Rain City Guide

Do you ever wonder how well your website and/or blog is doing in comparison to your competitors?
While there is not a great site on the web for getting accurate traffic statistics on competitors, Amazon does provides some stats based on people who are using their Alexa Toolbar. Rather than try to give total site [...]

In a recent post, Galen said “And no, it’s not what Windermere or ZipRealty already do: their sites s-u-c-k compared to true consumer-oriented sites like Amazon.com and Google.”.
Now, comparing nearly any web site to Amazon or Google isn’t a fair comparission. Google & Amazon have 1) many of the best software engineers on the planet [...]

I caught an investigative bug tonight, and I feel a strong need to post this speculation…

Fact 1 — Rob over at Your Seattle’ Neighborhood Specialist had some great commentary on Zillow in the months leading up to their beta release
Fact 2 — Rob has been silent since the release of Zillow
Fact 3 — Marlow Harris [...]

Who servers the best margarita in Seattle?
Apparently, I stirred up a little bit of a hornet’s nest as there is definitely some contention in the blogoshere as to the best margarita in Seattle.
Some say that La Carta de Oaxaca serves up the best margarita, while other good sources say that El Gallito is [...]

I find all the F.U.D. regarding opening up MLS data to be kind of overblown. Perhaps, it’s because I’ve been a software engineer my entire career, and the notion of technology changing business models and society at large seems anti-climatic to me. Perhaps, I have this attitude because my former employer, embraced the notion of [...]

This past week I received the ultimate gift for my 30th birthday, which just so happens to be today!
With everything going on, I really haven’t spent much time thinking about my birthday (surprise, surprise!), but it did occur to me that maybe I should mix in a new feature of Rain City Guide with [...]

In my last post, I awoken Ardell from her winter hibernation. To which I feel I should both apologize and take the credit . Ardell raised many interesting points, that I feel that merit a response. First and foremost, I’ll admit I am somewhat biased, since I tend to view things through buyer-colored glasses and [...]

Since last September, I’ve been using a free stat program that maps the visitors to Rain City Guide. Last time I logged into the site, I notice that they’ve added a new toy (a poll feature) that has inspired me to ask a question I’ve wondered for quite some time…
Take the poll
Free Poll by [...]

In my last post, I was asked what the accuracy of the locations in our generated Google Earth files are. Before I divulge that information, I’d like to explain some of the challenges of getting accurately geocoded data. (I’ll get on my soapbox and complain about the state of NWMLS data in my next post).
Now, [...]

I like this site, although I really wish I could hit a “show all routes in my area” button. Still, if you’re looking for a new jogging route, take a look. Furthermore, if you’re wondering how to follow through on your “exercise more” resolution, this might be a good starting point.
Here are Seattle’s routes. [...]