Cassandra Kyle, The StarPhoenix
Point2 Technologies Inc. teams with Facebook on search feature
It's a beautiful day in the neighbourhood for Saskatoon-based Point2 Technologies Inc.
Their
latest web-based creation, a Facebook application that connects people
by neighbourhood, is gaining more interest as each minute passes. Since
the application launched last week, more than 1,200 people have added
the feature, using it to announce garage sales or organize block
parties. Point2 executives expect viral adoption of the program will
continue to boost user numbers.
While Facebook's main use is to
allow people to network and connect with friends through the site, the
application will also allow users to search for real estate in their
country, province, city and/or neighbourhood. Bringing their Point2 NLS
(national listing service) database to Facebook, the company gives
access to listings and the agents selling the homes. People want to
know about the neighbourhood they're looking to purchase a house in,
said Point2 chief operating officer Brendan King. The Facebook
application will help illustrate the dynamics of a community, an
important factor in any property sale.
"Real
estate has been organized around selling areas one, two, three, four,
etc., but what does that tell people about the area?" King said, adding
Point2 NLS has been organized by neighbourhood for years. "When you
sign up, you can see all your neighbours in the Buena Vista area, if
that's the area you live in."
Users can check out other city
neighbourhoods and the listings in those areas via the application.
Global movers can even look at listings in cities and neighbourhoods
around the world through the NLS listings. Point2 NLS has more than
140,000 members in 86 countries.
"Believe it or not, no one else
is organized around neighbourhoods," he said. "We're just putting it
out on the Facebook platform as a new place where people can see it
(the listings)."
Internet security is a high priority for the
company, King explained, so the application gives users the option to
choose who can see the neighbourhood they live in and the street they
live on. Ultimately, it's up to the Facebooker to decide what works for
them.
"We take those privacy concerns very seriously. When you
sign up to Facebook, a lot of things can happen," he said. "What we're
seeing is privacy as anonymity is dropping, but privacy as control is
on the rise."
The company hopes the Facebook neighbourhoods
application will give them more name recognition in the city, where
they are based and employ nearly 100 people. Point2 also has an office
in Vancouver.
"We're a small company in Saskatchewan and 95 per
cent of our users are from the U.S. or other countries. When I go to
trade shows, Point2 is pretty well known, but here we're not as well
known. Maybe the Facebook application will help with that," he said. "I
think people will be surprised."