Earlier today, I wrote a post entitled How Open Things Are Going to Get...Calculating The Value of Social Networks. Clearly, there are significant emerging developments ahead for 2008. We are re-working the the essential nature of customer service on line.
And while the winners are not yet clearly identified, one thing is certain...the rules of engagement are not going to be business as usual. In fact our nascent efforts might best be remembered as the rudimenary initiators of Business Unusual.
A couple of comments on the post by Linda Scanlan and Elaine Hanson illustrate how difficult social networks are to keep up with. Even as they seem to be popping up everywhere...the chaos/noise factor threatens to undermine their potential effectiveness. Not unlike the thousands of groups on Active Rain. I daresay, many of us couldn't name all the groups we have chosen to belong to if we were put on the spot or even awarded Extra Point.:)
While many have a presence on more than one platform and/or group, I doubt that most actively employed professionals have the time or energy to engage all of them effectively. Rather we tend to struggle with the demands of being engaged in community AND creating content.
I think the biggest benefit of blogging has come from creating connections which would probably not have occurred without the platforms provided by Web 2.0 platforms. This capability through a blog has the potential for expanding the scope of an individual agent's business dramatically. Many of us have served clients this year whom we would never have met apart from our blogs.
But, what if every account/blog/post/social media account... could be linked universally to one entity...YOU? And YOU decided where content would go, when. And from One Place, not having to log into multiple dozens of sites? Think of it this way...The Relationship between the main Active Rain website and Localism expanded to an entire network of sites...indeed the entire web! How might this impact your reach and potential scope of profits from your services?
In a relatively short span of time, blogging is re-arranging the landscape of real estate community relationships. For one thing, it's bringing people together. It's also creating new ways of thinking about how we organize, share and export knowledge.
This year, several seminars were held in Grand Rapids, Michigan which were attended by just shy of a couple hundred individuals from different companies across the professional real estate spectrum. Hundreds of agents in Kent County have joined the Active Rain network alone.
Its been great to see more agents discover an effective way to educate clients as well as share and receive knowledge to expand their individual business. In addition, for the first time in my career, it's been possible to get to know agents from across the country...and have an additional basis beyond cryptic initials to judge their competence. The blogging platform on Active Rain is creating a receptive environment in which who you are is far more important than what company you belong to. That's A Huge Shift and is a Very Big Deal!
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Lola:
I like that idea. Hit submit and decide where to send it.
Until then...I would just be happy to be able reply to comments via e-mail form!
Good stuff. =]
Hi Jessica...it would be cool wouldn't it...Thanks for stopping by.
This is an intriguing idea. I really think I like it.
Tricia, I found the thoughts expressed by Marc Canter in the initial post absolutely fascinating. It would be cool to be able to facilitate most things in one spot when it came to interacting on Web 2.0 media wouldn't it? Also, his ideas about leveraging blogs as an asset are instructive. Thanks for your comment.
I haven't read the Canter article that you mentioned in the earlier post, Lola, but do plan to. The social networking craze is expanding in leaps and bounds...and one does wonder about the value of being networked, to what extent, where, and so on.
And what of the value of networking with fellow agents (which IS what we are doing on these sites) vs. consumers? Is our presence there actually providing value to consumers? Will it potentially impact our business through increased web presence? Are we wasting time with all the applications there are to play with, especially on Facebook? What IS the best use of our limited time on these networks?
Lots of questions but no qnswer yet. I suspect 2008 will be a time of much discussion and evolution in the social netowrking arena.
Jeff
All of these blogging and social networking sites are at everyones fingertips. For me ActiveRain will always remain #1 for me. The platform is unlike any other and gives us direct googledy juice if we utilize it correctly. I have limited my time on the other networks but found a couple of them with the same platform as AR...but still....I like the organized manner of AR...there is much to be said about the differences....but if I weigh them all out ....AR wins every time. At least it's not My Space...yet.
Jeff, these are the questions we need to be thinking about. As great as blogging is...if it is not making sense as a prospecting tool or is too cumbersome, it's definitely not worth the time invested. I was talking to a blogger today about how she found one of my articles. I had written it several months ago and had actually forgotten the specific post she referred to. It was interesting to see that this information has "reach" long after it is first published.
I don't think this is a waste of time if it is done well...however, because of the "reach" and extraordinarily long shelf life, it can be damaging if done poorly. Sally Cheeseman wrote an interesting article about this on her latest post. Thanks for stopping to read and comment. Canter's article was a little intimidating to read as it is more technical, but I'm glad I did some additional research. He has some very interesting insights on his vision of the future of the web.
Amen to the fact that it's not MySpace of Facebook Sally! :) I do have profiles on LinkedIn, Facebook and Digg. However, I visit them sporadically. It would be great to have a platform that allowed everything to inter-phase together...Dream...Dream...Dream...Dream....
I can relate to the struggle to keep up with all the networks! It's hard to determine which ones are worth it!
Hi Lisa...some networks will prove to be better than others. Case in point is Active Rain. In the future it will be even more important to invest precious time in the places that are most effective in creating the desired results.
Maybe I don't get it yet but some of platforms like Facebook just seems like playing to me and I don't often have time for playing. I have a profile on myspace,facebook and linkedin but rarely go there. My time spent here usually is productive, I'm learning something or sharing something. My outside blog is my baby...I'm nurturing it..trying to make it strong so that it can't stand on it's own feet. Between that and AR...I'm busy enough. I don't understand the benefit of joining every platform that comes along. Am I missing something? I don't know. Maybe someone can tell me.
Kris...perhaps we can give this request to Santa for next year! In a way, I'm surprised that no one has come up with this. I don't think it's a feasibility issue...it's probably more of a cooperation issue. We may be caught in the struggle for "control" of the medium which has prospered so phenomenally because people chose to cooperate and share rather than hang on to their individual "turfs." It will be interesting to see if things move in this direction in the future. It would be wonderfully efficient...
I'm with you on the productivity Monika. Although I love having fun...I'd rather do it in real life with people who I can see and touch. :) Not that blogging is not fun...it can be, however, my goal is to impact my business in a positive way. I consider other platforms like LinkedIn to be somewhat like business cards,(where I leave snapshots of pertinent information) whereas my blogs are opportunities for clients to do a vicarious review/interview of our services and topics of interest to them. I'm not interested in joining every platform...it simply does not make sense to me. But then perhaps like you...I'm missing something. :)
Lola, I read and reread your post and I still don't have a clue what you mean. As usual I read this post before your other one. I will go read that one. If I'm still lost I'll let you know.
Bill Roberts
Bill..you have made me laugh this afternoon. For that I sincerely Thank You. Unfortunately, the first post will probably not shed much more light on this topic than this one. Truly appreciate your stopping by and making the effort to actually read and re-read. Best Wishes for a Prosperous 2008!
Lola,
The potential for something rather big could be achieved with a central hub of one's blogs, websites etc. It seemingly would require a lot of time to maintain the network, so another person probably would be needed to handle that. The concept sounds intriguing.
Esko, it would be convenient wouldn't it? Perhaps, the breakthrough will be in 2008...
Lola...
I have a little secret to share with you. Shhh. Don't tell Blog Boy I told you :)
Because of all of the relationships we have developed we are no longer just giving away our referrals
We are actually doing referrals like everyone else.
As it turns out all those little itsy bitsy checks really add up at the end of the month :)
TLW...ROAR!
Yes, they do...TLW. The saying is proving to be more true today than ever...There are many different ways to skin a cat. And I might add, we haven't even begun to fully explore the many different ways to enhance the earnings potential of smart real estate agent. TLW...your secret is Safe with Me. :)
Lola - I thought the purpose of all this technology was to give me more time for the fun stuff.
Anyway it is true that the blogging platform is making name brand companies less important. People are more likely now to do business with the people thay have developed relationships with on the social networks.
Hi Jennifer, Funny thing about technology. Sometimes it takes more time in learning and managing than it purports to save. It's a real interesting balancing act. The Internet is changing the way consumers get a First look" at the real estate process. This has real implications for the individual agent and the corporation. Thanks for stopping by.