If you are a real estate professional and a blogger… this post is for you!

In case you are not yet familiar with the term “widget”…

What is a Widget?

According to Wordpress.com…
A Widget is a fancy word for tools or content that you can add, arrange, and remove from the sidebars of your blog. Widgets make it easy to customize the content of your blog sidebar – the part of your blog to the left, right or sometimes top or bottom of your main content. So long as you’re running a widget enabled theme, you can customize what goes into those sidebars.

Here are the best real estate-related widgets I have come across…so far:  (Do you know of a great RE widget to add to this list?  Tell us about it in the comments.)

Zillow

• New Local Market Explorer Wordpress Plugin – Creates “City Pages” based on a mashup of these services -  Zillow market stats and info, Yelp, Walk Score, Flickr, School Data from Education.com. The plugin does not support neighborhoods or ZIP codes – Zillow is working on that for next version.

• Here’s the LME widget in action – either click on the box in the sidebar or here:
  

• Real Estate & Mortgage Widgets – Make sure you have a Zillow Profile and you can Co-Brand these widgets for your site.  Zillow has a myriad of widgets to choose from including:  Mortgage Calculators and rates, Your Listings, Recently Solds, and some new ones for Home Buyer Tax Credit and Loan Modification qualifiers.

vFlyer

• vFlyer has the best options for displaying your listings on your site. Slideshows, Galleries, Flyers and More

Trulia

• Trulia has several widgets to incorporate into your blog or website. Click here for the page with all the Trulia widgets, screenshots and downloads.

Or here they are listed individually:

Related posts:

1. Top 15 Real Estate Marketing & Industry Blogs
2. Zillow to Power Yahoo Real Estate
3. Top 50 Blogs on Real Estate Industry Trends and Topics

Related posts:

1. Top 15 Real Estate Marketing & Industry Blogs
2. Top 50 Blogs on Real Estate Industry Trends and Topics
3. Top Widgets for Real Estate Blogs

This is my current list of  the best blogs covering the real estate industry, blogging, marketing, technology and news… in no particular order – they are all great!

1. Transparent Real Estate – Pat Kitano blogs on real estate industry and technology issues.

2. The Real Estate Tomato – Jim Cronin’s blog is packed with blogging tips, advice and strategies.  RE Tomato also builds custom real estate blogs.

3. The Future of Real Estate Marketing – Joel Burslem and contributors blog on real estate web 2.0 and marketing.

4. Bloodhound Blog – Greg Swann leads the way with this popular, collaborative, cutting-edge blog on the real estate industry and more.

5. Inman News – Brad Inman and the Inman Team provide real estate industry news, an informative blog, and network of real estate bloggers and professionals.

6. Real Blogging – Another collaborative blog and real estate community with posts on key real estate topics.

7.  AgentGenius – the first multi-author real estate magazine designed by and for real estate agents nation wide.

8. My Tech Opinion – Technology for Real Estate – A blog on all things techie as they relate to the real estate business.

9. RISMedia – Articles on real estate news, industry, business development, technology and issues.

10. The Future of Real Estate Technology - A blog focused on technology and real estate.

11. Real Estate Marketing Blog – A blog about real estate online marketing and blogging.

12. Dustin Luther’s 4realz.net – Social Media Marketing, Technology, Speaking and Consulting blog

13. GeekEstate Blog – founded by Zillow.com as a resource for real estate professionals who want to learn more about how they can grow their business through smart use of technology.

14.  Zillow Blog – Real estate news, info from Zillow

15. Trulia Blog – Trulia’s blog on real estate market, industry, news

Share your favorites.  Post a comment to continue the conversation and the list…

Related posts:

1. Top 50 Blogs on Real Estate Industry Trends and Topics
2. Lists of Real Estate Blogs and Resources
3. Top Widgets for Real Estate Blogs

2008 Rebarcamp… Blogging from ReBarCamp in San Francisco… 120+ participants, lots of energy, networking, great conversations on a variety of topics (from Foreclosures 2.0 to everything blogging and social networks).

An informative and thought-provoking session entitled: “What are the 5 Social Networks Every Agent Should Participate In?”   brought out some key points to explore before deciding what social networks to join.

1. What is your objective, outcome, goal? And it should not just be about the sale!  The power of social networking is connecting with others and building relationships.  It’s about the community and sharing.  It’s about you being authentic and transparent and not just another salesperson.  The same basic principles of traditional networking groups apply to online networking – it’s about meeting people, having a conversation and socializing!

2. Find social networks that fit your lifestyle, hobbies and passions. What do you like to do?  What are your interests?  Real Estate Agent Teresa Boardman is an avid photographer.  She shared her success with Flickr – using photos in her blog and being actively involved in the Flickr community.  She goes on group photo walks set up by local members, for example.  For Teresa, it’s all about meeting people, building the trust and relationship first – sales and listings will be the ultimate result.

3. Leverage the power of your profile.  All of these networks have a profile – complete it fully!  This is your opportunity for people to get to know something about you right away.

4. Keep it Local. Research and join social networks that have a local connection.  You could join Yelp.com and contribute reviews of local restaurants or businesses for example.  Or, join a Meetup.com group (or start one) that you are interested in to meet new people and build community.

By the way, the consensus from the group to answer the initial question of which 5 Networks to participate in…

1. LinkedIn – the best professional, business social network; online resume service
2. Facebook – started out as a college crowd network and has really grown up; stay connected with your groups and contacts
3. Flickr – share photos – including your listings – make sure to optimize for search engines by including titles and tags for all of your photos
4. Active Rain – largest social network for real estate professionals; great starting point for new bloggers
5. Twitter – spontaneous blogging; you can use your cell phone to post brief comments(140 characters or less); answers the question “What are you doing now?”; broadcast to your network quickly and easily

Related posts:

1. Top 15 Real Estate Marketing & Industry Blogs
2. Top Widgets for Real Estate Blogs
3. Zillow to Power Yahoo Real Estate