Eric D. Colburn, PLS

Over the weekend I listened to a few podcast; some funny, some news oriented and a few with business and marketing topics. Marketing is often misunderstood, or overlooked altogether, by many professional land surveyors, engineers and designers. So, when I find something to help you understand a subject, like marketing in this case, I’ll share that with you to help you improve your land surveying business.

In one podcast I listened to, the host interviewed Sally Hogshead, who is a speaker, author and brand innovation consultant. She has also been profiled by The New York Times, NBC, CBS and MSNBC. It was interesting and informative listening to her being interviewed in this podcast about her latest book entitled, Fascinate: Your 7 Triggers to Persuasion and Captivation(eCampus affiliate link). I obviously have not had a chance to get her book and read it yet, but I sure look forward to doing so.

From what she said, and in looking at her website, this book discusses why certain people are captivating, why we lean towards certain brands, and not others, and how to convince people to change their behaviors.

Quoting from her website:

“Fascination is the most powerful way to influence decision-making. It’s more persuasive than marketing, advertising, or any other form of communication. And it all starts with seven universal triggers of fascination: power, lust, mystique, alarm, prestige, vice, and trust.”

This new way of thinking about our hardwired human behaviors and applying our understanding of this phenomenon to branding and marketing, seems to make a lot of sense and is something you could use to better understand your (you and your company) marketing strategy.

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RealtorsTV: National Association of Realtors-Existing Home Sales Down But Prices Rise

According to Newsy, the online video news service, which cites WWLTV, CNN, FOX News, The Times-Picayune, and WDSU as sources, the Army Corps of Engineers Blamed for Katrina Flooding.

For the first time since the 2005 disaster the government has been held liable for the 2005 disaster by a lower court judge, who has ruled that the Army Corps of Engineers failed in preparation for Hurricane Katrina.

Professional Land Surveyor Source

Newsy

Washington, July 01, 2009

Pending home sales show a sustained uptrend, rising for four consecutive months with very favorable housing affordability and a first-time buyer tax credit boosting activity, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

The Pending Home Sales Index,¹ a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in May, increased 0.1 percent to 90.7 from an upwardly revised reading of 90.6 in April, and is 6.7 percent higher than May 2008 when it was 85.0. The last time there were four consecutive monthly gains was in October 2004.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, cautions that there could be delays in the number of contracts that go to closing. “Closed existing-home sales have improved but are coming in lower than expected because some contracts are delayed or falling through from the application of new appraisal rules for many transactions,” he said. “Rises in contract activity show buyers are becoming more active even as they face much more stringent loan underwriting standards. Speedy clarification of the appraisal rules could smooth a housing market recovery and support the overall economy.”

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According to Forbes.com, the decline in April home prices where better than expected. Watch this Forbes.com Consumer Reading In Focus Video to learn more about the April home prices and other financial news.

ESRI president Jack Dangermond video at the 2009 Where 2.0 Conference in San Jose, California, talking about Realizing Spatial Intelligence on the GeoWeb. Covered in his talk is:

• GeoWeb.
• WebGIS
• Cartographic Knowledge
• Geographic Knowledge Created in GIS Environments.
• Data and Web Services.
• Sharing of Geographic Knowledge.
• Spatially Integrated Thinking to a Broader Society
• Leveraging Investments Developing Basemaps.
• Leveraging Investments Developing Thematic Datasets.
• Leveraging Investments Developing other Spatial Assets.

Watch the video. Read the rest of this entry →

Google Apps is for small businesses, or individuals for that matter, that want to implement a browser based email and document solution. Using Google Apps allows you to check your email and documents from anywhere, as long as you have Internet access and a browser.

If you use Google Apps, let us know how it is working out for you.

National Association of Realtors Reports Pending Home Sales Up for Three Months in a Row

WASHINGTON, June 02, 2009

Record low mortgage interest rates boosted pending home sales for the third consecutive month, with some benefit now from the first-time buyer tax credit, according to the National Association of Realtors^®.

The Pending Home Sales Index,¹ a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in April, rose 6.7 percent to 90.3 from a reading of 84.6 in March, and is 3.2 percent above April 2008 when it was 87.5.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said buyers are responding to very favorable market conditions. “Housing affordability conditions have been at historic highs, but now the $8,000 first-time buyer tax credit is beginning to impact the market,” he said. “Since first-time buyers must finalize their purchase by November 30 to get the credit, we expect greater activity in the months ahead, and that should spark more sales by repeat buyers.”

The Pending Home Sales Index in the Northeast shot up 32.6 percent to 78.9 in April and is 0.8 percent above a year ago. In the Midwest the index rose 9.8 percent to 90.4 and is 11.1 percent above April 2008. The index in the South slipped 0.2 percent to 93.0 in April but is 3.5 percent higher than a year ago. In the West the index rose 1.8 percent to 94.8 but is 2.9 percent below April 2008.

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Here is a video I found on NECN.com about how Autodesk and Autodesk 3-D design software, like AutoCAD Civil 3D, is benefiting from the Federal Stimulus plan to put Americans back to work improving our nation’s highways.

In this video, Autodesk manager Richard Humphrey talks about accountability and transparency as a requirement of the stimulus plan and how Autodesk tools, like AutoCAD Civil 3D, help to achieve that by pre-planning and using virtual reality like design reviews prior to commencing construction activities, eliminating potential issues and reducing overall construction costs.

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If you’re a professional land surveyor, regardless of whether you own your own company or work for someone else, you must see this informative video of the presentation that Brent Jones of ESRI gave at the recent Carlson Users Conference 2009. It is a little long (all good), so grab a cup of coffee, sit back and learn how GIS needs professional land surveyors and how professional land surveyors need GIS, too.

I think that the ideas presented by Brent Jones are right on target and present a road map for professional land surveyors to incorporate GIS into their professional practices and survive and prosper in the post recession economy.

I know that a shiver runs up the back of many professional land surveyors at the sound of that word, GIS. But now is the time for us, with all of the talents and knowledge we posses as professional land surveyors, to help make GIS better and raise it to a level where GIS is survey grade in positional accuracy and quality!