The New Jersey Association of Realtors is diving deeper into cyberspace, purchasing virtual real estate in the online world of Second Life, building profiles on networking sites LinkedIn and Facebook, and rolling out audio podcasts for members.
The association announced that it has opened a virtual office in Second Life at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Lamprey/182/37/21. Second Life is a three-dimensional, interactive online world. Other real estate entities, including Coldwell Banker and the California Association of Realtors, are also among the "inhabitants" of Second Life.
NJAR created a profile on Facebook that allows visitors to view pictures and read about events, according to the announcement.
The association also announced that it has created automated electronic feeds for its weekly association newsletter and updates at its Web site. "The RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds make it possible for people to keep up with the NJAR Web site in an automated manner that can be directed into special programs or filtered displays on their computers." Members of the public can subscribe to NJAR’s public announcements at NJAR.com/rss.php.
"More and more Realtors and consumers are drawn to the Internet and the latest technological gadgets to research, market, buy and sell real estate," added Grasso. "NJAR’s use of these new tools will ensure that we are in lock-step with the ever-changing needs of our membership and the public."
The podcasts can be downloaded by members as .mp3 files. An audio newsletter is now available to members and "in the coming months more programming will be made available to consumers," the association announced. The association has an estimated 53,000 members.
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