Book cover via Amazon

I’m tough to buy gifts for. It drove my wife and son nuts. But they have always racked their brains and come up with some outstanding things for birthdays or Father’s day. This year my son and daughter-in-law got off easy.

Knowing how involved I had become in Blogging and social media, they bought me three terrific books for Father’s day. The New Influencers by Paul Gillin, What No One Ever Tells You About Blogging and Podcasting by Ted Demopoulos, and Blogging Heroes by Michael A. Banks. I started on Blogging Heroes first.

Blogging Heroes is described as a set of interviews with “30 of the worlds’ top bloggers”. The book was fascinating to me because of the diversity of the people interviewed and the blogs they ran. I’ll spend more time talking about that another time.

One of the first interviews is with Chris Anderson, editor in chief of Wired magazine and author of the Long Tail. In it Chris says “There is no one blogosphere. There is an infinite number of blogospheres. My 220 feeds are not your 220 feeds”.

In our business blogs seem to fall into a number of categories. There are the peer to peer blogs, the vendor to Real estate professional blogs, the real estate professional to consumer blogs, and some consumer to consumer blogs. Each one of them has a different message for their reader, because each of the writers has a different ax to grind, and each set of blogs creates a different blogosphere that may not give any credence to , or even acknowledge the existence of the others.

In the peer to peer arena, there are examples like the blog you are reading, Teresa Boardman’s Real Estate Weenie, and of course the large players at AgentGenius (winner’s of Inman’s 2008 Innovators Award) and BloodhoundBlog. All of them are written by active real estate professionals, though AgentGenius and BloodhoundBlog are both written by multiple authors. Each of these blogs have unique personalities. Reading each of them would provide the reader with a different perception of the real estate industry, its key players, and the roles and motivations of real estate’s professional organizations.

With the exception of the views and opinions in this blog, all of these blogs have some bias generated by the position of the authors and their experience in the real estate industry. All of them (current author excepted) have opinions that are based on their experience in the industry, and unless you have held every position in every company and professional organization, that leads to a bias built around the limits of your experience. For example, a real estate professional may not truly understand the consumer’s point of view, and their stresses and issues if they have never bought a home. An agent who has never owned a company may not understand the challenges facing the owner of a brokerage. Some one who has not participated in a professional organization may not have any idea of the actual workings or motivation of that organization. But still they write – and pontificate in some instances about what they think is wrong, or unfair, or needs to be corrected.

There’s part of me that thinks that’s OK. Everyone has the right to an opinion, and to voice it. And they don’t even need to be right (though I prefer to be personally). However the problem comes in when the posts get read. The reader may not have the knowledge to dismiss an inaccurate statement, or to differentiate between a well supported opinion and an unfounded one. All too often something is taken as gospel because its on the Internet and therefore it must be right. And that’s where knowing who’s in your blogosphere becomes crucial.

You can choose to live in a blogosphere that is full of rhetoric and bombast, where the light shines all to infrequently. Or you can choose to live in a blogosphere where positions are supported by facts and discourse can lead you to change your mind, or you can change the minds of others if you make your point well. Me, I know where I choose to live.

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• Resources for Bloggers

 Photo by Glutnix

There are lots of directions that real estate professionals take in their blogging efforts. And even more conversation in the blogosphere about blogging. It may be a narcissistic trend. Or maybe we just want others to validate our direction or the business benefit of this , as yet unquantified activity. But I think that many bloggers are driven by a desire to write and create, and mirroring that desire to write is a desire to be read. Without readers, we are merely individuals standing on a rocky shore yelling out into the void. But how do we find those readers?

There are so many different blogs. The Hyper-Local Blog, The News Blogs. The OP Ed type of Blog. The Introspective Blog. The Photo Blog and its brother the Video Blog (VLOG). The Political Blog. And the Hobby Blog. I picture each of them like little pets, each with a different cartoony type of head indicating their Genus, and all needing different care and feeding. And we, the writers have to feed them frequently.

Some people are so prolific, they can write, take photos, make videos, blog, and twitter with one hand while running their business with the other. Hopefully they aren’t driving, talking on their cell phone and drinking their Latte at the same time. But most of us need time to construct our posts, find material that isn’t being pushed out at the same time from everyone else’s Blogs, and try to make a coherent point in our writing posting (the change is recognition of those who post awesome video or photo content like Daniel Rothamel or Teresa Boardman or Chris Griffith ) I get stressed when I can;t write regularly because I need to actually be in the real estate business instead of writing about the real estate business.

Lani Anglin-Rosales, the Queen of Social Media recently wrote a product review on AgentGenius about an interesting service called Bring the Blog which provides pre-written content for bloggers or allows them to create a blog on their service, using their content. Licensees can modify the content or just reprint it. They may credit Bring the Blog or they can claim authorship.

As I pondered the product, I came to a couple of conclusions. As a writer, I know that its always easier to edit then it is to write. I also know that when I read something of interest, the immediate press of business may pull me away from my writing, taking so long that when I do get around to writing about the topic, I no longer feel its timely.  I also thought that this might be a great supplement for a single author blog, and might generate more interest in following the original postings, by providing a more varied fare for potential readers.  It also occurred to me that these posts might generate new and different posts because of their subject matter. A factual economic report for example could generate a post about the impact of that on the local neighborhood or town.

As we write, we are often captives of our own minds, seeing only the point of view that is visible from our current position. In addition, it would strike me that the author of the post is less important to the reader then the content, and then possibly the owner of the Blog.  I see a wide variety of posts on AgentGenius and other multi-author Blogs, which I think are more engaging to the reader, and provide more interaction and comments.  But I think I fed this blog enough today, its probably time to take it for a walk now.  

Who Needs a Second Life?

I don’t need a program called “Second Life”. I’ve tried it but I just don’t “get it”. I know I can fly, but I keep bumping into things when I try. I’m not interested in trying to be a different body type or sex on screen. Not because I am not interested in adventures, that just doesn’t constitute an adventure to me. I’m not interested in buying virtual real estate, because I want to buy real real estate. And until they can figure out how to get to taste the virtual chocolate, I would rather order my Sundaes in first life, even if that means that I have to get on the treadmill to pay for it.

A thought occurs to me for a new virtual reality game. You eat here, and if your avatar works out, you don’t gain weight. Or maybe we could set things up so you drink all night with your friends and your Avatar makes bad decisions and gets hungover-Now I’ll bet people would line up for days to play that game!

But I have a Second Set of Friends

All of that having been said. I spend a ton of time with people who (in the words of Teresa Boardman ) live in my computer. Thanks to Digby and Twhirl and Outlook there are constantly little boxes popping up and bells chiming on my computer with notes from or about people that I never met yet feel as if I know.

They are creative, and funny, sharing photos and quips from all over the country. They are supportive, sharing their experience in new media, and their strategies working in the real estate business and the challenges with their friends and families. Even while writing this, I had to break to read a post Entitled Share The Love  written by Danie Rothamel. And I can go on and on about these people , most of whom I never met,

So How does this Translate?

When I was younger in the business, I remember seeing the name of a local REALTOR published in a National Magazine. I was really impressed that I knew someone who was receiving that kind of attention. Today, I am in constant contact with this group of forward thinking people who are becoming media stars to other REALTORS, and consumers.

As a newcomer to the group , I found out a couple of things that I now believe to be true;

1. People’s personality, good or bad, comes through when they interact over the computer
2. People’s sense of community is as strong in the computer as it is outside the computer
3. People who are your  friends in the computer will rush to defend you if you’re attacked
4. Some people in the computer, actually sound like they write when you meet them!
5. When you meet the people outside the computer, they are often exactly as you thought they were. (see my post on MovePhilly for an explanation of this one)

So I now have a great group of people who are supportive, helpful, articulate, and advancing their businesses while they blaze the way for the profession. Of course, if you’re reading this, you’re already on the way to finding them.

Blogging is new to me

Well, sort of. I’ve been blogging for a little while now on AgentGenius as a contributor. But that’s a blogging community so that isn’t totally my responsibility. And I have been “practicing”on Blogger with a fledgling effort called MovePhilly, but I really wasn’t sure what I was doing there.  I felt like there should be a purpose to the blog. Some need to communicate on my part or some perceived need by the potential readership.

I knew what I was doing on AgentGenius. It’s an Industry Blog. The readers (I felt) were mostly real estate professionals or members of related industries who spoke to each other about the issues and concerns they had about their jobs, their professions, technology, Social Media, and the real estate market. Some of the writers are agents and they write about the tools of the trade. Some provide tips and techniques. Some writers have backgrounds in mortgage or technology, so they write about new applications and economic issues. And all of them have blogs of their own.

Why Do We Blog?

So when I started writing there I would link back to other people’s blogs to see what they wrote about. Jim Duncanwrites about Charlottesville, VA where he works and lives, adding industry commentary as he wishes. Jay Thompson plots to take over the Universe one step at a time by selling real estate in Phoenix where he works. Chris Griffith writes about whatever please her in Florida, and Ines Hedegus-Garcia writes about La Vida Loca in her Miamism blog. The business purpose of these blogs are obvious. To create a voice to be heard by their potential customer base, allowing consumers to learn about them in a non-threatening manner, while increasing their visibility to the on-line consumer.

What is not so obvious, until you read them for a while or follow them on Twitter is that they are also finding creative self-expression in this “business” tool. Teresa Boardman is well known for her photographic efforts chronicling life and community in St. Paul Minnesota. Chris Griffith is clicking away in Florida, with some outstanding results. People write about things that are important to them, or puzzle them , or new finds that they want to share with their professional community. But one and all, they have found clear and compelling voices to express themselves.

So What is my voice?

Me, I run a company. While I like home buyers and sellers, and want to provide good information to them, my interests are more about the real estate industry. I’m passionate about being a REALTOR. I love buying and selling real estate. I love teaching and coaching. I love testifying in court (yes I’m an expert witness) or consulting about industry trends.  And I love technology and toys. So I think that’s what I’m going to talk about here. I think, that in doing that, I just might find my voice.

Stick around and let me know if you think I found it.

Before I start, I want to make a few commitments to anyone who finds this post.

I will not post information without confirmation or attribution.

I will try to provide as much useful information as possible.

I will try to keep this interesting (as much for myself as for my readers – whoever he or she may be)

I will attempt not to moderate comments, though I will reserve the right to modify this policy as I see how that plays out. I do believe in free speech, but I also believe that it is irresponsible to yell “Fire” in a crowded theater.

I will seek out contrasting (and possibly conflicting) viewpoints, and will always try to to treat the writers with respect.

I am tempted to make this list much longer (I sometimes get verbose as you’ll learn) But lLet’s see how this works first!