swansonager – what is matt up to?

Today we launched a new feature on Houses.net – the nation’s only distressed property and pre foreclosure mls type site. We’re now utilizing Google Maps StreetView. This allows potential buyers to not only get a feel of the the property that’s for sale, but also provides some great data about the neighborhood in general. Google Maps Streetview is really simple to integrate and the Google Maps team has done a great job with providing easy to access tools to utilize the product. Here’s an example of what a property looks like on Houses.net with the Street View implemented.

Yup, that’s it. We’re giving away a brand spanking new 19″ Widescreen Dell Monitor for one of our readers. All you have to do is one of the following: write a blog post and link to swansonager, link from your site, a forum or ‘click here to tweet the contest‘.

Increase your chances to win by doing all the things below:

1. Blog about the free dell widescreen contest going on at swansonager from June 5th-June 25th

2. Tweet the Dell Widescreen Monitor Contest at swansonager

3. Add a link to swansonager on your site

4. Leave a comment on this post about what topics you’d like to hear about on swansonager

5. Subscribe to swansonager via email using the subscribe box in the right nav

Then let us know what you did to enter…leave us a comment on this post and tell us how you decided to increase your chances to win.. i.e did you Tweet the contest, blog about it, etc.

Contest Length, Rules, and How to increase your chances

The contest will run from June 5th to June 25th 2009 ~ 20 days. At the end of the 20 days, we’ll look at the comments on the site, and assign points. Here’s how we’ll determine how many votes you get in the drawing for the free Dell 19″ Widescreen Monitor:

1 point – comment on this post with what topics you’d like to see addressed

2 points – tweet the Dell Widescreen Monitor Contest at swansonager

3 points – link to swansonager from your blog/site

5 points – Subscribe to swansonager via email (using the subscribe box in the right nav)

10 points – write a blog post about swansonager

On Monday, June 29th, 2009 – we’ll announce the winner of the free Dell 19″ Widescreen Monitor from the contest. Note: We’ll only be able to ship to US based addresses so only US based entries are eligible to win.

Why are we running this contest you ask?

In a time where the economy is tough, we thought it would be cool to help someone out that might be in a bind and was needing a super easy way to win a great new Widescreen LCD for their internet marketing efforts. Even if you only use the computer for facebook and twitter, you can still enter to win. Good luck!

We all have our goals and dreams of what we’d like to do ‘one day‘ but how can you make that happen? For me, I’ve been thinking a lot recently about what it’s taken to get to where I am today. It’s really nothing more than just doing something. What’s that mean you ask? Great. Glad you did.

If you dreamed of being an architect that would one day redesign a mega mansion for a Will Ferrell, you couldn’t just step off the street and attain that goal. What you can do is this: Start doing things everyday that will get you on the right path.

If we all take a look at where are now, and think back in hindsight, what steps did it take for you to get where you are now. Take a look at the last 10 years of your life. I’ll bet there were many, many steps you took to get you to where you are today. Each one of those steps incrementally helped you progress your skill set to enable to you be better equipped to handle new projects, roles, and responsibilities.

Without taking steps to ensure you’re doing something on the right path to get you where you want to be, you’ll never get there.

photo credit: shawnrdavis via flickr

The Kamikaze Surfer

Think about it like a Kamikaze Surfer. If they want to ride the perfect wave and be the best they can be, they can’t just go to the ocean and ride it out of the shoot. What they can do is paddle out and practice for hours and hours over the course of time. It’s about the process, learning and experience. This process will enable them to know how to ride the perfect wave when it does arrive. Also, each fall they have will help them know what to not do the next time around.

It’s all about process (practice and patience).

You’ve got to try something and be persistent with it before you’ll know whether or not it’s going to work for you. In the spirit of lean development, you might not want to go too deep too fast, i.e before you spend tons of money on the best surfboard and gear, make sure it’s something you are going to want to keep doing in the months to come. Use the tools you have now to deploy early and often with your efforts. Learning quickly and deferring decisions are two things you can use in your approach to take steps now to get you where you want to be in the next 3 years.

After being in the software industry for well over 10 years now, I know that at times we get in a rut. The question I often wonder is how we can spur innovation when we’re in those down periods where we just can’t seem to get motivated.

I remember back in 2006 reading about Google’s 20% time initiative. This ‘20% time’ works as so (at least at Google):

The 20 percent time is a well-known part of our philosophy here, enabling engineers to spend one day a week working on projects that aren’t necessarily in our job descriptions. You can use the time to develop something new, or if you see something that’s broken, you can use the time to fix it.

While we can’t all have this luxury, I think that actually forcing yourself to take time from each day and do something like this will really help with your motivation. Maybe for you it’s actually taking the time to read that book you’ve been wanting to start. Or, maybe it’s creating a website in your spare time about your passion.

If you’re a big company, maybe it’s time to approach your boss about this subject. I’d go in with a “this is a win-win” for both of us type attitude. You can spur innovation in your company and bring in new ideas while at the same time giving yourself a much needed break from your mundane daily duties.

If you haven’t started your own “20% time policy” yet, maybe today is the day to get it kick started and put your new plan into action.