3/23/06 “Hi Ardell — I was reading the RCG today and noticed a comment of yours under Russ Cofano’s blog entry that I thought was really interesting and something I’d not given much thought before. You mentioned about joining the big brands and said they won’t let you blog so you’re not jumping on board right now.. is that true? Do brands really dictate stuff like that? If so, I think Inman News might look into this more. With all the push for blogging in the industry lately, this seems peculiar..Just wondering.. thanks! Jessica Swesey, Inman News.”
While I told Jessica almost a month ago that I would do a blog post on this topic, I have to admit I thought the question was a little naive. Almost every truly vocal person in the industry is either a designated spokesperson for a company or a “one man show”. The people I know who have been on Good Morning America or quoted in the paper, are usually the owners of the company. This is true in every industry. If you are an employee of a large company, you are told that if anyone from the press contacts you, you have to refer them to the one person in the company who is designated to speak with “the press”. There are exceptions, especially if your are spouting out only GOOD things, like “There has never been a better time to buy a house!”
So the question isn’t can everyone blog, but who can pull your plug? This goes back to blogging being public and in many ways a form of adverstising. Under State Law, in every state in the country, an agent must have the name of the broker/company on every “advertisement”. Consequently an agent either has to have an anonymous blog where the agent’s name does not appear, or a blog with both the agent’s name and the broker’s name. An agent, though an independent contractor, cannot be a “cowboy” and do things on their own without supervision. The broker retains the right to both see anything that the public can see, usually in advance, and also retains the right to veto its printing.
So how do you blog everyday if the broker doesn’t have time to review and OK your content every day? You can have an insipidly bland blog that simply backlinks to other news items. Even then, many companies do not want you to “advertise” their “competition” or “discounters”, by mentioning them by name. So all of the HOT news on Zillow and Redfin and Lending Tree, could be off limits, because they don’t want one of “their own”, boosting the popularity of these other companies by mentioning them at all.
In real estate forums, when agents want to talk about Zillow, they call it “Z”. Theory is that by even whispering their name in private, you send out spiders into the search engines that cause Zillow’s name to be spread and the website’s popularity to be expanded exponentially.
Anyone who wants to truly discuss the future of the industry in a way that does not simply spout out accolades and full service fees, cannot blog via first person in a blog unless they do it anonymously. But is this NEWS? Can an AT&T employee blog about the future in a way that points out that there are improvements to be made by their employer? Can even a Microsoft Employee be quoted in print that they think Google should win the Inman Award for Innovation? Very naive of someone to think that the First Amendment applies to the little guy who has a “BOSS”.
Back around March 23rd, I interviewed with a company that treats their agents as employees. They weren’t sure if I could blog, but they were sure that I couldn’t “talk to the press” ever. Since your blog entries can be lifted and quoted by the press…they felt that it was possible that blogging activities would be limited or possibly even prohibited.
So the question isn’t whether or not you can blog, the questions is what are you allowed to say in the blog? I’m sure even Jessica has to run her content by someone to be approved, before it can be “printed” and available in the public eye.
Ardell,
There’s no doubt that this attitude is prevalent in both the real estate industry and industry as a whole. However, it is the wrong way to approach the internet.
In my humble option, the only reason that Rain City Guide has had any traction is that we don’t repeat the same BS that can be heard throughout the rest of the real estate industry. There so much good local market insight trapped inside the collective heads of real estate professionals across the country and if the “big guys” don’t figure out a way to tap into this knowledge, then agents everywhere will lose.
Since you mentioned Microsoft, they seem like a great place to start because they are well known for having an extremely open blogging policy (Employees can pretty much say whatever they want, and they do, as long as they are not being stupid and giving away company secrets). Most people, even inside Microsoft, would agree that this open blogging policy has had a positive impact on a company BECAUSE blog posts are NOT pre-approved by anyone in PR.
Two Microsoft bloggers come to mind:
MiniMicrosoft is run by a Microsoft employee who constantly and consistently bashes bloated Microsoft software. He advocates a much smaller and more lean Microsoft.
Scobleizer is run by an “A-list” blogger (Robert Scoble) who works as a Technical Evengelist for Microsoft. His recent post on How Microsoft Can Shut Down MiniMicrosoft describes much better than I can how a “insider” can use a blog to invoke positive change in a company. Robert obviously feels secure enough in his job to say interesting, creative and challenging things on his blog.
I say all this because hiding behind the PR machine will no longer work for the real estate industry. More and more people are getting their real estate information on the internet and Rain City Guide is just the tip of the iceburg in terms of “real information” being distributed by real estate professionals.
Ardell,
There’s no doubt that this attitude is prevalent in both the real estate industry and industry as a whole. However, it is the wrong way to approach the internet.
In my humble option, the only reason that Rain City Guide has had any traction is that we don’t repeat the same BS that can be heard throughout the rest of the real estate industry. There so much good local market insight trapped inside the collective heads of real estate professionals across the country and if the “big guys” don’t figure out a way to tap into this knowledge, then agents everywhere will lose.
Since you mentioned Microsoft, they seem like a great place to start because they are well known for having an extremely open blogging policy (Employees can pretty much say whatever they want, and they do, as long as they are not being stupid and giving away company secrets). Most people, even inside Microsoft, would agree that this open blogging policy has had a positive impact on a company BECAUSE blog posts are NOT pre-approved by anyone in PR.
Two Microsoft bloggers come to mind:
MiniMicrosoft is run by a Microsoft employee who constantly and consistently bashes bloated Microsoft software. He advocates a much smaller and more lean Microsoft.
Scobleizer is run by an “A-list” blogger (Robert Scoble) who works as a Technical Evengelist for Microsoft. His recent post on How Microsoft Can Shut Down MiniMicrosoft describes much better than I can how a “insider” can use a blog to invoke positive change in a company. Robert obviously feels secure enough in his job to say interesting, creative and challenging things on his blog.
I say all this because hiding behind the PR machine will no longer work for the real estate industry. More and more people are getting their real estate information on the internet and Rain City Guide is just the tip of the iceburg in terms of “real information” being distributed by real estate professionals.
Dustin,
That does not change the fact that I personally know of several Microsoft blogs that WERE shut down because the employees were NOT smart enough to NOTÂ give away company secrets in their blog.
Point is, when a company has hundreds or thousands of employees or agents, someone has to monitor the content of the blogs. If a company does not have the resources to monitor the activity, then a NO BLOGGING policy may have to be enacted.
How do you set a policy that states “Only those smart enough to blog without giving away company secrets, can blog”. A little tough to enforce. IQ test?
In my experience, the test for the real estate industry for advertising of any kind is, if someone calls the broker to “complain” about the agent advertising a discount, then the agent gets in trouble. If someone calls the broker too many times to complain about what an agent is saying in the public eye, the agent is asked to leave.
No one evaluates the facts. Too many complaint calls equals SHUT IT DOWN NOW! If the agent is giving me a headache, it doesn’t matter if the agent is right; it’s not worth the AGGIDA!
Ardell,
It sounds like the same logic used by brokers would work in the blogging scenario. If they aren’t smart enough to know what is appropriate to say on their blog, then they get fired.
I think the best bet, and one I believe was enacted at Microsoft, is that the company spent some time early on with their prominent bloggers and developed a “blogging policy”. If someone crosses the line, they are warned and/or fired.
This issue is definitely on my mind as Move has a very clear “no blogging” policy which they’ve stated very clearly won’t apply to me Some people there have indicated to me that the policy is outdated and probably needs to be revised. Considering the legal issues they’ve had in the past, a no blogging policy at Move made sense as it eliminated the need to police the internet by Move PR people (as you suggest). However, I’m of the opinion that a “no blogging” policy stifles creativity and eliminates a valuable feedback loop from users, which is one of the magic ingredients in successful online businesses.
Ardell,
It sounds like the same logic used by brokers would work in the blogging scenario. If they aren’t smart enough to know what is appropriate to say on their blog, then they get fired.
I think the best bet, and one I believe was enacted at Microsoft, is that the company spent some time early on with their prominent bloggers and developed a “blogging policy”. If someone crosses the line, they are warned and/or fired.
This issue is definitely on my mind as Move has a very clear “no blogging” policy which they’ve stated very clearly won’t apply to me Some people there have indicated to me that the policy is outdated and probably needs to be revised. Considering the legal issues they’ve had in the past, a no blogging policy at Move made sense as it eliminated the need to police the internet by Move PR people (as you suggest). However, I’m of the opinion that a “no blogging” policy stifles creativity and eliminates a valuable feedback loop from users, which is one of the magic ingredients in successful online businesses.
Odd, I read the Article and thought Ardell was advocating open Blogging. Then I read her reply to Dustin and believe she is not.
Two things:
The concept that all blogging should be banned because people aren’t smart enough is silly. Does a company ban an employee from talking to ALL people outside of work because they *might* share a company secret? Of course not. You assume the person is smart enough, if they start spouting OBVIOUS corporate secrets, then they have broken the company rules, and also the law and should be punished.
In the same way, open criticising of a company is not illegal (but the company may have a legal right to exercise their ‘company rules’ in regards to an “uncooperative employee”). Open criticising of a general (Real Estate) market behavior isn’t even in a gray area, it’s one’s opinion.
In the end, the point is, we are seeing these questions because we are on the cusp of a huge social change. People from all walks of life are expressing themselves creatively in a online journaling format. Some are personal, some are professional, some are even commercial. Blogging is going to be mainstream in 20 years like dinner parties were 20 years ago or T.V. watching is now.
Dustin says correctly, ” If someone crosses the line, they are warned and/or fired.”
And therin likes the “kicker”!! How many people are willing to risk their jobs in order to be innovative? How many are willing to risk their jobs, simply to express thier First Amendment right to free speech via a blog?
Do you really think I haven’t felt some repurcussions from the industry at large for discussing discounted fees? For discussing how the buyer can negotiate the Buyer Agent fee? For complimenting, at times, Zillow and Redfin and House Values?
Sorting out how a buyer can truly become empowed in the marketplace will take a lot of brains getting together on this topic. But those who speak of it are ostracized and shunned, and those who do it, have to know how to walk a very fine line. Not all are competent enough to go there. Even KomoNews4 backed off the topic when they realized how controversial it can become.
If a big NEWS company is afraid to go there, how can you expect the “Average Joe” agent to do, what someone who is supposed to have the nerve to delve into hard topics, won’t do?
Dustin says correctly, ” If someone crosses the line, they are warned and/or fired.”
And therin likes the “kicker”!! How many people are willing to risk their jobs in order to be innovative? How many are willing to risk their jobs, simply to express thier First Amendment right to free speech via a blog?
Do you really think I haven’t felt some repurcussions from the industry at large for discussing discounted fees? For discussing how the buyer can negotiate the Buyer Agent fee? For complimenting, at times, Zillow and Redfin and House Values?
Sorting out how a buyer can truly become empowed in the marketplace will take a lot of brains getting together on this topic. But those who speak of it are ostracized and shunned, and those who do it, have to know how to walk a very fine line. Not all are competent enough to go there. Even KomoNews4 backed off the topic when they realized how controversial it can become.
If a big NEWS company is afraid to go there, how can you expect the “Average Joe” agent to do, what someone who is supposed to have the nerve to delve into hard topics, won’t do?
Blogging is public conversation.
The employee that gets drunk at a restaurant and reveals proprietary info, misrepresents the company, etc. shouldn’t be banned from restaurants. They should be fired for what was said.
People won’t read bloggers whose content is primarily advertising. Not enough to drive google rankings–subscribers, links, etc. With infinite information sources, an “advertising” blog will remain obscure. That aint how RCG was built. RCG’s worth reading IMO because of the interesting ideas on topics that interesting me.
If you think of blogging as advertising, under certain circumstances it may be done well. But beware lessons of TiVo. People hate advertising. (Except maybe when it’s integrated with their search engine;)
Btw Ardell, How do you “feel repurcussions” from the industry at large? In what ways have you been ostracized? Is criticism of your ideas the same as “repercussions?”
This is a very important discussion that by its very nature has impact on where the industry has been and where it is going.
I’m sorry Ardell but I have to disagree with some of your points. The most imporant being your conclusion that blogging by real estate licensees is “in many ways a form of adverstising” and as such it is regulated activity. I would agree that many real estate bloggers have made their blogs into advertising and your conclusion would apply in those circumstances (e.g. including listings of homes or description of services). But that is not really blogging. They just took content from their website and re-posted it to a blog that can now be syndicated. BTW, here is the Washington DOL’s policy on Internet advertising and nowhere does it include blogging.
True blogging is a form of social networking and social networking is not about advertising. It is publishing – self-publishing – ideas and thoughts so that others can better know you. For example, a real estate agent who blogs about why live in their neighborhood, why they love the schools there, why they enjoy the new local restaurant, their political viewpoint, their taste in wine and maybe even why they believe in consumer empowerment in real estate transactions (i.e. less mileage on the car driving them around) is NOT advertising.
In today’s world, this creates an opportunity to be different because nobody shares exactly the same opinions as you do. Good, right? Nope, at least not in real estate. Differentiation, which in most industries is looked upon as a necessary part of survival, is frowned upon in the real estate industry. Historically, the real estate industry is like a shopping mall with a bunch of shops that have different signage. Once you enter, however, the inventory looks the same and costs the same. Why has it worked that way for so long? A monopoly on the data.
That monopoly is ending and when it finally does, the real estate brokerage business will need to act like all others. Being different will be good. And that is where blogging comes in. Visionary brokers will embrace agent blogs. In fact, brokerage company leaders will blog themselves (see my blog post on this subject).
And yes, brokers do need to make sure that their agents are not stupid when participating in the Blogosphere. This, though, is done at the hiring table which for many brokers has really been more about 1) are you licensed; and 2) can you earn enough commissions to marginally pay for yourself.
-Russ
This is a very important discussion that by its very nature has impact on where the industry has been and where it is going.
I’m sorry Ardell but I have to disagree with some of your points. The most imporant being your conclusion that blogging by real estate licensees is “in many ways a form of adverstising” and as such it is regulated activity. I would agree that many real estate bloggers have made their blogs into advertising and your conclusion would apply in those circumstances (e.g. including listings of homes or description of services). But that is not really blogging. They just took content from their website and re-posted it to a blog that can now be syndicated. BTW, here is the Washington DOL’s policy on Internet advertising and nowhere does it include blogging.
True blogging is a form of social networking and social networking is not about advertising. It is publishing – self-publishing – ideas and thoughts so that others can better know you. For example, a real estate agent who blogs about why live in their neighborhood, why they love the schools there, why they enjoy the new local restaurant, their political viewpoint, their taste in wine and maybe even why they believe in consumer empowerment in real estate transactions (i.e. less mileage on the car driving them around) is NOT advertising.
In today’s world, this creates an opportunity to be different because nobody shares exactly the same opinions as you do. Good, right? Nope, at least not in real estate. Differentiation, which in most industries is looked upon as a necessary part of survival, is frowned upon in the real estate industry. Historically, the real estate industry is like a shopping mall with a bunch of shops that have different signage. Once you enter, however, the inventory looks the same and costs the same. Why has it worked that way for so long? A monopoly on the data.
That monopoly is ending and when it finally does, the real estate brokerage business will need to act like all others. Being different will be good. And that is where blogging comes in. Visionary brokers will embrace agent blogs. In fact, brokerage company leaders will blog themselves (see my blog post on this subject).
And yes, brokers do need to make sure that their agents are not stupid when participating in the Blogosphere. This, though, is done at the hiring table which for many brokers has really been more about 1) are you licensed; and 2) can you earn enough commissions to marginally pay for yourself.
-Russ
This is an issue in which even the tech companies are still trying to figure the rules out. As an ex-softie, I’d go even further than what Dustin said earlier by saying, hiding behind the PR machine will no longer work for ANY industry.
Microsoft, to it’s credit, has usually trusted it’s employees to be smart when speaking in a “public forums”. This was true back in the days of CompuServe forums, usenet newsgroups, and is still true today with blogs. I can’t speak for all users, but I think the blogs on MSDN & the videos on Channel 9 have done more to generate customer excitment for it’s upcoming products than the company’s marketing dept has done.
Interestly, Apple Computer, seems to be far more closed in it’s blogging stance than their arch rival in Redmond, since they are known for battling with enthusiast sites and are currently battling the EFF in a case, in which Apple is attempting to seek information from Apple enthusiast / news sites regarding the identities of the sites’ sources.
Perhaps, Jobs is PO’ed that the
iPod Invisa got leaked on SNL? But the real estate industry is hardly alone in attempting to figure out where to draw the lines and what the rules should be.
Russ,
I’m pretty sure that no State will allow an agent to blog about real estate without showing the company/broker as licensed name on the blog, unless they blog anonymously. Every thing that has an agent’s name on it that is in the public eye requires the broker to show as well.
In fact many brokers and other “powers that be” wouldn’t know the difference between a blog and a website. Once the Company name is shown on the site, then vicarious liability is the issue.
I wonder if E & O insurance policies will cover blogs in the future?!
The fact that blogs do not appear in current rules, laws, etc…is simply because they haven’t caught up with blogs.
As Robbie well knows, as soon as they see the need, they will make a NEW RULE 🙂
Russ,
I’m pretty sure that no State will allow an agent to blog about real estate without showing the company/broker as licensed name on the blog, unless they blog anonymously. Every thing that has an agent’s name on it that is in the public eye requires the broker to show as well.
In fact many brokers and other “powers that be” wouldn’t know the difference between a blog and a website. Once the Company name is shown on the site, then vicarious liability is the issue.
I wonder if E & O insurance policies will cover blogs in the future?!
The fact that blogs do not appear in current rules, laws, etc…is simply because they haven’t caught up with blogs.
As Robbie well knows, as soon as they see the need, they will make a NEW RULE 🙂
Ardell,
What supports your conclusion?
You are correct that the current rules do not address blogging. The Web was certainly in existence before 2000 when the Wash policy was adopted and I can tell you from personal experience that there was widespread use of the Web by licensees with little enforcement action.
I have defended licensees in DOL complaints and they are generally looking for egregious behavior having a negative impact on the consumer. They generally also will not take action of their own accord. It usually comes as a result of a consumer complaint. Not sure how a blog as I have defined it meets that test nor how many consumers will complain after reading a real estate blog that the broker’s name was not there, especially if the blogger has a link to their website on which the broker’s name IS mentioned.
Russ
Ardell,
What supports your conclusion?
You are correct that the current rules do not address blogging. The Web was certainly in existence before 2000 when the Wash policy was adopted and I can tell you from personal experience that there was widespread use of the Web by licensees with little enforcement action.
I have defended licensees in DOL complaints and they are generally looking for egregious behavior having a negative impact on the consumer. They generally also will not take action of their own accord. It usually comes as a result of a consumer complaint. Not sure how a blog as I have defined it meets that test nor how many consumers will complain after reading a real estate blog that the broker’s name was not there, especially if the blogger has a link to their website on which the broker’s name IS mentioned.
Russ
Speaking of Blogging-
What a great forum to talk about unusual things.
In escrow, you think you see it all and then there’s a first:
As I post, my spouse is signing some clients from a competitor, First American Title company. An hour or so ago, First American Title company of Houston, Texas, called our office to see if we would be willing to take over signing their very own clients. Why so unusual? Thought you’d never ask.
First American Title Co (FATCO) office in Houston could not find another cooperating FATCO office in our area that would sign clients that were moving here. In essence, they turned their very own clients away. The FATCO representative calling my wife indicated that they could not believe that their own branches here would not sign an “one of their own.”–remarking how “cooperative” we were, a competitor.
Perhaps this is why company’s have policies against Blogging. Fear of themselves and dropping a golden egg into the lap of their competitor–who would blog about it.
Sorry, couldn’t resist this one.
Speaking of Blogging-
What a great forum to talk about unusual things.
In escrow, you think you see it all and then there’s a first:
As I post, my spouse is signing some clients from a competitor, First American Title company. An hour or so ago, First American Title company of Houston, Texas, called our office to see if we would be willing to take over signing their very own clients. Why so unusual? Thought you’d never ask.
First American Title Co (FATCO) office in Houston could not find another cooperating FATCO office in our area that would sign clients that were moving here. In essence, they turned their very own clients away. The FATCO representative calling my wife indicated that they could not believe that their own branches here would not sign an “one of their own.”–remarking how “cooperative” we were, a competitor.
Perhaps this is why company’s have policies against Blogging. Fear of themselves and dropping a golden egg into the lap of their competitor–who would blog about it.
Sorry, couldn’t resist this one.
That’s pretty funny Tim! Having worked in the title industry for a very short time, I can understand how this could happen. For example, despite Chicago being owned by Fidelity, they are fierce competitors and many times will send business to an unrelated organization because they don’t want the other to get the business.
🙂
Oh, the hate mail from my comment is a ‘comin….. 🙂
Russ- perhaps, that explains why Chicago Title took over Fidelity’s office transactions/operations when Fidelity closed down their office downtown Seattle a couple weeks ago.
In other unrelated news, tongue-n-cheek, we just experienced our 2nd PURCHASE transaction last week where FATCO did not record closing docs in time, and this is after they were released to record around 9:30am (for those that know this allows them nearly ALL DAY to get it done.) We are not exactly in the screaming market of last Spring where loads of purchases are competing with refinance deals being recorded and something can get missed. The things that go on behind the scenes that agents don’t hear about….pretty amazing.
More stories from the trenches will be posted over time on our Blog, but to save you the trouble here’s a sample of a recent dustup: How an agent can “List” a home by a party who doesn’t own the property (it happens folks)…a simple title check before the listing appointment can avoid a whole bunch of embarassment–and to your broker.
Russ: I don’t need to support my conclusion because I’m not a lawyer and this is a blog 🙂
The point is moot really, because if you know the agent’s name, you can easily trace them to the Company they work for. Once the Company name is known, what an agent may say or do wrong, always reverts to the broker’s responsibility. (Unless we go to Broker Only Licensure as planned)
Or the agent may just tell stories about bad things that happen, naming the Company of the other agent they are badmouthing (Like Tim just did) and the Company can get sued for slander by someone like…say…FATCO LOL
Russ: I don’t need to support my conclusion because I’m not a lawyer and this is a blog 🙂
The point is moot really, because if you know the agent’s name, you can easily trace them to the Company they work for. Once the Company name is known, what an agent may say or do wrong, always reverts to the broker’s responsibility. (Unless we go to Broker Only Licensure as planned)
Or the agent may just tell stories about bad things that happen, naming the Company of the other agent they are badmouthing (Like Tim just did) and the Company can get sued for slander by someone like…say…FATCO LOL