the blog

Today, we launched a simple, but useful integration with Twitter. Goal… provide renters with additional tools = more transparency information when searching for a place to live.  Here is an example >>

So the question is, can you use Twitter to help you find a place to live?

Let’s first take a look at some other verticals using Twitter:

Can you use twitter as a financial adviser? Answer: Stocktwits.com

Can you use twitter as a search engine? Answer: Search.twitter.com (Via Michael Arrington)

Can you use twitter as wholesaler? Answer: Dell makes $1 million in revenue on Twitter

Can you use twitter to find a job? Answer: Yes, I have had two of my immediate friends find jobs on Twitter. And the WSJ agrees.

Consider that Twitter conversations give renters an idea of the local residents, social scene, and even specific reviews of the area.  Furthermore, Twitter identifies who is a local, and provides an immediate and responsive way to ask that person a question.

Twitter has evolved from the simple 140 character tool and is no longer limited to the question, “What are you doing?”. Our goal at RentWiki.com is to give people searching for a place to live real advice from renters living in that area. By integrating with Twitter, we are expanding the conversation beyond just our site and into the real-time social web.

We put a twitter feed on each neighborhood wiki. From the feeds, renters can glean the type of people that live in the area, listen in on the conversation, and interact with locals by asking for advice. We also gave users the easy ability to broadcast to 8+ million people asking for feedback or advice.

Though not all neighborhoods have discussions on Twitter, where there are conversations occurring, the content is very useful.  Talking to locals, getting advice, and researching the area before you sign a lease is important and Twitter seems to be hosting conversations that may prove to be very relevant to the rental search.

As usual line goes, we’re a startup and it’s a work in progress so any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

We threw in a couple of other goodies such as Facebook Connect, Walk Score for Apartments, and Video/Widget uploading.