The RealBird Online Mapping Service now offers a full integration API for its mapping service, which enables real estate software vendors such as IDX / VOW website integrators and virtual tour vendors to easily add customized, web-based GIS maps to their services.
Redwood City, CA. (February 14 2005) – RealBird™ announces today the release of its Application Integration Interface (API) Version 1.0 for its online mapping service for real estate applications. The API supports the easy integration with any online real estate service of RealBird’s satellite (aerial), street and topo maps, including interactive hotspots with photos, slideshows, video or virtual tours. In addition, RealBird announced a new, sponsored mapping service, which will be not only free of charge to its partner companies and resellers but will share a substantial portion of the generated advertising revenue with them.
The RealBird Viewer is a unique GIS (Geographical Information Systems) and mapping service for real estate agents, with U.S. continental coverage. Agents can add the RealBird Viewer to their websites, link to/from any number of listings, and display local schools, landmarks and parcel lines as overlays on aerial maps. County demographics information can be also displayed with one click.
The RealBird API is an elegant and innovative way to add the RealBird service to any existing IDX, VOW, and MLS application. The programming effort is minimal and partner vendors have full control over how to link, display, configure, zoom, and add hotspots onto the maps on the fly. All maps are hosted on the RealBird servers and there is no need for cumbersome data synchronization and transfer operations.
Gabriel Gross, Founder and President of RealBird states: "This new API makes our service very easy to integrate with any IDX, MLS or VOW service. To entice IDX vendors to work with us we provide the sponsored version of the RealBird mapping service not only free of charge, but will also pay them a substantial share of our ad revenues. IDX vendors can also up-sell the advertisement free Premium service to their clients and receive recurring commissions on their sales. RealBird online maps are therefore not only the coolest you can get for real estate, but they can also become a substantial moneymaker for our partners - either by sharing advertising revenues or the service fees. All that at virtually no cost to the partners, as the service is hosted, maintained and supported by Realbird.”
RealBird Interactive Hotspots are also useful to add custom multimedia landmarks to maps, thus allowing Realtors® to make their own maps more interesting to homebuyers.