James Duggins

I need to state that I've always been a somewhat early adopter when it comes to technology and social trends. I'm a self-proclaimed social media floozy, love networking, and, for the most part, think the human race is A-OK. I've been a part of: Friendster, LinkedIn, Twitter, MySpace, Facebook, Ning, Hi-5, and who knows how many Internet forums I've belonged to over the years on various interests of mine. Some of them have faded from mainstream usage, some have become mainstream and are now rather 'uncool' for the fact, and some have become part of our mainstream social fabric. My question is this, can too much information tilt the donkey-drawn-cart-of-life onto it's haunches?

I made a recent, personal choice to remove myself from each and every single social network I've ever belonged to. Well, except for this one, ActiveRain; I view it more as a creative outlet and business tool, so it gets to live in my Green Zone. I have to admit, I was a Facebook junkie. How many times I would find myself mindlessly checking the site throughout the day. I have the mindset of wanting to know everything, all at once. Facebook fed that hunger, but oh man, could I overdo it. Same with Twitter. So much data, so much shared information, so much liking this, liking that, comment here, click here, tweet that, and so on and so on. It's a deluge of information, and man, it becomes overwhelming. How much data can we truly be bombarded with in one sitting, and actually have anything stick? If everyone is sharing and linking and liking, it all becomes noise. It gets lost. There could be absolute gold, but it's here and then there so swiftly. I can compare it to blog posts on ActiveRain. Well crafted, highly thoughtful, and insightful posts can disappear to the dreaded 2nd, 3rd, and so on pages of the blog roll, archived deep in Google's seach algorithms.

Clearly, I've swung the pendulum to the far opposite direction of my former social media frenzy. Not suprisingly though, I've found myself more focused on actual human interactions. More time spent calling Realtors, attending more networking events, more face-to-face interactions, office visits, visiting and sitting opens, etc. Real estate might be the tangible product of our industy, but it's truly a people business. I think there needs to be a balance. Primary focus being the people, in flesh and blood, and electronic means as a secondary focus. I think the thing that stands out most in this era where everything is so ADHD-fueled are those awesome moments of connection when two people meet and chat face-to-face.

What do you think? I know that social media is an ultra-hot trend around these parts and would love to hear your thoughts, rants, and raves.

Since I'm sure I have a readership of at least one (thanks, Mom), I'd like to announce my return from a mini-vacation to New York City. It was my first trip there, and my first substantial amount of time spent in a 'real' city. I can honestly say if I ever left Hawaii, New York City is the only place that I would ever go. I view both places equally cool, but for completely different reasons. It must be the Gemini in me.

I did manage to lose my wallet on our layover in Phoenix (awesome way to start a trip), and the Phoenix airport proceeded to eat my girlfriend's jacket on the layover back. Clearly, Phoenix does not want us there.

Where would you go, if you ever uprooted?

I'm serious. I really, really do. I know in my career field it's almost required to build that oh-so-important network of referral partners. The cool thing, in my situation, is that I love it. People are awesome, and getting to meet people of all types is something I don't even remotely consider work. I've always tried to analyze my chaos-filled mind, and figure this is a byproduct of my latchkey kid lifestyle when I was, well, a kid. I think too many years of solitary youth had swung the pendulum to the far opposite realm of social floozieness in my slightly wiser adult years.

I seem to find myself sitting with Realtors in the Ewa Beach-Millilani-Kapolei area, and with my niche being VA loans, I couldn't ask for a better situation. This area is truly the mecca of VA home purchasess here in Hawaii. Be it the close proximity to the major military installations (Hickam Air Force Base, Pearl Harbor, Schofield Barracks, and Marine Corps Base Hawaii), affordable housing prices, and perhaps even more mainland style homes, it's the hot place to be. Of course short sales abound right now, but for a buyer, this is a great benefit if they are willing to work through the (getting easier) short sale process.

Actually, now that I think about it, I have fond memories of flipping through the old MLS books that Realtors used to use. My mom used to drag me along whenever she was in the market to purchase a home, and I'd ride along in the back of some Realtor's fancy, leather-clad luxury sedan flipping through the MLS book.

So, what's my point? Well, don't really have one. I just spent the last week popping into various opens and was musing on how much I enjoy it. I love dropping in and meeting folks, and I love sitting at opens, assisting Realtors. Maybe all those 'wasted' weekends with Mom, infiltrating and scouting various suburban locales, paid off quite nicely in my career endeavors.

What's your favorite part of the real estate profession?

See that guy over there to the right, yah, that bowling ball lookin' guy over there. That's me. Look even farther to the fancy Glamor Shot picture, and that's me as well. Clearly there is something missing. My hair. Lots and lots of it. While I'll not going to spend too much time discussing my losing battle with male pattern baldness (being bald is a choice, balding is not). Besides, I love having a shaved head. I think I run faster since I'm more aerodynamic, and could always signal passing airplanes if I was ever stranded on an island (well, I guess I kinda already am living in Hawaii) with my shiny dome.

So, what's my point with all this? I got into a discussion with a few Realtors at Regional networking event, and the topic of business card photo accuracy came up. Clearly, I need to update my photo. I was making a last ditch effort to grow my hair out when I had my photo done (if you look real close, the photographer even used Photoshop to fill in some of my thinning hair area!), and obviously changed my mind about that effort. My business card is my representation to the world and the reference to be used when I'm not around to remind people of who I am. I want my business card to be an accurate reflection of who I am. We are visual creatures, and these images are powerful. If it weren't, we'd all live in drab homes, drive bland cars (like this Dodge Aries K - probably my favorite YouTube video ever), and walk around in burlap sacks.

How many times have you been handed a business card with a photo that's 20 years old? Given a business card with phone numbers crossed out and written over? What were your thoughts and impressions after the fact?

Quick tip: let's try and keep our info, business cards, and web presence current; it helps build that all-important credibility. In my case, I could just white-out my hair and pass my cards out, but I'm not sure if I'd look right with a puffy, white afro. Time for me to schedule an appointment with a photographer!

I do tend to zero in on these minor details, but aren't those the most important details of all?

Simply put, it's a cliche and a title of book (that I have yet to read), but "The harder I work, the luckier I get." I was told this very recently by a fellow Real Estate Professional, and much like al dente pasta, it just stuck to the proverbial wall that is my brain. When I think back to my younger days, and assumed things would just 'work out' or utilized hope as a strategy (a fine book, by the way), it doesn't surprise me now why I was never content in my former careers. It's been a rather liberating feeling being able to break the shackles of the corporate world and find myself in an industry that truly rewards that old school work ethic.

I love living in Hawaii, and I truly love what I do as a lender and VA loan specialist. It makes it so easy to just delete the Facebook, kill the cable, and blow up the TV. Too many people to meet, hands to shake, presentations to do, books to read, people to learn from, questions to ask, people to help, and ideas to grow and blossom. What an amazing industry, full of potential and growth. Perhaps it's the honeymoon phase, but there is something special to be able to say, so quickly, that I found a world where I foresee myself in 20-30 years. That rocks.

Do you folks out there share this excitement? What's been you 'a-ha!' moment? I'd love to hear your stories.