Real Estate is crazy: Inman

(Due to a very large amount of interest lacking in the previous post, I offer the following for clarification-Obeoman)

Donut on a stick:

Device used to lure Realtors into buy marketing, technology and on line services they desperately need (more than the donut on a stick.)

Averaging approximately 300- 1,300 calories per serving, depending on if is just a plain cake donut or if it is chocolate-covered,creme filled or has sprinkles on it the donut on a stick classifies as comfort food for Realtors.

The stick itself is approximately 6-7 inches in length, round, made of wood of undetermined nature, between an eighth and a quarter of an inch in diameter and pointed on one end.

(Health note: the stick is not edible, and will not support a "For Sale" sign. As it is not edible for health reasons it should not be re-used at other sales meetings to skewer another pastry or used to arrange paperwork in a tidy stack for closings.)

Supplied and distributed by vendors, who may or may not be preferred, (depending on the brokerage being visited,) consumption of the donut on a stick usually occurs during, but is not limited to sales meetings.
Office decorum demands that there be at least one (1) donut on a stick per person attending the sales meeting. The donut on a stick may be shared, but solely at the discretion of the real estate agent holding the stick.

(Safety Note: The donut on a stick should never be consumed while driving, as it may interfere with essential activities like answering a cell phone, plugging in your laptop or making a showing on time.)

While the donut on a stick may not be favored just by Realtors, it should be noted they most understand the content of the donut and its central element.

Obeoman

steven.stearns@obeo.com

Sunday, April 1, 2007

Inman proud owner of new Weenie!

The roller grill of blogging keeps on turning - Free Speech Crusader and Realtor Teresa Boardman announced Sunday-sometime between my second cup of coffee and lunch-that she has accepted an offer from Inman News for the Real Estate Weenie - with condiments.

Not surprisingly,the list of those who got off their buns to make an offer were top or wanna-be-near-top dogs in the bloggosphere: Larry Cragun, Rudy Bachraty of Sellsius, Pat Kitano at www.transparentre.com and an unnamed real estate marketing consultant from Obeo - me. The Weenie is priceless, but my Mastercard is played out.

April Fool or not: after the last ten or twelve days in the bloggosphere, let's not forget death threats and thugblogging silenced two voices, one maybe for good - Kathy Sierra -
and one when the blogthugs ganged up on her- Boardman.

Make no mistake - both of these situations, while each different in outcome, put a face on free speech. Being a 1st Amendment absolutist myself, note that free speech is a human endeavor judged by the content and the decorum of the debate. Those elements are essential and there is not much give in either of these conversations, and way too much taking. Blogging can and should be humorous, informative and not harmful to living things.

(As of the posting of this blog, no news on plans for the Weenie at Inman or how much they will charge for a Weenie.)
Inman News, another very human endeavor, is now the proud owner of a legacy, whether it notices this or not. Inman's position on the roller grill is between megacontent and metablogging: it definitely is news to blog about and Inman is a definitive resource for bloggers.
The opportunity: for Inman to use its Weenie for good - and point it proudly at all that is bad in the real estate blogging universe.

Someone has to do it - right?

I'm outta here.
steven.stearns@obeo.com

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

How does your blogging grow?

Disclosure: I am a member of the WannaNetwork Forum.

Inman News' recent three-part series on social media is sparking questions about what is advertising, the value of content-and who decides.
The rub comes in the second part of the series. Author(s) Jessica Swesey and Glenn Roberts Jr. mention all the usual big players: ActiveRain, Google, YouTube, RSS Pieces, Groundswell, Robin McKnight-and the not-so-big WannaNetwork, created by Tony Sena, a Las Vegas Realtor.
McKnight comments ActiveRain is getting bloggers noticed because of the relevant content on the site. By comparison, she said the agents using WannaNetwork "...were using it to advertise and Google never trusted it because of the quality of the content just isn't there."
Whoa - them could be fighting words. But here, the weary-fingered blogging expert McKnight appears right -relevancy and timeliness of content can push a blog up in a search engine. Content is still king. Credibility still is a keystone in what I call the "information is more important than influence" game.
But what if something different is going on at WannaNetwork - granted the blogging tools are a bit limited, but the forums are lively and anyone who looks there will see business is being done.
Hmm. Making money without SEO or blog content. Happened before the web, why not now in the web? This alone will probably not put Google out of business, but it does highlight the constantly changing realities of new emerging markets and web-resident consumers.
Roberts points out in the final Inman piece today that Web 2.0 and the way it works "...can lead some of these web sites and tools to jump from oblivion to immense popularity while others dim to virtual obscurity in viral fashion..."-Newer ways of doing new business may not be immediately obvious to those watching, reporting or blogging about it. And not getting the right information out could put a damper on a pretty good new thing – whatever it is at the moment.
Inman is giving a broad view of what is happening right now. Wright has a presence at WannaNetwork and has some great blogging tips posted there in the forums. Sena is developing a networking community. And Google is getting bigger, of course. Blogging? Perseus.com reports after randomly surveying eight leading blog sites: “...1.09 million blogs were one-day wonders, with no postings on subsequent days.”
Maybe information can be kind of like the Emperor laughing because he knows he has no clothes on.

If you can hear him laughing.

Thanks for stopping by,
Steve
steven.stearns@obeo.com

Real Estate is crazy

Sunday, August 24, 2008

OBEO WINS GOLD AT INMAN RE TRENDS GROUP!-2008 Real Estate Pacesetter Award