Jun. 19, 2009 - Blue Dasher Technologies - Google Street View on Steroids

Three months ago, attendees of  the MLS Executive Workshop got a sneak preview of Blue Dasher's street-level imaging technology. Now that they've officially put out a press release, I can finally talk about the technology more publicly.

Many people might compare Blue Dasher Technology (BDT) to Google Street View - allowing the user to navigate a neighborhood and see the properties in their geographic context as if driving by them. That's about where the similarities end.

While Google has designed its product focused on the general public, Blue Dasher (BDT) designs products focused on specific business needs. The company is about exactness and placing you at the front door of a property once you’ve entered an address or clicked on a map. It also covers every public street in a county - not just 'hot spot' coverage like Google has in various markets. Google street view does not allow you to drive, you must click and wait from one frame to the next, skipping a great deal of information in the process.Google's photo spacing is about 30 to 40 feet average. BDT's is 8 to 10 feet, offering high density photography with more angles for properties and more actual clean Jpeg images of a property the realtor can utilize as part of their service. This equates to about six to 12 images of most homes. BDT offers Virtual Drive By (motion easily controlled by the end user - like in a video game) and "automatic" Virtual Drive By (routes) - Google does not. BDT offers embedded location based advertising (virtual "for sale" signs too) in their images - this can contain listing information, photos of the interior, virtual tours or even video. Finally, Blue Dasher leaves cars behind in major metros to maintain or refresh images - dealing with privacy and quality issues on request - while Google is less responsive.

Okay, okay - one final difference - this technology isn't free. But that's the cost of differentiating, and I think virtual drive-bys, exactness and location based messaging could be pretty darn appealing to consumers - especially if/when gas prices go back up! And the technology, which provides location based and contextual adverting opportunities for local companies, does provide an opportunity to defer the costs or even generate revenue.

Internet property search has already cut down the amount of time in the car for Realtors – this could help the decision-making process become even more efficient and less time-consuming for Realtors and consumers by providing a compelling mechanism to view the neighborhood surrounding the properties being considered. So, I'm bullish on this type of technology.

Here's a demo video: http://www.bluedashertech.com/demo1.php

Their home page is here: http://www.bluedashertech.com/