant and measurable impact on next years 2011 report and year-end update.

“How’s things going over at Zillow?” I’d have to say fabulous, these are very exciting times! 🙂

What is Zillow? For those of you who may not know:

Zillow Inc. is a real estate information company with a marketplace where homeowners, buyers, sellers, renters, real estate agents and mortgage professionals find and share vital information about homes and mortgages. Launched in early 2006 with Zestimate® home values and data on millions of U.S. homes, Zillow has since added homes for sale and homes for rent, a directory of real estate and lending professionals, Zillow Advice, Zillow Mobile apps and Zillow Mortgage Marketplace. One of the most-visited U.S. real estate websites, with more than 13 million unique visitors per month, Zillow’s goal is to help people become smarter about homes and real estate in every stage of their lives — home buying, selling, renting, remodeling and financing.  The company is headquartered in Seattle.

* Unique users to Zillow are measured by Omniture, December 2010.
** The Zillow/Yahoo! Real Estate Network was the most-visited real estate entity (including both networks and individual websites) as measured by comScore Media Metrix Key Measures – Ranked Category, November 2010.

How Big Is Twitter?

How Big is Twitter? This is without a doubt the largest “Twitter related” graphic I have ever embedded into an ActiveRain blog post. If you printed twitter today, here’s some great comparisons of what that might look like with a really good printer! LOL~ I’m not sure how accurate this comparison is, but I did find this very interesting.

Infographic by Cartridge Save

My first tip and suggestion for 2011? DON’T PRINT Twitter! I’d love to see a similar comparison for someone considering printing Facebook, I’m willing to bet that it would most likely consume the earth’s entire source of paper and require every printer cartridge on the planet?!?

Just some food for thought….

If you’re looking for some “useful” Twitter facts & tips, here’s a site with nearly 25,000 people contributing and sharing their ideas with each other. I have found some great tips and articles here: TFollower.com

A Happy New Year – Make That Your Priority and Resolution

To all my friends and family here at ActiveRain,

One of the things that really makes each year so special is that I am so blessed to have some of the best relationships and get to be associated with some of the best people on the planet earth… YOU!

As 2010 comes to a close, I want to personally take a moment to say “thank you” for your business and your valued friendships.  I will never take them for granted.  It’s very rewarding and comforting to reflect on the continued trust and support you have placed in myself and my companies.

There’s so much to be grateful for this year. Highest on my list is YOU, my family, my customers and friends.

I trust that 2011 will bring you all great joy and happiness, health and wealth, and most of all, the thing that should mean the most to you… closer to your family and dearest friends.  There’s nothing on earth we get to take with us when it’s all said and done, but our relationships will live on in our hearts and spirits forever.

May you continue to be inspired, motivated, and focused on the goal to reach for and… “Achieve Your Dreams.”

Thank you, and I wish you all a very safe, prosperous, and wonderful year in 2011.

Interactive Youtube Video – Technology That Makes You Play & Think

This is one of the first interactive videos on Youtube, so what’s next?

Here’s an interactive video on Youtube that allows the viewer to play the piano and control the guitar player.  My first thought was, “How did they do this?” My second thought was, “What song shall I play?”  But my third thought was, “How can this cool video technology be used in our business, or any business for that matter?”  This may seem a bit far-fetched but if someone can assign the keys on your computer keyboard to do specific functions in their video, imagine the possibilities of how this might work for Real Estate in the future?

Here’s another cool video that let’s you interact and play.

So there’s 26 Letters and 10 numbers creating 36 potential keyboard video marketing opportunities?

What if the keystroke “V” offered a virtual video tour of the home, maybe “A” could give an aerial view of the neighborhood, or “S” search all the homes available in the neighborhood?  I can see how allowing folks to interact with your videos could become a huge marketing/advertising opportunity and still be fun at the same time.

In the meantime, if you’re one of the skeptics out there who thinks this will never happen, hold everything.  Creating an interactive Youtube channel that allows viewers to do more than just watch your videos is already here, you better fasten your seat-belt.  Take a look what one Bay Area Real Estate office is already doing with their Youtube Channel.  Make sure you check out the tabs and the interactive options available.

Finding ways to use technology to better serve your business (and your customers needs) is one of my favorite ways to contribute to this network.  If you’re looking for ways to stay ahead of competitors, use technology to increase your online potential, and trying to find ways and tools to help improve your business in 2011, then stay tuned…

I’ll be back next year to continue my journey sharing my explorations and findings with you here in the rain.

Enjoy, have a safe and Happy Holiday season~

WEEKend FUNfact – He Was The First One To….

Post a video up on Youtube!  It’s true, this weekend’s fun fact is brought to you by my son Brandon, it’s the very first video ever posted on Youtube.  What I found even more interesting is that Brandon went back to the very first comments to see what they said….

@Zyrexoid – you should have bought stock!

This got me to thinking…  Do you know who posted the first blog post on ActiveRain, or who had the very first listing on Zillow?  What lucky person was the first to add a photo to Flickr, or even better yet, who was the first member on Facebook?  Who sent out the first tweet or created the first LinkedIn profile?

If you really want to have some fun in the rain, go to any blogger on AR and read their very first blog post, it’s fun to see where folks have come from and how much they have grown.  Start with Jon Washburn, Bob Stewart, Kerrie Greenhalgh, and Doug Ching.  Then go to your favorite blogs and those you subscribe to here on AR and leave them a comment on their very first blog post.  Bring those posts back to life… (haha) 

Have some fun, you deserve it.  I bet many of you can’t remember the “title” of your first post on ActiveRain?!? 

Have a FUN and GREAT weekend!  🙂

Yahoo! Video Going Bye-Bye, Hello Flickr Video

If you’re into video like me and you’ve posted or hosted videos on Yahoo! Video, you might want to read the following message.  This was sent to me earlier since I have content on their site, I just wanted to give everyone a heads-up.  If you know anyone esle who might have videos up on Yahoo, it’s not too late to get them this message.  They have until 3/14/2011.  If folks don’t know about this, they’ll lose their videos.

“Dear Yahoo! Video user,

After careful consideration, we will be removing all general user-generated content upload capability and user-uploaded video from Yahoo! Video. As a result, your videos, user profiles, ratings, favorites, and playlists will no longer be available after March 14, 2011. User video content from Yahoo! Video that remains embedded on third party sites will no longer be playable after March 14, 2011.

Available on your profile page is a software utility that will allow you to download the videos you have uploaded to Yahoo! Video to your computer through March 14, 2011. You can find your profile by clicking on the ‘My Video’ tab or going to http://video.yahoo.com/mypage

Once you download your videos, you may choose to upload them to another site such as Flickr, which now allows video uploads. You can find out more here: http://www.flickr.com/explore/video.

Thanks for your understanding and thanks for being a part of Yahoo! Video.
If you have any questions about this change, please visit our FAQ section, or contact Customer Care.”

The Yahoo! Video Team

Getting the word out and helping others is what the Internet, Blogging, and Social Media is all about.  I’d feel guilty if I didn’t post this on my AR Blog and especially if some of you lost your videos.  So you can either go on over to yahoo video right now, save your stuff, or you can go on about your day. 

Thanks for stopping by and reading.  Happy Holidays~

Have You Asked For Your Endorsements Yet?

We recently launched our new agent reviews and endorsements feature on Zillow and many agents have come out of the gate fast and hard. Thousands of agents have already requested reviews from past and current clients. The result? Many  Hundreds of agents are getting 5-star ratings tacked onto their profiles.

Compare these two profiles on Zillow:

a. An agent with no reviews…

b. An agent with glowing reviews…

Get started now. Build your business and promote yourself in front of millions of home buyers and sellers on Zillow who use reviews and endorsements to find the brightest and best agents out there – YOU!  If you’re not yet convinced about the power of online reviews, you can get more info by visiting our Agent Reviews FAQ page. 

Bottom line?  You give great service but are too humble to brag about it, so let others do it for you!!

> Start requesting your reviews <

It's Not About Your Company – It's ALL About Your People

We just returned home from Seattle, WA where my wife and I spent 3 days and two nights at the Hotel 1000, a spectacular retro/modern hotel and spa located downtown.  We were invited to attend the Zillow Company Holiday party and I was fortunate to also attend my first Z-talk (a company meeting) which is like a state-of-the-division conference.  Man, what a diverse and intelligent group of people. 

There were folks from Seattle, Iowa, Idaho, Chicago, SF and NY…. it was awesome!

I really had no idea how many people worked behind the scenes for Zillow until this past week. WOW!

  

Can you spot my green seat?  lol~  What an honor it was to be included at the Z-talk.  I’ve never seen or been surrounded by a more passionate and inspirational group of people who make up the Zillow culture and team.  It’s truly a privilege to be part of this great company.  Or as Spencer would say, “a Zillowite!”  My wife is still calling me BradZilla  (thanks alot TLW)  🙂

Any company can create a business model, offer decent services and products, and just show up for work everyday, but what really turns a good company into a GREAT company?  I believe that is determined and defined by what differentiates their people, their focus, and their shared passion for their clients, potential customers, and their own success.  Always seeking to do more and to do it better.  I’m proud that Zillow sets very high standards in all arenas.

Being the new kids on the block, we were wondering what it would be like attending our first company Holiday party and social gathering?  You know, a shy and quiet kinda guy like me (yeah right) surrounded by great tech gurus and experts?  Rubbing elbows with many of those whom have made this company a technology and industry leader? 

Seriously, my wife and I were treated just like family.  It was like we had always been there.

Everyone made us feel so warm and welcomed, never once did we feel out of place or in bad company.

Our take away?  No matter what you may think of any company or business out there, remember that those companies are made up of people. Real people just like you and I.  They have families, are committed to their jobs, and are loyal to their leadership.  These are just some of the people that made our stay and visit to Seattle one of the best times ever. 

   

   

   

   

   

more photos available on flickr photostream

My wife and I want to thank the entire Zillow family for their warm and sincere welcome, their generosity and hospitality, and most of all, for making us feel like we belong.  These are some of the nicest and funnest people, we’re proud to be associated with such a fine group.

 

We’ll always extend that same warmth and hospitality to all our fellow colleagues, and our new found friends.

~ Happy Holidays ~

1001 Free Twitter Apps and Services

I think the title says it all, so there’s no need for any intro to this post.

There’s more here than you’ll ever need or use, but you’ll have fun reviewing and checking some of these out. There’s some pretty cool stuff that I know some of you have never seen, you’ll like, and most likely use. Enjoy~

If It Isn’t Here, It Probably Doesn’t Exist!

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Having access to the top 10 of “anything” is great information to know and have. Stumbling across the top 100 of something is evidence that someone spent a great deal of time and effort to provide some valuable research and information. However, 1001 free Twitter apps and services might be the only post you’ll ever need for Twitter.

Google's New In-Page Analytics – How Do You Use Stats?

Google Analytics – New In-Page Analysis and Advanced Segments

These are some of the most powerful tools on the web when it comes to analyzing your blogs and sites. Monitoring the traffic and visitors your content attracts is very useful.  You’ve created some great Blogs and webpages, added some of the coolest links and tools known to man (in your opinion…lol~) but what items and things are people really searching for, then clicking on when they find them? 

How are your visitors using your blog or site?  Which products are they clicking on?  Which options are they really using?  How are they finding you and then navigating around the page or pages?  C’mon, wouldn’t everyone want to know? Of course they would. I just took a look at one of my sites to see what In-page analytics would look like?  I have to admit that it’s much easier to get an overall overview with this new feature.

Charts and graphs can be difficult at times to digest, maybe more folks will use these tools now.

The new Google In-page analytics makes it much easier to review than the existing graphs and charts.  We may think that the hyper-links and anchor text in our blogs and websites are the greatest and coolest, or that they are placed properly on the page or layout, but what if there were a way to improve your clicks, views, and increase your business by analyzing your stats and traffic? That’s exactly why I wanted to share this with you.

Google analytics has been around for quite some time and the Analytic team at Google must keep improving this tool if they want to stay around too. One thing I think many of us forget is that just because a product or tool exists and we’ve been using it for some time, there are usually research and development teams in the background continually trying to improve and make these tools and products better.

Creating great sites, blogs and content is only part of the challenge with today’s on-line marketing and advertising. Understanding what your targeted audience is looking for, finding, and then utilizing is an even more challenging task. Tools like Google Analytics make it so much easier to keep refining your content and adjusting things to get the maximum amount of traffic, and continue to provide the best value from your site.  

“Here’s another great tool and Google feature that may help you “analyze” your way to on-line success.”