I’m nearly positive it is just spam that slipped through the filter, so I deleted it.

glad to see our russian friends have an opinion too…

I just playing a round of telephone this weekend!

Your opinions are most appreciated… I was somewhat tempted to go sarcastic at first, but I thought there was an interesting element that you were uncovering, so I resisted the urge in order to dive a little deeper.

I’d agree that for many posts, the real value lies in the comments. And that back-and-forth nature is extremely valuable. However, I’m not sure I’d devalue the nature of the posts because they are often instrumental in determining the type of comments that follow.

The reason I asked “what compelled you to comment” was really to get an understanding of why you wanted to take part in the conversation. I happen to think that people’s urge to be “part of” the story is one of the reasons that blogs work so well and why they are more than just a fad.

And I definitely disagree with your concept that a blog will “eventually devalue said brand” in that I happen to think that a blog is a wonderful avenue for a real estate professional to demonstrate some of the skills that make for a great agent (local knowledge, technical skills, reaction to difficult situations, etc.) in addition to building up a “brand” that the search engines love and will continue to send consumers who are looking for relevant information and conversations.

Nonetheless, I can see how a blog based purely on rumors could be bad for a real estate agent. I just don’t see a lot of those. For the most part, I see a lot of real estate professionals who are doing their best to navigate the online world in order to find and help people.

“Did you ever play “Whisper Down the Lane”?”

No, do tell!! Is it like Dodgeball or Kick the Cat?

Jeff

what compelled me? it’s just an interesting topic.

Do i detect sarcasm? (context being difficult to read in the unspoken word) or am i being paranoid?

if you’re suggesting that leaving a comment on the issue of blogging is infact blogging and therefor synonymous with its inherent problems, then i shall counter with the idea that “commenting” is different than “blogging”…though it is a fine line…and people forget a time before the internet…

I have a problem with the term “blog”. How it got separated from “opinion” i’m not quite sure, but i have my suspicions….and therein lies the need to define them separately:

i would submit that comments are reactions to a definable topic – one immediately at hand, and can therefor be taken with a more accurate dosage of salt – where as blogging tends to editorialize on a much broader scale.

Comments, by definition, are more understood as personal opinion where bloggers have, for some reason, been legitimized in the press as “professionals” or “journalists” . I suppose it’s a buyer beware situation redux, only here the product is “information”…

so if in the future, my comments about comments is now to be defined as the new animal called blog, then i better stop typing. lucky for you (and your database, haha) i fractured two ribs last week skiing so i’ve got some spare time…

Ardell,
I’d trust the “bad or unsatisfactory answers first hand” over anonymous third-hand commentary anyday.
as for providing “consumer information” and helping readers to “ask better questions” i will say “yes”, blogs do help….albeit indirectly…..

i get more out of the debate generated by comments(blogs?) than the actual article(blog) that initiated said comments(blog?) All this is a convoluted way to gain information, in my opinion(internal blog). That said, the reader is then left with lots of information indeed, but information is never knowledge.

if your brand or company becomes associated with rumor(blogs) then i don’t really see how that can do anything but eventually devalue said brand?

To both of you i understand you most likely get paid to “blog” and that’s fine. just understand there are some who are a bit befuddled by this. I don’t blame you for defending the mini-quas-psuedo-industry which is your employ. If you are both actual qualified agents or RE professionals, and merely blog for fun or excersise, then i apologize and suggest you disassociate yourselves, if possible, from the blogosphere. or just call it your opinion….

didn’t know i could type so much all hopped up on vicodin. thanks for the interest. I really do appreciate the topic.

Did you ever play “Whisper Down the Lane”?

My experience and opinion at this point, is that real estate blogs do NOT give consumers ALL the answers.

But, Real Estate Blogs DO:

1) help consumers ask better questions, when getting their “info first hand”.

2) help consumers know when they are getting bad or unsatisfactory answers first hand.

3) cause professionals to look at things in a different and consumer-centric light…slowly but surely.

As to the industry clamming up on blogs if it hurts them, well, that’s a big sore point for everyone. Clearly commissions could end up being lower overall as a result of blogging. That “hurts” the industry. But can you really say that blog efforts that might elevate the consumer’s choices, and yet “hurt” the writer and or industry, should be avoided “at all costs”? If that is the case, then blogging as to consumer choices that are less than some industry norm cost, might have to go “back in the closet”.

I’m sure you are not meaning to suggesting that agent and industry self interest is the ONLY consideration when determining whether or not to blog. Or are you? That’s what it sounds like when you say: “Do away with your blog if it ultimately hurts your business or industry!”