Triangle's Newest Virtual Tour Provider Launches in Durham, NC!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) March 5, 2008 -- Today the Triangle welcomed its newest virtual tour provider, a locally owned and operated company by the name of Virtual Sidekick. With a host of distinct and exclusive products and services, the new company (founded by Ina Stanley and Carlton Barnette) hopes to bring innovation and change to the Durham & Chapel Hill areas of the Triangle.

Virtual Sidekick came into being as the two long-time residents of Durham & Chapel Hill began to see a need for better presentation of homes, commercial properties and institutions online. “In our search for a home, we noticed that many of the listings had very little to offer visually. There seemed to be few (if any) available pictures, and the virtual tours that we happened across did not offer the best viewing experience in terms of quality, sharpness of images or abundance of what we thought home buyers like us would want to see online,” said Ina Stanley, co-owner and lead photographer for the new company. Both having a background in visual arts and production (Ina having studied photography, web design, audio/visual production and marketing throughout her school career and Carlton having studied visual arts and architectural engineering), the two residents of Durham decided to form a company that would provide such services as virtual tours, photography, marketing and web design for local real estate agents, professionals, businesses and institutions. “We feel that many Realtors, business owners and other professionals may not have the time, equipment or resources necessary to produce the best property presentations for the Web. Our goal is to handle the more technical aspects of these presentations so that our clients can have more time to focus on what they do best – running their businesses.”

While there have been virtual tour providers in the area for years, Virtual Sidekick hopes to bring a fresh, new perspective to the industry. When asked what makes Virtual Sidekick unique, Ina had this to say of the services offered, “Our service is different from the traditional virtual tours often seen online. Instead of taking simple panoramic images, stitching them together and animating them 360 degrees, we're offering actual video-based virtual tours which are physically filmed with professional-grade equipment, editing using state-of-the-art software and distributed online for maximum exposure!” She views video as the better choice, stating that it does not distort the visual image being viewed (as stitched panoramas often can when applied to animation software), shows depth and dimension more accurately than simple photos, and is more portable than most other forms of media available. “Video can be widely distributed across the Internet. It can be hosted and shared using simple links or embed codes, can be uploaded, viewed, commented on and ranked via sites like YouTube (which receives more than 300 million views daily), posted to websites and blogs with just a few clicks, and even sent to mobile devices.”Our video-based tours are offered in High Definition, so they also capture color, character and detail in a way that simple photos and stitched panoramas can't.” Perhaps the most rewarding aspect of using video is that mass distribution is normally free, or very low-cost. “Video-based virtual tours can be distributed nearly everywhere that the Internet has to offer, and all without spending a dime! While traditional advertising methods such as print can be costly and potentially harmful to the environment, video usually remains right where you put it, until you decide to remove it, and most media sites like YouTube do not charge to upload and share video online. “Advertising using video and online media can help cut costs, allowing you to save on printing & ink while reaching a wider audience, and doesn't require the use of paper, which saves on natural resources!”

The line-up of services includes video-based virtual tours with distribution, professional digital photography, interactive 2D & 3D floor plans, 3D home models, marketing services and much more! “We've even decided to offer the traditional virtual tours that most online users are used to, but instead of this being the only option for presenting a property, we're offering this feature as an interactive upgrade to our video-based tours. The more options we have for our clients, the better we'll be able to service them and their clients!” For Realtors interested in virtual tour services, Virtual Sidekick is also an approved virtual tour vendor of the IDX system and Triangle MLS.

To learn more about the benefits of videography and video-based virtual tours, visit the Triangle's brand new virtual tour provider online today!

More information can be found online at http://www.virtual-sidekick.com

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