Zen and the Art of Social Networking and Writing Blogs

The thing I like about writing blogs, is that you have the capacity to stir up the kind of energy you want on any given day. For example, if I wish to take folks on an adventure, I grab a camera and head off to one of our nearby California Gold Rush towns. Sharing photos and telling Wild West legends and tales that accompany them is fun stuff. Without a doubt Photo blogging forces us to engage life more intimately.

At other times, I blog because I wish to share information, that may be helpful. For those of us who post real estate related material, there can be postings that provide information about buying and selling homes, tips on how to improve credit to obtain a loan, or information about how to perform home maintenance and repairs. There have been days I have simply posted a favorite recipe cooked up and put on my dining room table.

However, with blogs and other forms of social networking, there can be advantages as well as disadvantages. Social networking and blogs present a double-edged sword in the social networking arena.

Anyone that can access the Internet via a computer, can simply Google a name and often find what one has been up to. This includes prospective employers and clients. And there are issues with cyber-bullying, and other pitfalls.

For real estate professionals there are additional concerns. For example, often we see posts that are political in view, or are have strong religious overtones. Most folks have a political stance, and have beliefs, which make up part of who they are. However, if you are a professional person, and wish to endear potential clientele your way, it may be good to remember that prospective clientele may not share your political views, or your beliefs. And it is important to understand that to BELIEVE something, isn’t always the same as to KNOW something. Consider being more guarded in what you put out there on your professional blogs and the Internet.

Disclaimers often need to accompany certain things we post. We may at times, accidentally neglect to use the appropriate disclaimer; or we create some other minor infraction. If you are industrious, and you are prolific in your efforts, it is inevitable there will be an occasional oversight or minor error. It's inevitable.

Hopefully, because we are real estate professionals, we privately issue a friendly reminder to one another and help each other out when there is oversight. But occasionally, there will be that one person in any group of people, who will be compelled to escalate it to the next level and create an issue, rather than helping solve one.

There can be pitfalls to all your hard work and effort while marketing to the public. However, the only choice if you do not wish to be at risk, is to do absolutely nothing. But to be an enterprising top-producer, that solution isn’t usually viable.

A sad fact is that there are those that are more interested in how you do your business, than they are in doing their own. But hopefully, you will be cautious, you will continue to be professional, and you will prevail!

Now for the Zen part of this blog – A favorite picture of the Point Reyes shoreline, California.

*I take pictures for the purpose of remembering fond times. I do not impose copyright restrictions on this photo, so you may feel free to use, or distribute as you wish. However, should you need a Real Estate Professional in the Greater Sacramento area, I hope that you will contact me by email or by visiting my website www.myrljeffcoat.com - Thank You!