As always, getting back to work after a nice vacation means staring down a mountain of tasks that have accumulated while you’re away. This no longer means just answering emails and returning voice mails – these days, for me, it also means catching up on all my feeds to see what I’ve missed.
Here’s just some of the gems that I missed while I was away:
- Dustin remarks on the launch of HomeInsight, which in turn prompts Robbie’s to counter-post on the rise of corporate blogs.
- The Real Estate Tomato gave a great write up on 13 Ways To Post Your Listings For Free. (I’ll be checking out Postlets.com for sure)
In any case, as anyone who gets into blogging quickly finds out – Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds are an indispensable way to keep on top of a tidal wave of information that exists out there. But far from just simply keeping tabs on your favorite writers’ musings, here are five ways you can expand your feed habit and take it to the next level.
1. Monitor a Topic Area
I keep up to date on any mentions of Real estate marketing and Portland Real Estate on Topix.net. It means weeding through a lot of junk, but occasionally I’ll find a few gems that I would have missed otherwise. Incidentally, Topix just rolled out a brand new interface, which is a huge improvement IMO.
2. Create an Ego search
Using a blog search engine like Icerocket, you can perform a search for your name or blog and subscribe to the results. That way you’ll pick up on anything anybody says about you.
3. Conduct Competitive Intelligence
Monitor your competition’s press coverage from a news aggregator like Google News. You can make sure you’re on top of the latest about what the media is saying about Zillow or Trulia, for example.
4. Let the Market Come to You
Looking to buy the perfect fixer-upper? Wanting to jump on a great investment? Craigslist is the undisputed king of classified advertising and thankfully it also supports RSS. Set up your search, subscribe to the results and watch as the listings come straight to you.
5. Find a New Job
While searching for a new job a while back, I wrote this detailed post on how to find a job using feeds. Most of the major job sites now offer RSS feeds of their latest postings, so if your looking for a change of career – RSS is the way to go.
Technorati Tags: RSS, feeds, feed reading, productivity, Real Estate Blogging, Real Estate Blog, Real Estate Blogs, Real Estate, Realty Blogging, Real Estate Marketing
