Interactive Rocking Real Estate

With the gazillions in real estate commissions at stake here in the Golden State, it's no surprise a new company has sprung up to help real estate agents into the 21st century. Marketing firm Impact Factory has spun-off a unit, California Fine Properties, that will use video podcasting and market-specific Web sites, among other techniques, to help agents stand out.

This sentence in the press release cracks me up: "The traditional 'face and name' marketing technique that nearly every real estate agent uses is out of touch with today's consumer." I beg to differ. Technology doesn't take the place of faces and names and real people. It just helps those people keep in touch more effectively. The marketing firm also suggests agents brand iPods with their logos, and give them away to clients as closing gifts. Where was this company when we closed on our house?