HomeYoda http://homeyoda.posterous.com digital property solution anyone? posterous.com Wed, 19 May 2010 14:16:00 -0700 Inblox goes international... US... UK...OZ...Canada http://homeyoda.posterous.com/inblox-goes-international-us-ukozcanada http://homeyoda.posterous.com/inblox-goes-international-us-ukozcanada

Ten-venerable-villains-in-movi

So the cycle never ends with software development and ‘tech’ in the property space has eyeballs aplenty at the moment. It’s actually amazing to see just how many property people are turning to software to improve their processes and wring efficiencies out of their operations. Dealing in property is about communication, dealing with people on their most prized asset takes time and effort and if you want to be trusted with something that holds so much value for so many people then you better be on the cutting edge of products that give you competitive advantage.

Over the last couple weeks, Inblox has been a little gem for us, Through Google, we’ve accessed Managing Agents in English speaking ‘first world’ markets who are pouring in to register and setup their communities on the system. We spent so much time rationalizing feature sets and trying to understand what the core issues of communal living are, that our product has ended up resonating with our target market to such an extent that many a high five has been thrown in the process.

As usual, we’ve been inundated with feature requests and queries on what Inblox can and cannot do that we’re seeing just how much a product like this is needed. We’re steaming ahead with our next set of features but trying hard to maintain the simplicity of the product. Today marked exposure to over 6 countries of our product all with a common need of having to connect homeowners living in the same space.

And then we’ll ask for one million dollars....

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/565572/talking-darth-vader-plush.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5ALyJGxn71gB gq gq
Tue, 18 May 2010 13:09:00 -0700 Inblox... make a yard managing agents! http://homeyoda.posterous.com/inblox-make-a-yard-managing-agents http://homeyoda.posterous.com/inblox-make-a-yard-managing-agents

Right-o! So we finally released Inblox .... again. What an awesome product, yes, i'm saying that myself. If there was a course you could go on that you would come out the end of it with a doctorate in building web based software then i would package what we've been through over the last year and sell it as a curriculum with accreditation in 'Qualified by Experience'. Sure, the product is never finished (if only) but what we have is something that solves the very root issues of living with a bunch of people you don't know in the same block or Estate.

The next big step is to make owners and, more importantly, Managing Agents aware of what Inblox can do for their world. The theory is simple, communicating better makes for happy homeowners and you keep your job as the company who manages their affairs when it comes to their Body Corporate or Home Owners Association. Not rocket surgery huh. It's the early adopters of our product that you can clearly see run a professional management company, the quality apartment blocks and Estates have Chairmen and trustees registering with us and getting all progressive on themselves. I want to buy property in those communities because i know i'll never end up owning a place in a block with levy arrears, bad paint jobs and poor security.

It's free to use Inblox so the question has to be asked, if you're not using something like this to keep all your homeowners informed and connected then what are you doing?

Werner_du_Preez01.mov Watch on Posterous

 

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/540505/si_profile.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5AAXgbFSbLrP Simon Bray Si Simon Bray
Wed, 12 May 2010 23:16:29 -0700 Net Prophet 2010 http://homeyoda.posterous.com/net-prophet-2010 http://homeyoda.posterous.com/net-prophet-2010

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/540505/si_profile.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5AAXgbFSbLrP Simon Bray Si Simon Bray
Tue, 11 May 2010 00:39:10 -0700 Google tells it like it is! http://homeyoda.posterous.com/google-tells-it-like-it-is http://homeyoda.posterous.com/google-tells-it-like-it-is
Google_keyword

Now that we've just launched Inblox, our management tool for homeowners and
managing agents, we're busy putting a few strategies together to get the
product into the South African market.

We spent a lot of time researching how much technology and software is used
in the management of complexes and Estates in SA and it was clear to see
just how advanced foreign markets are compared to ours. Apartment and gated
estate living rocketed into favour in SA over the last 8 years or so and
with so many people, so heavily invested in property, you would think there
would be a wide availability of tech based management services on offer.

Hmmmm...

Google Adwords told us the real story. Keyword search volumes show just how
aggressively researched software is for the Managing Agents space in
Australia, the US and the UK. Big companies battle it out for business and
those that aren't using sophisticated software applications to run their
businesses and manage homeowners are lost in the process. It clearly shows
homeowners are looking for software applications that will guarantee quality
management over their most prized asset. It's not viewed as an aside and
their professional bodies vigorously educate and maintain standards in the
Strata/Body Corporate environment.

SA needs to up its game because it's about time we started choosing
companies that make use of technology to provide better services.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/565572/talking-darth-vader-plush.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5ALyJGxn71gB gq gq
Sun, 09 May 2010 12:32:00 -0700 That¹s my parking bay! http://homeyoda.posterous.com/that1s-my-parking-bay http://homeyoda.posterous.com/that1s-my-parking-bay

Img_0061

Like the title of the post? Said it before? Heard it before?

Yep, most of have lived in some sort of complex, apartment block or gated estate and most of us have had some sort of experience with irritating neighbours or have been the irritating neighbour ourselves. It’s not easy, living next to people you don’t know or kind of know. Where does the line get drawn? When should you say something? Should you say something?

I don’t know. Pretty sure nobody else does either, except for that old guy in 27 who seems to have something to say all the time or the guy who went and snitched to the trustees that I had a cat in my spot. Not cool.

Anyway, Inblox is a web based software product we built to get rid of this headache. As the ‘purveyors of quality software for residential property issues’, we knew homeowners and management alike would love a web tool that made things easier when it comes to dealing with the mundane and often frustrating problems of living in a communal residential environment.

We knew it had to be easy to setup and simple to use so we gave it a healthy dose of usability. Nothing complex, we cut to the heart of the problem and now communication in apartment blocks and Estates is all guns blazingingly easy.

Now about my cat... Let’s have a vote!

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/565572/talking-darth-vader-plush.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5ALyJGxn71gB gq gq
Mon, 03 May 2010 01:54:00 -0700 Planning Howzitt HQ http://homeyoda.posterous.com/planning-howzitt-hq http://homeyoda.posterous.com/planning-howzitt-hq

05

Howzitt is setting up its new office, a skunk works of new web tech and our very own underground headquarters in 3 weeks time.  So planning is in full swing.  We want to create a space free from the trappings of the corporate culture.  No wood panelling, colour coded furniture or water-coolers.  Ok the water cooler can stay.  No office partitioning and carpet tiles.  We want the space to feel more like a Soho studio than an accountants back office.  It is after all what Howzitt is all about, creativity and good design.

We’ll invite you round for a game of Foosball when the boxes are all unpacked.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/540505/si_profile.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5AAXgbFSbLrP Simon Bray Si Simon Bray
Fri, 30 Apr 2010 02:15:00 -0700 Inview Prototype http://homeyoda.posterous.com/inview-prototype http://homeyoda.posterous.com/inview-prototype

Img_0001

We are steaming ahead with a SketchFlow prototype for our new web application; Inview.  It will connect the Real Estate agents and agency heads to the most important part of their business: The Sales Process.  Deal tracking from Sale Agreement through to Registration is all processed on the system.  Where it gets clever is when we integrate with data providers Searchworks and L@W Active to deliver Deeds Office and Conveyancing information direct into Inview.  Sales performance stats and forward cash-flow projections are just some of the cool outputs from the system.  

By sketching the program before we build it we get to play with the process flows and tweak the user experience, quickly and effectively.  It is a fun process, sorting all the good ideas into a clean and simple web app.  I am using Expression Blend from Microsoft and specifically their SketchFlow application.  It doesn't allow me to add some of the more complex UI (user interface) components that I want to, but often this is a good thing as it is easy to get caught up in the details.  The details need to hang off of the key concepts, like muscles attach to the bones of the system.  

Another good reason to sketch the system before you build it is what I like to call the 'Pencil Principle': A pencil is a fundamentally simple item, made of wood and graphite but it can be used very effectively in a variety of ways.  The same is true in software, if your app has a pencil-like simplicity then it may well have  pencil-like effectiveness too. By sketching the system you are forced to think holistically about the handful of important questions that the system needs to answer.  Who will use it? Why will they use it? What will they use it for? How is it presently done?  The answers to questions like that don't involve things like link colours or button sizes.

Got to get back to it... see you in Beta.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/540505/si_profile.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5AAXgbFSbLrP Simon Bray Si Simon Bray
Fri, 19 Feb 2010 20:32:00 -0800 Start your Search Engines http://homeyoda.posterous.com/start-your-search-engines http://homeyoda.posterous.com/start-your-search-engines

Media_httphowzittfile_trrbl
Ok, we're around the corner from releasing a pretty cool piece of tech that will allow homeowners to search by keyword for any kind of product or service related to the home space. Google you say? Kind of, only juiced up on a healthy dose of extra genius. Our search engine only serves up results related to the home. For instance, if you're a south african homeowner looking for variations of windows for your new spot, if you had to type that into Google your first two pages of results will be all about Microsoft. Not ideal. It's all about 'vertical search' where a searcher is looking for quality results related to a specific industry or market segment. If you're a South African homeowner and you're looking for 'windows' on our search engine, you'll get served up results of every window supplier, fitter, manufacturer or retailer that has anything to do with windows in SA. No more fiddling around on these half baked directory listings that give you no real value.

We will also be converting retailers products ranges into digital catalogues so, if you want, you could browse Weatherleys entire store online through our search engine. We promise, it's going to be a whole new level of awesome.

If you haven't subscribed to our posterous feed, then get subscribing or we'll have no way of letting you know when we go live.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/540505/si_profile.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5AAXgbFSbLrP Simon Bray Si Simon Bray