Candidates of the REAL ESTATE WEBOGRAPHER™ Certification have access to the Learning Lab. Today we examine what this area is, and what role it plays within REW™.

What is the Learning Lab?
The Learning Lab is accessible by all REW™ candidates from their post login homepage. From this area, candidates can try out the technologies discussed in each of the courses as well as additional "best of breed" RE technologies - all provided free of charge by technology partners.

Why utilize the Learning Lab?
Simple - get your hands dirty! Technology is inherently scary and intimidating - such is the primary reason for failure of, or slow adoption of the benefits included within each technology. REW™ looks to show folks what's under the hood of these technologies by giving a first hand look at how they work and how easily they can be UNDERSTOOD and APPLIED by anyone. Course materials are great information, but the meat of learning the technologies is seeing for oneself the benefits through live examples.

Why Technology Partners?
Technology partners provide the tools to demonstrate the course materials and additional beneficial technologies available today. REW partners were chosen as "best of breed" providers of each technology. Learning by example is by far the best form of education.

Just as one might learn word processing by using a popular word processing software such as MS Word, a great way to demonstrate electronic forms would be to experience it using the popular ZipForm technology. In no way are candidates required to purchase any products, however we invite them to try for themselves to determine if they are a good fit for their needs.

In this part 2 of a 2 part series, I will discuss how you can display the REAL ESTATE WEBOGRAPHER™ logo on your site, your blog, in your print materials, email signature block - virtually anywhere you would like.

Once you have completed your certification, you have access to the My REW™page (exclusive to certificants). Amongst many other valuable resources on this page, you will notice a section entitled "Certification Marks (Logos)". In this section you have access to several links containing information about our logo, as well as access to the logo itself (web-friendly JPEG, High-resolution TIFF for print-materials).

The first bullet (see image below) you will see is a link that will automatically open REW™ Marks Use Guide containing directions on how to use the 3 certification trademarks available to certificants (REW™ Logo, "REW™", and "REAL ESTATE WEBOGRAPHER™"). This includes items such as proper guidelines on how to use and reproduce our logo on promotional materials (such as business cards, letterhead, brochures, etc), as well as in the online world (such as web sites, domain names and e-mail addresses).

Following this bullet, you will find 3 different versions of the REW™ Logo for display usage, as well as the REW™ Certification Mark Tagline. The REW™ Logo we make available, is the same logo found in the upper left hand corner of any of the pages on our website, available in different resolutions and sizing.

The REW™ Certification Mark Tagline, similar to the bottom portion of any of the pages on our website, is a image that truly says "education equals differentiaion". The Tagline image is a composite of the 3 certification trademarks available for use by certificants (REW™ Logo, "REW™", and "REAL ESTATE WEBOGRAPHER™"), along with the statement of "The certification marks above are owned by the National Institute of Webographers, LLC and are awarded to those who successfully complete initial and ongoing certification requirements". This composite image truly says you are now part of an elite group, dedicated to on-going professional development in real estate, web-based, consumer-facing technologies.

Lastly, we provide the raw HTML you can cut and paste directly into your website, blog post (good idea is use this in your "signature block" of every blog post). This code will create a linkable REAL ESTATE WEBOGRAPHER logo on your site, of the proper size, so others may both view your achievement at a glance and learn more about the certification with just the click of a button.

We are serious about technology education, and we applaud those who continue their educational efforts beyond the bare minimum to increase their success and further their professional career. This 2 part series is just a brief discussion of some of the many perks that become available to you upon completion of the REW™ certification.

Are you ready to embrace Real Estate Technologies?

2007 has been a year of great change for us. Not only has that change encompassed the look and feel of our website, but also to the services we offer before, during and AFTER you have completed your certification. We look to not only help you acquire the best tools available online to connect you with your customers, but also to market your accomplishment of the REAL ESTATE WEBOGRAPHER™ certification to your clients and your fellow RE professionals. In this Part 1 of a two part series, I will discuss our press release service available to you following completion of your REW™ experience.

The REW™ Press Release

Once you have completed your certification, you will have access to the My REW™page (exclusive to certificants) in your personal profile. On this page, there is a section entitled "Press Release". The first two bullets in this section allow you to choose which Press Release you would like to obtain. There are press releases tailor made for either an AGENT or BROKER, or an ASSISTANT or COORDINATOR.

No matter which press release you choose, you have access to three formats of your press release - a Microsoft Word Document version, a Portable Document Format (PDF) version, and finally an HTML / Blog File version.

The Microsoft Word Document version can be downloaded and modified to contain your name and contact information in Microsoft Word. This document is beneficial because it can easilly be included as an attachment to emails to your clients or for print purposes. A PDF version can be modified using software such as Adobe Acrobat and is made available for you to use as a link from your website or any other linkable location of your choice on the internet. Lastly, an HTML / Blog format is provided for easy cut and paste into HTML documents such as directly into your website, or to a blog to tout your accomplishment to your blogging audience.

The Press Release Process

We understand that completion of the REAL ESTATE WEBOGRAPHER™, as well as implementation of the technologies we offer is a great achievement and we don't want you to keep that accomplishment to yourself. That's why we have made the process of telling others about it as effortless as possible.

In the third bullet under the "Press Release" section in your personal profile, you will find two links. The first link presents you with a list of recommended, 100% free, PR outlets. Of course you can utilize whatever outlets you like, but we provide this comprehensive list as a convenience.

In this list, you will notice several of the PR sites have been highlighted with stars - this is what I'm really excited about! These specific sites are PR outlets that we will send your press release to on your behalf FOR FREE! To utilize this press release service, you simply click on the link entitled "Click Request form here" from your profile page underneath the last bullet, answer a few short questions such as your name, RE profession, email, and website, and we send the press release out for you!

Combined with the knowledge our education conveys, our Press Release service is just one more perk we offer that you can use to differentiate yourself from the rest. Next week, during Part 2 of this series, I will discuss how you can proudly display our logo on your site to show your customers and clients you are serious about technology education.