Sadly though, the social media world is based entirely on social interaction. The whole point is to interact. Poking, friending, liking, sharing, tagging, posting and pinning are all interactions. Interesting article? Click. Amazing story? Click. Birthday greetings? Click. All day long, morning noon night, click click click.

Our SPAM awareness is eroded by the nature of social sites and our need to connect with others. And so it is of no surprise that spammers are taking advantage of this left and right. Newcomers like Pinterest are quickly discovering how wide open they are to spam attacks, with a few individuals flooding the boards with merchandise for personal gain (thanks to Amazon referral programs). Facebook has always had its fair share of spammy posts, accounts, and apps. Even iTunes' app store lets a spam app through every now and then. The latest instance being Syn from 'Falkor, Inc'.

Under the pretense of 'syncing' all your friends' data from Facebook with your iPhone/iPad Address Book - Syn first and foremost grabs all your friends' data, and then spams them all with more Syn advertising. The payoff? Unwary recipients not only clicking on the Syn recommendation from their friends, but also even buying the app ($1) on the iTunes app store. For a full account of how it works, follow this link to mobtest.

The point here however, is the same as before. Beware of anything and everything that is sent your way unexpectantly. It's not just your email inbox being deluged with SPAM, it's also every social media tool you log on to. When it comes to safeguarding your data, not to mention your friendships, it's always better to err on the side of caution.

When in doubt, the quickest way to verify the veracity of any offer, is to jump away from your social media page, hit Google, and do some research on the advertised link. If it sounds iffy, then 9 out of 10 times it is. Better safe than sorry.

Filemaker has just issued a huge new release, Filemaker 12.  Aside from the slew of typical upgrade improvements in speed and functions, FM12 focuses heavily on the user interface and its already standard-setting iOS integration.

 On the UI end of things, FM12 takes a great big leap towards matching typical web interation graphics, and even offer a very respectable set of free templates and themes to show off the design options. If you hate ugly databases, then you've got to check out FM12.

The other big improvement is FM12's much tighter integration with Apple's iOS platform, used on all iPhones, iPod Touches, and iPads. Not only do the layouts and functions hold up perfectly, but FM12 now also takes advantage of common iOS tools such as cameras, geolocation, and more -- allowing users to 'grab' device data on the fly.

Those two upgrades, plus some very nice work on the Container fields (for images, audio, files, etc.) and long overdue Charting improvements, and it's clear that FM12 is a must-have upgrade for existing Filemaker users.

However, keep in mind that FM12 is not backwards compatible, so don't upgrade your current client licenses until you've also converted your current solution too. (Easy to do, just don't forget.)

You can go grab (buy) your copy here. Upgrade price for the normal client license (Mac or PC) is $179. Full license $299. The iOS licenses however are now absolutely free, so now there's no excuse at all to not share your Filemaker database on any or al of your devices at the same time.

• Agent Advantage
• Agent Image
• Agent Website
• Blueroof 360
• Close Realty
• Inside-Real-Estate
• Listingbook
• Point2
• Real Estate Webmaster
• Real Geeks
• Real Pro Systems
• Superlative

Key Issues

Remember to keep the following key issues in mind when selecting a template vendor. 

Site Flexibility — It's your site, you should be able to control its looks and content. When considering template solutions, make sure you can easily edit content, photos, design, and even structure (pages, sections, etc.).

Pricing — in addition to potential setup costs, remember to also consider the ongoing monthly fees.

MLS Search — Before signing up with any vendor, verify that they offer MLS search tools for your region's MLS. All the vendors have a page somewhere on their site where they list all the MLS's they already work with.

CRM Tools — Many of the agent site template firms are also offering additional tools for agents to help them stay in touch with their clients. Mass emails, lead tracking, etc. etc. 

Mobility — Real estate agents don't spend much time behind a desk. Ideally you'd be able to manage your online presence (and CRM data) from anywhere. Smartphone, iPad, etc. -- check each vendor to see what they offer.

Customer Service — And perhaps most importantly, don't forget to take their customer service into mind. Nothing is quite so frustrating as trying to fix a web/tech problem when the tech support is indifferent, or worse, incummunicado.

Dummy Text Generators

The general point of using gibberish is, aside from saving time, is for the client to focus on the overall layout and design of a new creation rather than zeroing in on the details -- which they inevitably do if the text used in a design mockup is real. Creating this text from scratch is a pain obviously, so unsurprisingly there are many sites out there that will generate the dummy text for you. The granddaddy of them is the Lipsum site. It works fine, but it is sorely outdated and anything that requires four clicks instead of one should be avoided in my book. So, when you need dummy text, go to any one of these two sites (there are many others, but these two are the best).

• Lorem2
• Blind Text Generator

Better Text Generators

None of this is new however, and even in the best of times the entire Lorem Ipsum world is exceedingly dull. To keep the doldrums at bay, a few of the online dummy text generators have come up with some wonderful alternatives.

So, if you're looking to spruce up your next mockup for a client, check any of the following alternatives. (There are many more, but these are our current favorites.) 

• Fillerati — Pick an author, pick a book, and watch the magic unfold.
• Bacon Ispum — Do we really need to explain this one?
• Gangsta Ipsum — Past its expiration date, but still funny.
• Fillerama — Dummy text pulled from your choice of TV show. Our favorite of course is Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
• Samuel L. Ipsum — Genius, pure genius.
• T'Lipsum — Anyone who's had the pleasure (?) of visiting northern England will appreciate this one.
• Hipster Ipsum — For everyone who desparately needs to belong.
• TV Ipsum — An endless stream of TV-phernalia.
• Bluth Ipsum — And finally, our all-time favorite. Dummy text created entirely out of Arrested Development quotes. So odd and weird that only a stroke of genius could have created it all.

So... now you know what to do, go and there's unlimited juice? This party is gonna be off the hook. What's next, Michael? Are you going to make dancing illegal? Is this the tiny town from Footloose? It was the first taste of alcohol Buster had since he was nursing. Wow. We're just blowing through nap time, aren't we? Look at us, crying like a couple of girls on the last day of camp.

The topics on this blog will be roughly the same (strategy, sites, software), but now we're tying it all more closely to our ZWARM umbrella. Expect many updates about FileMaker and websites of course -- but also a vastly increased emphasis on online apps, particularly solutions that help teams and companies become more efficient.

Wondering which app to buy, which site to sign up to, or whether SAP, IBM or Oracle are asking too much? Wonder no more, and dive with us into the brave new world of very well designed and fully featured productivity solutions designed for big business, but priced for Mom 'N Pop.

How much of a good job will we do in keeping up this blog? It's too early to tell. We'll do our best of course, and we have lots of amazing things to talk about and show you. However, one thing we do know for sure is that 2012 will be an amazing year, filled with hope and opportunity.

Happy 2012 to one and all, and see you next year!