Everyone knows that the internet is wide reaching but it has never been mapped in this way before. Researchers at the University of Southern California’s Information Sciences Institute in Marina del Rey, California used 3 billion probes which sought out the location of each IP address on the internet and then mapped it. The project took around two months to complete and around 187 million answers from the probed computers came back.

The result is what has been dubbed "The Internet Census" and the map it creates is the first step to understanding the density of the internet in different locations as well as showing how integrated it is becoming into everyday life in some countries.

The US of course has some of the denser areas of IP addresses along with part of Europe. The map shows how easily web virus’s can spread. The map, when printed with one dot representing an IP address the map measures around 9 feet by 9 feet. The condensed version uses one dot to represent 65,000 addresses. – An online version is available.

The data is useful in helping plan for the Internets future, with Web 2.0 technology gaining momentum it is important to protect users by understanding how the net has developed. Similarly with more important transactions taking place online and the latest online MLS technologies holding huge amounts of sensitive data protection is the key.

In this months California Real Estate Magazine the California Association of Realtors discusses "Generation 2.0" or for short "Gen 2.0"  – The New Real Estate.

The article compares old methods of generating business and newer ones which utilize the latest in Real Estate Technology. However the benefits of using new technology are of course not just benefiting agents but also clients and prospective clients. The National Association of Realtors estimates that now over 80% of prospective homebuyers now begin their search for a property online rather than the traditional method of contacting a Real Estate Agent first.

NAR study’s have found that the number one reason agents lose clients is that they do not return emails or calls promptly. Using todays technology of cell phones, on the road email and blogging (particularly an RSS feed) ensures that clients receive alot of information about a property or a neighborhood quickly and easily.

The new technology (particularly Web 2.0) allows real time responses and it caters to what consumers want. Old methods of generating business are no longer valid in this business environment and agents need to utilize the technology around them to help generate leads and profit. As the article says "The Web 2.0 revolution is about making technology more accessible and easier to use" and in Real Estate this is particularly important as there are so many options at the agents fingertips – Real Estate Blogging for SEO, Google Maps Mash-Ups, PDA’s using mobile email and more.

The success of Second Life really has been phenomenal, with people buying and selling items including Real Estate, in fact one of the leading Real Estate franchise company’s, Coldwell Banker has even set up shop there.

However, now it is time for the associations to move in. The Californian Association of Realtors now has set up a headquarters in Second Life! After all Second Life has 9.3 million virtual residents, that is a lot of people who will need a lot of virtual real estate and of course, assisted by a lot of Virtual Agents.

Asides from getting in on the fun and games of Virtual Reality, it is of course a clever marketing ploy. The Association uses the headquarters to market the benefits of using a Realtor in the real world as well as providing other information for visitors.

See the links below to check out Second Life as well as C.A.R.’s Second Life Presence.