Inman New announced the finalists for their 2006 Innovator Awards.   Real Living is a finalist for  the Most Innovative Web Service.   

"Most Innovative Web Service

VisiStat

Trulia

HouseValues' HomePages.com

PropSmart

Homethinking

Google Base

HomeGain Neighborhood Maps

RealLiving.com

Coldwell Banker Video Library" 

Real Living is based in Columbus Ohio.  From the Real Living website, About Us:

" Real Living was born in 2002, via merger among several successful, long-established real estate companies. That’s right. Even though Real Living was officially founded in 2002, we trace our real estate roots all the way back to 1953. Our founding companies joined forces because they wanted to keep on growing. They were committed to the real estate agents they served, and they knew that, like all thriving families, the best businesses must grow and evolve. These founding companies were brought together because of their shared values of Family, Innovation and Results. And it’s those core values that continue to fuel the company’s success."

Columbus own, HER Real Living is one of those established companies!

Inman News is based in Emeryville California From their About Inman News:

"Inman News (www.inman.com) is the nation's leading independent real estate news service and content provider to 250+ U.S. newspapers and 50,000 Web sites, reaching millions of consumers each day through clients and partners such as The Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, Washington Post, Denver Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Yahoo!, Microsoft, Google, The Wall Street Journal Online, CBS Marketwatch, and many more.

Inman News also offers information-based products and services for the real estate professional and consumer, including Inman News Membership, Digital Media and News content for the Web and Special Reports. In addition, Inman produces two technology conferences per year for the Real Estate Industry: Real Estate Connect SF and Real Estate Connect NYC. RE Connect is the real estate and mortgage industry’s premier networking event, gathering together in industry's leading decision makers, opinion leader and innovators in an open forum for discussion and debate. "

According to Real Living -
We’re now in Austin, Texas!
Columbus. Cleveland. Cincinnati. Dayton.
Akron/Canton. Ashland. Austin. Chetek. Chicago. Dallas.
Detroit. Green Bay. Harker Heights. Hilton Head. Indianapolis. Marietta.  Naples/Ft. Myers. Tampa. Toledo. Washington D.C. It's not just Columbus and Cleveland anymore!

Copyright 2006 Columbus Best Blog and Maureen McCabe

The 2006 Inman Innovator Award finalists in nine categories are:

Most Innovative Brokerage

Alain Pinel Realtors

Weichert Realtors

RE/MAX International

Intero Real Estate

Michael Saunders & Co.

Chase International

Most Innovative Web Service

VisiStat

Trulia

HouseValues' HomePages.com

PropSmart

Homethinking

Google Base

HomeGain Neighborhood Maps

RealLiving.com

Coldwell Banker Video Library

Most Innovative New Business Model

Redfin Direct

BuySide Realty

Expert Realty

RebateReps.com

Move's Top Marketer

Most Innovative Real Estate Blog

Rain City Guide

Matrix

The Walk-Through (The New York Times)

Center for Realtor Technology blog

SocketSite

Urban Digs

Most Innovative Real Estate Data Site

Zillow

HomeSmartReports.com

PropertyShark

RealEstateABC

RealtyTrac

Most Innovative Technology

Stewart Title's SureClose

Blogging Systems

CellSigns

RealPING

Smarter Agent's Mobile GPS

WolfNet's MapTracks

LocoModa's StreetSurfer

Most Innovative Mortgage Company or Service

The Loan Page

LendingTree

Bank of America's Real Estate Center

NationPoint

Air Force Credit Union

Most Innovative Media Site

Realtor Magazine Online

YourHub.com

RIS Media

October Research

Planetizen

Most Innovative Rental/ New Home Online Service

HotPads

CityCribs

RentClicks

MyNewPlace

Rent.com/eBay

Real Living is based in Columbus Ohio.    

Real Living 

 Inman News

Copyright 2006 Columbus Best Blog and Maureen McCabe

In a clever story about different real estate markets, Sellsius Blog's  Real Estate Markets: Is Yours Dead Or Alive? says:  

"Alive & Well: Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Houston, Kansas City (MO) Omaha & Pittsburgh."

Sellsius interprets the facts from Money.CNN.com article about various US markets. Writer Ellen Florian Kratz, of FORTUNE magazine wrote an article about the relative 'health" of number of  real estate markets.  Columbus Ohio  is a "SafeHaven" according to Kratz article.  

In Real Estate Markets: Is Yours Dead Or Alive? 

Sellsius blog donned the scrubs, grabbed the paddles and yelled:

"CLEAR...."

"His heart rate's still low. Give him another milligram of atropine."

I covet the photograph Sellsius illustrate the entry with.. It is soooooo ER,  so Grey's Anatomy....  and all I have is a dorky cartoon doctor... but he is MY dorky cartoon doctor. 

There's an online discussion re: images now about using images in blog entries on BlogTalk (a forum for RealTown Blog's Bloggers.) This blog, Columbus Best Blog is a RealTown blog.  A 'blogging expert'  on BlogTalk and one of the most prolific bloggers on RealTown Blogs gave a lesson in how to swipe photos on the internet.  Strangely some of the photos on her blog are  linked to the Google Images page ....duh....     

Sellsius Blog announced yesterday (?) they were nominated for an Inman Innovator Award in the 'Best Business Model' category.

Congratulations Sellsius! 

The 2006 Inman Innovator Award Categories are:
    
  

Most Innovative Real Estate Blog 

Best Business Models 
Most Innovative Real Estate Data Site 
Most Innovative Technology 
Most Innovative Mortgage Companies/Services  
Most Innovative Brokers/Franchises/Realtor 
Most Innovative Web Service 
Most Innovative Media Site 
Best Rental/ New Home Online Servic

Copyright 2006 Columbus Best Blog and Maureen McCabe