Have suggestions for products that you’d like to see reviewed by our real estate technology expert? Email Craig Rowe.
Inman Select has undergone an array of changes and content upgrades since its inception to better inform the real estate community.
And so we’ve reached the point where this column has become subject to that greater effort: We’re going to categorize and rate products (from 1 to 5) as part of my deeper reviews.
I can tell you that behind the words and reporting, just like a crew of caffeine-drunk software programmers pecking away madly at app bugs and interface updates, the Inman editorial crew churns out ideas on how to make our content more relevant and readable. Not all of them get out of beta.
This one did, so be on the lookout for these updates very soon.
What will get ranked and categorized — and how?
Our goal is to give you a real estate tech resource that’s fast to inform and puts products in their place.
Understand that some products I see are part of a fully involved demo, with developers and CEOs on the conference call discussing features, reasons for interface decisions and other product nuances.
Other reviews are simple overviews that may not involve talking directly with representatives. Some are updates to products you already know.
However, I always want to remind you that I don’t know your business.
A product I may not love may be the ideal fit for your workplace. I try to write enough to encourage you to examine a product for yourself.
The categories and rating system we plan to deploy will augment that effort. Products with low ratings may still offer a specific feature or two that soothes a significant pain point in your business. Examine them carefully.
The ratings will be defined as follows:
1 = Not ready to improve business
2 = Functional; Lacking features to better business
3 = Good; Features will appeal to some
4 = Excellent; Wide appeal, minor concerns
5 = Superior; Best of breed features
Reviews will be categorized by need they address, to include:
- Apps
- CRM
- Home Management
- Lead Gen
- Marketing
- Office Management
- Open House
- Social Media
- Video
- Websites
Many products overlap, so we’ll try to categorize as accurately as possible.
That’s it for now. We hope you’re looking forward to what’s on the tech review horizon. Put on your shades.
Have a technology product you would like to discuss? Email Craig Rowe.
