I’ve been playing around with wikis for quite a while, and I finally got around to installing one (that I’m happy with) on the Rain City Guide server. But before I tell you what you can do with the wiki, I should probably give some background…
What is a wiki?
In the simplest sense, a wiki is an editable webpage. Have you ever read something and thought “I know more than the person writing this!” Well, a wiki gives you this option as it is designed to allow readers to edit webpages.
[photopress:hanging_tree.jpg,thumb,alignright]The most popular wiki is, without a doubt, the Wikipedia. The Wikipedia is essentially an encyclopedia made for the web. It allows anyone to update any page. This might sound like a mess waiting to happen, but in practice, the concept has worked well because there are more good people than bad on the site and the results is an amazingly comprehensive listing of public knowledge. While running a wiki takes a certain amount of faith in the “goodness” of contributors, all public wikis tend to have really good “roll-back” features that allow an users to “undo” unhelpful comments and block IP addresses from spammers (including the wiki I installed!).
So what am I up to?
In my quest to create the best resource for real estate information in Seattle, I’ve created a wiki that will complement this blog. Whereas the blog best serves timely updates, the wiki will hopefully become a wonderful way to present information that can benefit from continuously improvements over time.
So what am a really up to?
I want to create THE real estate guide for Seattle. It will take time, but I think that if we keep plugging away, we can harness the knowledge of the Rain City Guide community to create a truly unique resource. As I really do plan for this to become “the” real estate guide for Seattle, I’ve named the site: the.raincityguide.com.
What are some uses for the wiki?
In my mind, the low hanging fruit is a real estate directory for Seattle. If you are a real estate professional in Seattle, feel free to add yourself to the real estate directory that I’ve created. Adding yourself to the directory is easy and just meant to get you comfortable with editing a wiki, while also qualifying yourself as a web-savvy real estate professional. 😉
In terms of the directory, I’ve added the following categories: Appraisers, Construction, Escrow, Handymen, Mortgage Brokers, Real Estate Photographers, Real Estate Agents, Real Estate Lawyers, Real Estate Technology, and Title Companies. But the beauty of a wiki is that if I missed your line of work (assuming it is within real estate), simply edit the page and add your profession. (By the way, I haven’t added separate webpages for any of the people in the directory yet, but if you’d like to add a page to expand on yourself and the services you provide, feel free to create a page by putting your name in brackets, as in [John Doe].
Another idea I have is almost definitely ahead-of-its-time, but could be interesting, is that anyone selling a home is free to create a webpage that describes their home on the.raincityguide.com. It will cost you nothing but time, and if you are creative enough, it might get you some interesting publicity.
Of course, I have even more ideas for how a wiki could be useful for better understanding real estate in Seattle, so don’t be too surprised if I reference wiki articles in future blog posts! With that said, I’m a huge fan of the “release early and often” philosophy (and this feature is definitely released early), so don’t expect too much from the wiki and you likely won’t be disappointed!
Also, if a wiki seems a little bit intimidating to you, feel free to play around in the sandbox. You can’t mess anything up in there, so edit away and I think you’ll quickly see how easy it is to create and edit webpages with a wiki.
Hah, I know I’ve been using Wikipedia myself on my new blog project (http://realrecs.blogspot.com/), but this is a lot more ambitious and, dare I say, awesome than just using other people’s wikipedia information — instead, making your own and asking for contributions. Very cool.
Linsey, it does sound a little ambitious, doesn’t it?
I’m firmly convinced that if real estate agents work together, they can create online resources that will blow away the tools that the “tech” crowd is putting together. Data is important in real estate, but I’m more interested in creating resources that harnesses the collective knowledge of real estate professionals because I think this (largely untapped) knowledge represents the single most valuable resource that real estate agents can use to reach potential clients on the internet.
Linsey, it does sound a little ambitious, doesn’t it?
I’m firmly convinced that if real estate agents work together, they can create online resources that will blow away the tools that the “tech” crowd is putting together. Data is important in real estate, but I’m more interested in creating resources that harnesses the collective knowledge of real estate professionals because I think this (largely untapped) knowledge represents the single most valuable resource that real estate agents can use to reach potential clients on the internet.
I agree Dustin…and disagree at the same time.
I love the idea… i just hope agents aren’t stingy with their knowledge which i know they can be sometimes.
Good point Giles,
I’m not delusional enough to think that blogging and/or wikis are going to win over every agent in Seattle. I think my time is best spent reaching out to a few agents/brokers/lawyers who “get it” and giving them the tools to market themselves through Rain City Guide by giving consumers the best information possible. I have no desire to appeal to every real estate professional in Seattle… Only those that want to be successful on the internet! 😉
Good point Giles,
I’m not delusional enough to think that blogging and/or wikis are going to win over every agent in Seattle. I think my time is best spent reaching out to a few agents/brokers/lawyers who “get it” and giving them the tools to market themselves through Rain City Guide by giving consumers the best information possible. I have no desire to appeal to every real estate professional in Seattle… Only those that want to be successful on the internet! 😉
I am sure that you are not targeting Zillow or other behemoths directly, but the underlying message is the same: People flock to good content where a sense of community can be built.
Corporate blogging seems to be a modified version of the Ivory Tower Syndrome but everything that you have accomplished with Rain City Guide screams “We’re in this together!”
“Ambitious” is not the word I’d choose. “Evolution” is. And the best part about your strategy to engage your crowd is that is was developed and rolled out in a matter of HOURS. Infinitely more flexible and malleable should another opportunity to grow present itself.
The Zillows can’t even come close to that. Looking forward to RCG 2.0!
Dan Green
Blog: http://www.themortgagereports.com
I am sure that you are not targeting Zillow or other behemoths directly, but the underlying message is the same: People flock to good content where a sense of community can be built.
Corporate blogging seems to be a modified version of the Ivory Tower Syndrome but everything that you have accomplished with Rain City Guide screams “We’re in this together!”
“Ambitious” is not the word I’d choose. “Evolution” is. And the best part about your strategy to engage your crowd is that is was developed and rolled out in a matter of HOURS. Infinitely more flexible and malleable should another opportunity to grow present itself.
The Zillows can’t even come close to that. Looking forward to RCG 2.0!
Dan Green
Blog: http://www.themortgagereports.com
I don’t want to “use” Rain City to advertise, but I’d like to try putting one of my new listings on a “page” as a sample and for the learning experience. Would that be OK? No promises I’ll make it through the process though 🙂
Definitely okay. I look forward to seeing what you come up with. If you want some help (with things like images), just let me know!
Dustin, keeping up with your forward thinking keeps me dizzy. This is an exciting venture. I can see this as a “must have” for buyers and sellers interested in Seattle. We’ve started a seattlecondowikki and will link to it here when it’s live. Now we’re challenged to get hustling on it!
I for one, enjoying sharing knowledge with anyone that wants it. I always get more than I give.
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Another great idea Dustin! I just wish we had something similar to RCG in the Atlanta area. If any readers from Atlanta are interested in starting something along these lines, then look me up.
Brad,
If you’re interested in playing around with the wiki, I really don’t mind if you create an Atlanta section on the RCG wiki… It would be interesting to see the type of content you’d put together, and I’m sure I’d learn a thing or two in the process!
Brad,
If you’re interested in playing around with the wiki, I really don’t mind if you create an Atlanta section on the RCG wiki… It would be interesting to see the type of content you’d put together, and I’m sure I’d learn a thing or two in the process!
Dustin,
Don’t know if this trackback made it through, so please delete the excerpts below if our post is already linked somewhere to your blog:
Using wikis to empower “do-it-yourself” homebuyers & sellers
Exciting to read that the innovative folks at RainCityGuide in Seattle, one of the best real estate blogs in the nation, are also experimenting with wikis; but it appears we may be approaching the collaborative power of wikis from different starting points…(more)
On and off over six months, The Real Estate Cafe has been quietly building a “menu of wikis” with four to five main areas…(more)
If you’re wildly excited about wikis, maybe we’ll see you here in Cambridge, Massachusetts for WikiMania 2006. Today (March 30, 2006) is the deadline for submitting a proposal to host a workshop or tutorial at this year’s Wikimania.
Maybe RainCityGuide and The Real Estate Cafe (and potentially others?) can collaborate on a workshop comparing how real estate professionals and consumers on both coasts use wikis to meet their real estate needs. Should be interesting to watch if this particular opportunity is really ahead of it’s time as Dustin at RainCityGuide speculates…(more)
For full post, links, and snapshot of wiki, see:
http://tinyurl.com/ryfx9
Dustin,
Belated, but I think there’s an excellent point in making a huge informational network instead of relying on often very vague recommendations such as “Great homes! Great scenery!” Content isn’t exactly the strong point of most real estate websites — they seem to either assume that the browser either has done their research and already knows what they want, will be easily swayed by buzz-words, or are simply too lazy to give detailed information. Again, I think this is a great idea and could lead other sites to rely less on templates and generic content.
If you want to see a powerful example of wiki collaboration in action, see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_property_bubble
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_housing_bubble
Don’t know who created list or how we got included in the source list, but The Real Estate Cafe has gotten more than a few clickthroughs.
Bill (of RealEstateCafe),
There is no doubt that the wikipedia has some of the best information out there. Thanks for the links!
Bill (of RealEstateCafe),
There is no doubt that the wikipedia has some of the best information out there. Thanks for the links!
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Wikipedia is a fantastic website. The idea behind it is brilliant, let other people whom are knowledgeable in an area create the content for the entire website.
The newly redone RainCityGuide is a great improvement over the old- even though Ardell doesn’t like it. It’s much easier to navigate and “Live Comment Preview” is helpful. Needed- the ability to re-edit previous Posts as LottaLiving.com, others allow. JG
I’m with Ardell about the comment strings…I wonder if there’s a way to not have the boxes get so small when replying in a long thread. It’s also challenging (at least for me) to reply to someone who’s commenting somewhere in the thread if their comment is not “at the bottom” like the old format.
yeah… there’s a few things I really want to fix with the comments… it’s also odd that the avatar alignment is different for people who comment via Facebook Connect versus no connected. And your suggestion for not making the boxes so big would be a huge advantage. Was just thinking about that this morning. 😉
Dustin,
Looks like my avatar got dropped altogether and long conversations like I’m having with Jerry aren’t working in this format.
My avatar worked here, but not on my post talking with Jerry. Odd.
Dustin,
Take a look at Seattle Bubble as I think they made the needed adjustments after having this difficulty when they first implemented.