realweenie

Even further back in the day

This is kind of a follow up from Todd's post, back in the day.  I love the way Todd writes and am always happy to have him on the weenie, he says that I have a sense of humor, maybe but his quick wit gets me every time.

Todd got me thinking about what back in the day means to me.

The first time I touched a computer keyboard was in 1982.  I was a mainframe that my college shared with another school.  The thing looked like a giant typewriter, and had no screen.  We would dial a number on an analogue phone and put the phone in a special cradle to connect to the computer.  The user would type commands and the results would be printed on green bar paper.

The first time I used a PC was also in 1982.  They were given to the school by IBM, through a grant from 3M.  No one really knew what to do with them, they were toys in our computer lab that we would play with.  Did you know that the personal computer was an invention that no one had any use for? They were novel because they had screens, and were so small, compared to the huge mainframe computers.  I think it was visicalc or lotus123 that made the PC useful for businesses, they were early spreadsheet programs. The only class I ever took to learn a software application was a class on Lotus123, when MS Excel came out, I immediately switched to it and have been using it ever since.

I had a computer in my home in 1989, it was an Apple 2E clone.  It had a screen, black with amber writing, no graphics of course.   No hard drive, the programs were on floppy disks and I saved my work on the same disk.  A couple of years later, 1991, or maybe 92, I bought an Apple Perfoma.  It had a 40 megabyte hard drive,  and a color screen and a 1200 baud modem. I went on the internet and have been there ever since.  I kind of got lost in it and started a whole new life for myself. :)  I had an email account but no one to send email too.  I was one of the early member of this new on-line community called AOL.  We used to get updates every week about new web sites on the internet.

One day in 1992 my six year old son brought home a floppy disk that hat a new beta program on it called Netscape navigator, 1.0, I loaded it on my performa and never used AOL again.  I discovered I could use a local ISP and just go anywhere on the internet that I wanted to without having to download a ton of graphics.  AOL made me "update" every time I signed on and with a 1200 Baud modem that was very time consuming as the update included numerous icons and graphics.  I think Netscape mail may have been the first or second on-line, use anywhere kind of email, I was invited to do some beta testing of the product and was most impressed.

I developed my first web site in 1995 for a non-profit.  I used a new program called Netscape navigator gold 3.0 and free programs I found on the internet.  The project took me almost two weeks, The site consisted on four pages.

When I think about back in the day, I remember that first PC without a hard drive and how long it took on my Macintosh Performa to "dial up" and get on the internet. It was so slow, and there were few websites.  Email was fairly useless but seemed pretty cool.  Most people were not too sure that the internet was worth the trouble, but we played on it just the same.

I like to say that in internet years I am 300 years old.  I have seen the progression and advancement almost since day one.  I remember using "Gopher" through the university of Minnesota and using an email program called "pine". When the spell checker came out it changed my life. I know it is hard to tell from my posts but it is true. The spell checker and the keyboard made it possible for me to write, and opened up a whole new world that I never imagined I would be a part of.

There wasn't any new technology to learn when I started my blog in 2005.  Instead I had to learn how to write and take pictures, and am still working on perfecting both.   

Back'n Tha Day

By Todd Carpenter

Today, I extended an Facebook group invitation to my buddy Jay Thompson. Not just any invitation mind you. One of such exclusivity that the Skull & Bones crowd would find themselves on the outside, looking in. In fact, even the queen weenie master herself, and host of this blog of mass destruction (cleverly disguised as a hot dog stand) is not yet eligible for invitation to the Back'n Tha Day Facebook group.

What is Back'n Tha Day?

Well, unlike Skull & Bones, we can talk about Back'n The Day. In fact, that's the only point of the group. To gloat. Back'n Tha Day is reserved for real estate bloggers with three years or more of blogging experience. Today, Jay joins the likes of Dustin Luther, Maureen Francis, Kristal Kraft, Jim Duncan and myself. Today Jay can start saying stuff like:

Back'n Tha Day, we didn't need no fancy RSS reader to read all our favorite real estate blogs.

Back'n Tha Day, we thought Active Rain had something to do with seeding clouds.

Back'n Tha Day, Brad Inman actually blogged on the Inman Blog.

Back'n Tha Day, making Hanan Levin's bloggers list was the gold standard... It still is.

Back'n Tha Day, we didn't have blog wars.

Back'n Tha Day, the Blog Squad was the bomb.

Back'n Tha Day, we didn't need blog coaches, or SEO experts to make it work.

Back'n Tha Day, we just jumped in.

Welcome Jay. As Jim Duncan would say, you're old school now. When other bloggers try to give you advice, or tell you you're wrong, just tell them, "Dude, I'm Back'n Tha Day". Argument over. When a blog coach pitches their services to you, just ask them, "Are YOU Back'n Tha Day? I didn't think so... bye bye." Best of all, when you're downing a pint of beer at Inman Connect this summer, a simple nod to your fellow Back'n Tha Day members will be all it takes to confer the obvious. Original RE Blogger in da house yo.

How Often do you Google Yourself?

I have neglected this blog of mass destruction cleverly disguised as a hot dog stand for too long.   I post when I can which isn't very often these days, and I am concerned that I will lose both of my readers.

Many of the re-bloggers out there spend time googling themselves and sometimes they even publish the results. It seems to be a big deal.  I get it when it comes to certain widely used searches and keywords but I don't get it when it comes to the title of a post, or a sentance in the post.

I decided to do some googling of my own.  Is googling a word?  Of course not but here on the weenie anything goes.  I come up number one, and two on page one of google, when I type in "cleverly disguised as a hot dog stand".   Isn't that amazing?  I am going to share my secret with you. "cleverly disguised as a hot dog stand" is a unique set of words that I have used many times in my posts.  When I run the search the pages that come up after mine all have the phrase "cleverly disguised" in them but not the words "hot dog stand".  I feel very special.

Now I can tell the world that I come up number one on the search "cleverly disguised as a hot dog stand".  I guess this bad old blog has really made it.   Just think, all those people out there searching for "cleverly disguised as a hot dog stand" will find me first.

Now that I am number one in google for the "cleverly disguised as a hot dog stand", what will happen next?  Will I be rich beyond my wildest dreams?  Will I be famous?  Probably not but like everyone else out there who comes up number one in google under some blog post headline or obscure phrase in a blog post, my search engine position gives me something to write about and makes me look really smart. 

The Most Popular Agent Recruitment Tool

Just an observation . . .

Running a real estate company or office seems to be mostly about recruiting.  I guess that makes sense.  Since real estate office make money from the sales their agents make, the more agents, the more sales.

Agents leave the business and more join all the time.  The large companies recruit, recruit, recruit.  Like most agents I get post cards in the mail and spam from real estate companies in my market.

It seems like the brokers all use the same criteria for bringing on new agents.  If the person can get a MN real estate license and then pass the mirror test they are brought on board.

The mirror test is when the broker holds a mirror near the agents mouth and asks them to breath.  If they can fog the mirror they are welcomed aboard by the broker.  Most brokers and managers are too focused on recruiting to bother to spend much time helping new agents get started.  It isn't wise to invest much time in new agents anyway because they are independent contractors, which is different than employees.

Real estate companies gravitate toward recruiting agents who have sales experience, or of course experienced agents.  Sales experience is important but so are computer and people skills.  Many of the managers with the big companies don't have computer skills.  They started in the business before buyers and sellers started using the internet and seem to think agents can do just fine with out having basic computer skills. The goal seems to be to fill offices with as many mirrors fogging licensed individuals as possible so I guess it doesn't matter if they have skills.

I currently am having a transaction with a new agent.  I am representing both the buyer and the seller.  The agent is a buyers agent and it is my listing.  I already explained to the sellers when we got an offer on the property that some blanks needed to be filled in on the contract and some changes needed to me made to take care of the buyer. The buyers agent will get half of the commission but I am doing most of the work for both sides if the transaction.  It is just part of the job.  It would be nice though if the new agents broker got involved, but chances are he or she is too busy recruiting new agents.

How Fast Can You Talk?

You may have noticed if you read my blogs that I have a love hate relationship with my phone.  I sometimes miss calls becasue I have it off or on silent.  I need to screen my calls because I really don't want to talk to all the wonderful vendors out there trying to sell me blog platforms and a bunch of other stuff that I eaither already have or don't have becasue I am not interested.

When the messages go into voice mail I sometimes have to play them five or even six times to get the phone number if I want to return the call.  I am amazed by how fast people can say their phone numbers but would love to know why they say them so fast that it is impossible to make out the numbers and write them down.  I tend to say my own number slowly and I repeat my name at the end of the message because most people have forgotten it by the time they listen to the message and the number.

What am I missing here?  Is there some business reason for reciting my phone number at a hyper fast speed?  Some of my phone calls do not get returned because I don't have the patience to decipher the number. 

I love you and I want to help

I hope you feel the love here. I have decided that I need to help other people.  I want to do it becasue I am better than everyone else and I should be sharing my wisdom and experience so that others can benefit from it.  Russel Shaw, I know you don't read the weenie but you really should.  It is in your best interest to do so and I only want to help you.

Russel wrote a post, "Barry Cunningham is Full of Crap"  to help Barry Cunningham.  Barry may need help but that isn't the point.  Russel has helped Barry by publicly calling him a "turd".   I am sure Barry will appreciate the help and take Russel's wise advice.   I know that if someone called me a turd publicly I would be able to overlook it and understand the loving intentions behind it.

I have seen this type of behavior on the Bloodhound blog before. A few of the writers are on a mission to help and guide the clueless unwashed masses who hold real estate licenses issued by states all over the country. Bloodhound blog tried to save me last year by noticing the evil in my heart and trying to snuff it out. They did not understand at the time that I don't have a heart.

This post is meant to help.  I just want to say that you could learn a lot from me, and you should all pay attention.  Read the weenie every chance you get so that you can learn and grow. It doesn't matter how much you know now, there is always more to learn and you can learn from me becasue I know more than you do.

Russel you are not helping anyone by publicly trashing them.  Your posts can ruin reputations and ruin businesses.  If you do want to help others, which I know you do, consider sending them an email with your words of wisdom instead of calling them a "turd" and posting it on the Bloodhound blog. That is my advice to you.  Publicly discussing someone else's business in a negative way is not at all helpful but I recognize your greatness and understand your loving intentions.

I say it without getting personal, although I have mentioned your name a few times.   I am not attacking you, I am merely commenting on your actions and using them as an example to demonstrate to others what should not be written on a blog.  Thanks for giving me such an excellent example of a post the makes the writer look bad, and the blog look bad. 

I know that Mr. Shaw and the bloodhound blog will not be offended by this and it would be just wrong for anyone to get defensive.  I am just trying to help and I think this would be a great venue for a discussion on how we can all help each other. 

Real estate writers and other people who don't know what they are talking about

I don't know much about beer, and I blieve Fat Tire is an import from Belgium but I am told that some folks like beer with their hot dogs so I thought I would include the logo with my post.

I could write an entire post about beer.  I could do some research online and maybe even look like an expert on a subject that I know little about.

When I see an article written for the real estate industry I know right away if the writer is an expert, or just an industry writer.  In the past couple of weeks I have seen a few posts written by vairous coaches, vendors and writers about property photos for real estate listings.

Now they are saying that in addition to video HDR, High Dynamic Range images, are the way to go with property photos.  Of course none of these people have actually taken property photos and they are not getting this information from consumers, they just figure because it is newer to most we should start using it.  Maybe they talked to an actual real estate practitioner who has been having extraordinary success selling listings in a down market becasue of spectacular HDR photos.

The reality is that most agents take crappy pictures of their listings and put them on the MLS where the images look even crappier than they did to start with.  The pictures I see are too dark, out of focus, have reflections in them and are in general of poor quality.  Then there are the homes themselves.  Some are butt ugly and have no redeeming qualities, making it unlikely that the photos could ever be decorating magazine quality.  Most of the homes i list are beautiful but many are very small.  It is difficult to get "dramatic" photos of a 1000 square foot square loft.  It can be a real challenge to get 10 "dramatic" photos for the MLS.  maybe next time I'll try video.

What the real estate writers don't understand is that many agents don't know how to take a picture.  If they can take a picture they don't know how to get it from camera to computer.  If they do now how to get in from camera to computer they don't know how to upload it onto the internet.  Most don't use any kind of software for optimizing photos so even if they can take the picture and get it onto the internet it may be two dark, too large or just need a little cropping.

I have been experimenting with HDR for some of my property photos and taking some night shots too.  I happen to have an interest in photography.  If I did not I would hire a photographer.  having a real estate license does not qualify me to take property shots or design marketing materials. 

Remember as you read the stuff out there written for our industry these people are just writing for our industry.  They maybe saw some HDR property photos or a good property video some where and decided that ti would be great if all agents produced videos and magazine quality photos. It gives them something to write about too becasue they can compare video cameras, camera's, photo processing techniques, and the list goes on and on.

They are all trying to help us out.  If they were Realtors they would be doing all of these wonderful things, why aren't we?   Maybe someone out there who likes to give agents advice could write some basic how too posts on property shots and how to get them on the internet and provide a list of companies and photographers who take property shots for Realtors.

Obeoman blogs

Real estate is crazy, according to Obeoman, AKA Steven Stearns.  The guy leads a charmed life and somehow managed to write his blog for an entire year with out a write up on the weenie.

Obeoman did not post every day and for that we are all thankful.  Just kidding.  Steve has a wicked sense of humor.  We follow each other on Twitter and one afternoon he had me laughing so hard I had to call him.  You know, on that old fashioned thing with the keypad on it and no mouse. 

He was a delight to talk with.  I find his avatar rather frightening because of the big grin, but when I talked to him i found that the voice did not match the picture, even though he was smiling as we talked.

It is hard to roast Steve on the weenie.  He has always been very kind to Realtors which as we all know is highly unusual, which is one of the many reasons I question his sanity.  Real estate is crazy but I think Obeoman is Crazier.

Go read his blog, and ask him to post more often.

Questions

There really is such a thing as a dumb question.  The one I am thinking of is not really a dumb question but it is one that I can't answer.

It goes like this:  "I am starting a blog, can you give me some advice?"

Sometimes they ask for pointers but you get the idea.  How can I answer such a question?  I have written tons of posts on the subject on Active Rain, the Real Estate Tomato and even some on Agent Genius.  My blogging peers have done the same.

I can answer specific questions that go beyond, "what kind of camera do you use?"  I have even written posts about what kind of camera I use. LOL

Have a great day, don't bug me. Don't expect advice.  I can answer specific questions, and could write and entire book on the subject of blogs,  but can not give advice.  What do I look like?  Dear Abbey?  I am a Realtor dammit!

The real estate weenie

People have been referring to this blog as the weenie.  It is the real estate weenie and I should have insisted that it be called by it's proper name.

The real estate weenie blog turned a year old last week. It has five times as many comments as it does posts and not near enough posts for a one year old blog.  It seems that I keep getting talked into writing for other blogs and as a result I neglect this blog cleverly disguised as a hot dog stand.

The weenie has quite a history.  It's accidental launch last year caused quite a stir, but that was so last year.  The real estate weenie has taught me many things. 

I do accept guest posts for others who have weenies to roast and don't have an appropriate place to post.  On this blog most anything is appropriate as long as we all use our grown up words.

Thanks for reading the weenie.

The NAR Pin

I knew I would be writing about this eventually, and what better place than this blog of mass destruction cleverly disguised as a hot dog stand?

I was contacted by Realtor magazine a couple of months ago and interviewed for the article in this months issue.  Then I was contacted a few weeks later and asked if I would consider being photographed for the cover of the magazine.   I couldn't pass up an opportunity like that, would you say no?   I was told 3 or 4 bloggers would be featured on the cover.

My photo never made it to the cover but is shown inside in a couple of places.  I figure they took one look at me and decided that I am not cover material.  I totally get that.  After all the people from Realtor Magazine don't know what I look like and the photos they had taken were their first glimpse.  The photographer did take some excellent shots, considering what he had to work with, but those were not the photos chosen for the magazine. Since there are no recent pictures of me dressed in a suit, wearing a NAR pin it is nice to have them.

The article has generated some email and phone calls from people all over the country mostly asking questions about the blog. (Many, many phone calls and emails)

Last night I got a comment via facebook that made me smile.  "Did they make you wear that pin".  In the Realtor Magazine photos I am wearing a dark suit, a white blouse and have a NAR pin on my lapel.  That is pretty much how I dress for work every day, especially when I am out showing unheated vacant houses.

Honestly I have worn my NAR pin and I do own one.   A day or so before the photo shoot I was contacted by the people at the magazine and reminded to wear my NAR pin and told which lapel to wear it on.  I searched everywhere for my pin and could not find it.  I was asked for my address and told that one would be sent to me.

On the day that I was supposed to meet with the photographer the pin still had not arrived.  I got on the phone and started calling agents who live near me to see if any had a pin I could borrow.  I struck out on that one.  I called my local Realtors association and they found one for me, and had it waiting at the front desk so that I could swing by and pick it up and still be on time for the appointment with the photographer.  The pin in the picture on this post arrived two days after the photos were taken.

As for the article, it truly is an honor to be mentioned so prominently in such a widely distributed trade magazine. It is a favorable article and I thrilled to be mentioned with so many other prominent bloggers.  A copy arrived in the mail last week so I finally got to see and read it.  My mother says that she wants a copy of it but I have been unable to find a copy of the magazine anywhere. 

No one in my office knows about it or has read it, but many in my market area have.  When I was in the office yesterday I asked our MCA to hang onto a copy of the magazine if it is sent to our office and if she gets any extra copies.  When and if they arrive and she looks at it she will understand why I might want an extra copy.  Today I'll call some other offices around town and see if I can score a copy for my mother, before my moment of fame becomes last months news.  If that doesn't work I'll call the NAR.   If it were one of my children in the magazine I know I would love to have a copy.  It is kind of a universal mom thing.

There was a time when my parents were the only readers of my blog, they really hung in there.

What were you thinking?

Yes this is a rant.  What is the point of having a blog cleverly disguised as a hot dog stand if I can't rant once in a while? 

These days I have been spending a fair amount of time with clients who are looking for fixer uppers.  We have plenty of them.  Most are vacant homes that are bank owned.

Here in Minnesota smart property owners "winterize" vacant homes so that there is no danger of pipes freezing, breaking and flooding the home.  Winterizing involves turning off the water and draining the system.

So I go out to show these properties with my clients who are often accompanied by an entourage which consists of fathers, brothers, sisters, minor children of the same, and occasionally someone who knows something abut real estate or about home repairs.

Usually by the time we get to the third house, someone needs a potty break.  It is most often an adult, but occasionally a child.

None of the homes have usable facilities.  I know the drill, and often have to wait somewhere while the entourage takes a potty break.

When I was a child, back a very long time ago, my parents would advise us to drain ourselves before we got into the car.  Great advice.   I go one step further and limit the amount of caffeinated beverages that I consume before showing houses.  While I may fall asleep behind the wheel, at least I won't have to have everyone wait while I take a potty break.

If I could be paid minumum wage for every hour I have spent waiting for the entourage to take a potty break I could probably retire.  I do advise my clients on how to dress for seeing vacant unheated properties in subzero weather.  I am going to be adding some verbiage so that they know there won't be any working facilities in the homes that they will be seeing.  If that isn't enough I will tell them that they need to go potty before touring homes.

Could this Happen with A Real Estate Blog?

Cartoon From Blaugh

Most of us can not be fired but we can be asked to stop writing our blogs. I have been asked, rather often,  if I am worried about it.  Yes I do worry that I will be asked to stop writing my blogs, or maybe I would be asked to delete this one. LOL.  I do have a plan.  I have a brokers license and am ready to go out on my own at any time. 

Is having a blog really that important?  Yes it is from both a business point of view, and becasue I enjoy the freedom.  Freedom is more important to me in my life than money.  If it were not I would be working in a nice secure job with a predictable pay check.  I instead work in a business where the failure rate is very high, and in a down market.

After reading these last two paragraphs I have decided that I am totally stark raving mad and that I should get help soon.  . . . but you knew that already.

Rhymes With Tomato

Every now and then day, someone gives me a post for the weenie.  I am not talking about the posts other people submit to this blog I am talking about the stuff that I find on the internet that is perfect "weenie" material.  It is as if the author, in this case her name rhymes with Mary McKnight, provided a perfect weenie post.

I am finding so much of the stuff these days that this bad old blog is just writing it self.  The only way I can prevent myself from taking the time to write a post a day is to stay off the internet.  Yah, right, like I can do that and stay in business.   

"As usual, I will not name names but let's just say it rhymes with steal plate clamato."

Where did I find this little tidbit?  on a blog, I don't want to point fingers but it rhymes with RSS pieces, which coincidently rhymes with reeses pieces.

Web 2.0, in the new web 1.0 way? No, Yes?

This just in from David Smith, the guy in the red shirt, Mr. Tucson himself.

Remember RE 1.0 and the push "It is all about selling you are the agent"  Then the battle cry of RE 2.0. "Transparency".

Realtor magazine (for Realtor magazine) does a better than usual take on RE 2.0.  But does the right hand know what the left hand is doing.

How many times do you count "MAX"?

http://www.rdcworkshop.com/video/index.html

At last a blog about real estate

Just heard about this site a few days ago.  I think it is so exciting that I now have a place to go to connect with the real estate community.  A real estate blog where we can get some tips and how-to's, why didn't someone think of this before?

The Cover of the Rolling Realtor Magazine

I dedicate this post to the hard working bloggers at the Bloodhound Blog.

Daisy Unchained part 1

You can tell by the title of this post that I am being bad.  Some days I just can't help myself. 

Daisy, my dog, the pup on the sidebar has never been chained but she does have a leash and when she is outside she does have to be tied up.  Beagles are smart dogs but they have the tendency to wonder away from home.  They are tracking dogs and will pick up a sent and follow it until they are hopelessly lost.

She is also very friendly and I know that she found a person or a dog person to talk too she would be out of here in a heart beat.

She would make a great blogger becasue she is so friendly and she doesn't quit once she picks up a sent.  She is like a machine in her relentless pursuit of people, dogs and small furry critters.

Daisy does not have opposable digits so she really can't have a blog of her own. She can't handle a camera either. Photos are such an important part of a real estate blog and so is having a kind of conversational tone.  Real estate blogs need to be friendly, yet they also need to have some solid information in them.  People like to look at pictures of property, and see neighborhoods, street scenes, public buildings and sunsets too.  Readers see the pictures and get a sense that they have traveled to a new place.

My real estate blog is "hyper local"  If you look at it you will notice that it really does cover a variety of topics, but the idea is to create a kind of atmosphere where the reader just knows that they are visiting St. Paul, and they are reading a kind of letter from some one who lives, and works in St. Paul.  It is highly focused on what I do for a living . . . but that is becasue it is a business blog. 

There are many different styles of blog that work.  The writer should chose a style that is natural and easy for them so that they can post on a consistent basis.  The consistency is a huge part of what makes a blog work.  It helps to write about something that you have a passion for.  Like historic homes, architecture, golf, fishing, there are a wide range of topics that can be integrated into a real estate blog and bloggers are only limited by their imagination.

I don't get why people think of blogs as being technical.  A ton of technology goes into producing the local newspaper, yet no one talks about having to be "techie" to publish a newspaper. The amount of technology used to create and maintain a blog is so little that I don't understand why we talk about it at all.

Blogs are about user generated content.  Users who can generate content can have a blog.  They are also social in nature, not anti-social.  To have a great blog there are only four things needed:
1.  Content
2. The desire to be social, or socialize.
3. Commitment.
4. An imagination.

When it comes to technical the best investment a blogger can make is to learn how to take photos and post them.  The most important skills for any blogger are communication skills.  Without them nothing else really matters.

When looking for educational opportunities think in terms of ideas, broad concepts, marketing, writing, photography and how to develop an online persona that is friendly, welcoming and social. . . . I guess bloggers don't have to be all that friendly, weird seems to work for me. . . . but in a nice way . . I hope.

This is part 1 of a series, a kind of intro.  If anyone would like to contribute a post they would be most welcome. I could use some more daisy's too, it will be months before it is warm enough to have flowers to photograph.   Future segments will include topic ideas, how to take pictures with a point and shoot camera and upload them, blog plat forms, mobile blogs, photo blogs, what is a wiki? social networks, property marketing, tools, tricks and widgets.

If you stumbled on this  and are not sure what a blog is, here is an excellent overview: "Blogs in Plain English".

RE.net cool kids

By: Todd Carpenter
Film critic Pauline Kael is infamous in her reaction to Nixon's 49 State 1972 landslide re-election. "I live in a rather special world. I only know one person who voted for Nixon. Where they are I don't know. They're outside my ken. But sometimes when I'm in a theater I can feel them."

Pauline Kael's view of that election is a wonderful analogy for the group think that is infesting RE.net. Are we Sharing a Brain? IMO, this is Teresa's single best post on blogging. Unfortunately, I don't think many have taken it to heart.

Questioning the validity of Saul Klein's You Tube video, pondering who will subscribe, or unsubscribe, or racing to connect to the same 30 or so people on the latest social network are all worthy endeavors, and I'm guilty of all of them. But in doing so, I can't help thinking about Ms Kael.

I don't think it's productive to live in the "rather special world" called RE.net. By "live" I mean to let the ambition to be a RE.net cool kid consume you into thinking the way millions of other professionals earn a living is wrong because of the comparatively small success of a few hundred.

When it comes to Web 2.0, I agree with Teresa that it's a good idea to look at Web 2.0 perspectives from outside of the real estate vertical. I also think it's good to look at real estate perspectives from outside the Web 2.0 vertical. I don't think RE.net does enough of either. Lately it seams we do less and less.

Laughing

I always get a big laugh out of the top _____what ever lists with real estate blogs on them.  There is a new one made by someone I never heard of using some unknown criteria.  Geek Realtors  The list is a hodge pod of local real estate blogs like St. Paul Re, national multi author blogs like Agent Genius, and blogs that are not real estate blogs, like the real estate tomato.

It seems that this bad blog cleverly disguised as a hot dog stand made the list.  We did win our very first award when we were not even a day old, so it figures that another one would come along eventually. 

Real estate bloggers take these lists very seriously.  I am sure who ever made it looked at all real estate blogs and even though I never heard of the Geek Realtors blog I am sure they are experts on the topic.  I am enjoying the chatter about it on the internet.

I am always looking for guest authors so if any readers out there would like to write on an award winning blog, be my guest.