Technology adoption is often hard to understand. Sure it can move in a straight, relatively predictable lines; think Moore's Law. Other times, consumer behavior defies logic. For instance, 10 years ago could you have imagined that teenagers today would frequently communicate using a tiny 10-key pad; closer to the Morse code of 100 years ago than the Jetson's world of flying cars and automatic doors (note 1).

Then there are times when technology leaps forward faster than even the most optimistic would have predicted. Case in point: Even a year ago, who would have guessed that on most streets in the country, you can now press a button on your cellphone and receive a near- instantaneous text message listing the current values of the three houses closest to where you are standing. 

Using Zillow's API, uLocate created the ultimate mobile real-estate service for its WHERE suite <where.com>. Currently, it works on just six GPS-enabled phones running on the Sprint or Nextel network. And, you'll need to be in a neighborhood tracked by home-value superstore Zillow.

It does cost $2.99/mo (note 2), but signup is simple (see screenshot above) and even if only half the Realtors in the country subscribed, revenues would be $1.5 million per month. And how much would a nearby mortgage broker or Realtor pay to be listed in the message? Yeah, we wish we would have thought of it too.

But there's no indication that uLocate has an exclusive on this service. Check with Zillow and see if your financial institution could recreate this service in your area using the same API. It could be a great way to create new mortgage leads.

For more info see Zillow's blog entry here.

Notes:

1. Three days ago, I was in a conference where one of the speakers said his teenage daughter sent 2500 text messages last MONTH, more than 30 per DAY.  

2. The monthly fee includes other WHERE services, see its website for more details.