RISMEDIA, March 14, 2009-Social networking sites are constantly being integrated with the real estate industry, giving prospective home buyers the chance to search the Internet in the manner most comfortable to them when looking for a home.
Twitter has now joined the ranks, giving home buyers one more avenue in which they can search for the place they will call home.
RentWiki.com recently added a feature that streams Twitter conversations of neighborhoods and allows renters to post specific questions on Twitter.
Via live feeds, Twitter conversations give renters an idea of the local residents, social scene, and reviews of the area, proving that Twitter can be used for more than just answering the question, “What are you doing?”
“Once a place to start conversations, Twitter has quickly evolved into a market research tool, wholesaler of goods, search engine, news site, and even a rental search,” said Eric Wu, co-founder of RentWiki.com. “The goal of RentWiki is to give people searching for a place to live real advice from renters living in that area. By integrating with Twitter, we are expanding the conversation beyond just our site and into the real-time social Web.”
From the Twitter feeds posted on each wiki, renters can glean the type of people that live in the area, listen-in on the conversation, and interact with locals by asking for advice. Though not all neighborhoods have discussions on Twitter, where there are conversations occurring, the content is very useful.
“I find news, recommendations for restaurants, and even jobs on Twitter,” said Dustin Mitchell, 28 year-old renter in San Francisco. “When I move, using Twitter to find advice about an area just makes sense.”
Users also have the ability to broadcast back to Twitter’s 8+ million users. With one click, renters can ask about the social scene, safety, and walkability of an area. “Our goal is to provide renters with the content and tools to find the right place to live. Right now, Twitter seems to be hosting conversations that may prove to be very relevant to the rental search,” said Wu.
RentWiki.com is known for its access to neighborhood reviews posted by past and current residents and its ability to enable communities to form between renters. RentWiki.com is also integrated with Facebook Connect, Walk Score, social bookmarking sites, and provides the ability for users to upload widgets, videos, and contributed content around a neighborhood.
For more information, visit RentAdvisor.com.
