Seeking The Social Solution - A Podcast Interview with Founders of RealSeekr.Com

How many times have you groused about something that didn't work exactly the way you thought it should and proclaimed your ability to do it better? Have you ever acted on it? Grant and Gia Freer are Realtors in Florida that took action on their frustration with realtor.com by launching RealSeekr.com

After 18 months of development, Grant and Gia are crafting a residential real estate web destination that connects IDX data feeds, foreclosures, for sale by owner listings. blogs and just about every social networking tool under the sun, (including video conferencing) into a service that they believe will define what a real estate portal should be, one that connects consumers and real estate professionals in a tangible way.

Grant and Gia are passionate about their new endeavor and I appreciate the time they took to familiarize me with their product. I've invited some Realtor friends and clients that are advanced users of everything in the RE.net and social networks to check out RealSeekr and give us some feedback. We'll share that in an update soon.

Click Here To Listen To The Podcast Interview With Grant and Gia of RealSeekr

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Social Networking and Your Reputation

Reading two blog posts today reveals once again the importance of the issue of reputation management on the web. Like it or not, it is going to become an important part of any service professional's efforts for the foreseeable future. Transparency is great, with that comes issues of anonymity and the problems inherent to the process. Russ Capper of Prudential brings up some valid arguments when asked his opinion on the matter.

HAR has been working on a system for consumers to rate Realtors. Im not sure if it will have a social component via the public MLS or how transparent it will be, but it looks as if they have identified it as an important issue and are working on some sort of a program to address it. Heres a quote from an article in the Houston Chronicle regarding a recent survey commissioned by HAR

"More than 75 percent of those surveyed said reading previous customer comments about an agent would be beneficial.

To that end, the local trade group is developing a system so sellers can rate real estate agents on performance, said Rob Cook, chairman of the association and broker/owner of Robert D. Cook Properties. It will be similar to eBay, he said, where buyers can rate sellers."

I look at it this way, networking has always been a mainstay of any service professional's success. Like so many other things, the web isn't changing the underlying principle, it's only facilitating it in a different albeit more permanent manner. How many times has something made it full circle in your sphere of influence that wasn't true about you? The high road is always in the same place, whether or not it's on the information highway really doesn't matter. What really makes a difference is how you deal with it. I've found that it's important to manage your reputation with the people that matter in your life and leave the rest of your detractors to their own devices. If you're operating with integrity it's waste of time to chase down everyone trying to get them to understand there are two sides to every story. 

My opinion? Pay attention to reputation management, but don't let it become an obsession.

Real Estate and The Social Network Effect

It looks as if the Facebook / MySpace bug is attempting to find it's way deeper into the ecosystem of the RE.net. I would do some deep commentary on the whole Active Rain / Move, Inc. debacle but it makes me sleepy. If you want the whole play by play here are several dozen blog posts and stories. It seems as if every real estate blog on the planet has an armchair quarterback's opinion of what took place. The cliff note version of my opinion is that just looks like a poorly executed business deal with some monumental boo-boos on both sides of the conference table, not the least of which is a valuation that a 3rd grade math student would question. I guess some of the agents with blogs in Active Rain got their undies in a twist when word got out that AR was going to sell "their content". That issue is pretty much a non-starter for me as well. I find it hard to shed a tear for anyone that doesn't bother to read a terms of service, or better yet, has an issue with someone trying to sell their own company. The active rain platform is free for agents to use, so I guess if the issue comes up again AR can just give everybody their money back.

What I'm finding more interesting is the entrance into the real estate social media space of some new players. The first of which is Zolve.Com. It's the effort of a Realtor, Iraqi War Vet, fellow GeekEstate contributor and Real Living franchisee from Colorado, Brian Wilson.

It seems there was a lot of blog reading time to be had during his tour of duty, so he used it to develop his concept of a Real Estate social network. So far Brian has a blog with a few entries and a new intro page to his site. From what I've picked up reading his blog posts, he's got a tidy sum invested in outsourcing his site development, PR, advertising and other start-up efforts. His blog says he has over 500 agents pre-registered for Zolve. The placeholder page at Zolve.Com has one of those "walk into your browser" video spokespeople thingys that introduces the site with typical web marketing speak like empower, collaborative, "e-bay like" etc. but no real details on the service. Unfortunately the video doesn't set a cookie in your browser. Every time you return to the page you have to go through the intro again. The site says you can join for $395 and represents a $600 savings from the regular price. I have no clue what you get for that, but we'll let you know when we find out. All I can think is that with that kind of price point in this market, there must be some kind of secret sauce. If you join, be sure to read the terms of service first. It's standard boiler plate stuff, but at least you'll know what you may or may not own for your investment.

Next up is RealtorClix.Com. Check it out while you can because I doubt it will be under that domain for very long. From what I can gather it seems the site owner has already received his cease and desist letter. Doesn't matter if you're a member of NAR or not. NAR protects their trademark with ferocity and has done the smackdown on an untold number of domains in the past. The Sellsius boys have taken up the cause to help. Nice but futile, NAR will not give in on the issue. The attempt to put REALTOR® in the public domain has failed time and again. The intro marketing paragraph says "It's so addictive, It's been called MySpace for Realtors" LOL. My guess would be that it was called that by the people that created it so they could say it in their marketing efforts. Personally, I think that's a bad branding position. Pimple face teenagers don't buy houses. (Unless they start real estate technology companies) Brian's attempt to link the E-Bay effect to his brand makes more sense. It looks as if there about 15 users of RealtorClix so far. The site has your standard fare, chat, the ability to build a blog, a forum, and the ability to add listings. One thing I couldn't quite understand was the Terms Of Service. It was the one thing that prevented me from signing up for a test run. The site says it is "Another Slamwire Innovation". I checked out slamwire.com and the only thing it references comes back to the RealtorClix service. The Terms of Service that you must enter places you in a contractual relationship with an entity or service called "Handshakes". Im not sure if this is just an issue of forgetting to do a search and replace on a document or something else. Maybe I am only one in a very small minority that reads a terms of service document. Either way, I like to know who I am doing business with and what I am agreeing to. Here's a screen cap of the TOS:




















I wish anybody who jumps into the effort of creating social networks for Realtors luck and I hope Active Rain can move forward after they pay the attorneys. That said, I think the jury is still waaaay out on whether or not the entire concept has a chance for success. It will require some pretty deep pockets and considerable consumer participation at some point. Those eyeballs are not easy to capture. I'm surprised that some of the larger trade associations (other than NAR) that fancy themselves as technology providers haven't jumped into the fray yet. After all, networking is one of the components of a "broker cooperative". Time will tell.

Update: David G. at Zillow has a blog post that referenced a social networking site in Canada, MyRealPlace.Com. I remember vaguely seeing something about this site when it first launched and evidently it drifted out of my Radar. The site says it has 4200 registered agents (not too shabby eh?). It has a blog section, however it looks as if there are less than 100 blogs created, most of which either only have one entry or being used as nothing more than another place to create an advertising or marketing message. There is a "Find A Property" link, but the page says that section is under construction. However if you register as a consumer, you can view listings. There is a "Finance Finder" section that basically just captures consumer contact info and is most likely sold to the highest bidder in the mortgage space. I'm not sure why consumers would think they are gaining any sort of advantage by agreeing to allow someone to sell them down a spam and telemarketing river. The site clearly states they are not mortgage brokers and the terms by which you relinquish your personal information should give pause to any reasonable consumer. Also on the site is a Trulia Voices style Question and Answer section but only 30 questions exist. That pretty much validates my earlier statement regarding the need for consumer participation and the uphill battle these new social networking sites are going to have garnering it.

Update: Joseph @ Sellsius reminds me to add PropertyQube to the mix. I think the reason the thought to add them to this post escaped me is because the site is so much different than those I've referenced thus far, however, it does fit within the category. Here is an interview I did with one the Co-Founders at GeekEstateBlog shortly after their launch a few weeks ago. It looks as if this site is also experiencing fits and starts. The discussions are sparse. I'm not sure how many registered members they have been able to acquire thus far. The focus of PropertyQube is consumer centric and success in its current state will require them to come in droves to do one thing, talk about property. Did I miss anyone else? What are your thoughts on the concepts thus far?

Big Ideas In Web 2.0 - 1000Watt Consulting

Marc Davison and Brian Boero of 1000WattConsulting have created a nifty guide to track resources in the universe of Web 2.0 and real estate. Marc and Brian's new consulting company has been designed to help real estate companies plot their course through this new universe. Their recent "call to arms' for MLS' to add more Web 2.0 features like RSS and social networking is an interesting topic for discussion considering many associations are just now seeing the value in creating public portals to support their membership base.

What are your thoughts on MLS' adding social commentary to listings? I'm pretty sure in most markets it will be an uphill battle against conventional wisdom. What are the ramifications of a broker using an IDX feed to display listing data with their own social commentary components added to the mix? Would it meet the muster of the rules regarding broker reciprocity or would it get the same smackdown that Redfin experienced with their blogging effort? Food for thought.

Technorati Tags: Web 2.0 1000Watt Consulting RSS Real Estate

Global Neighborhoods - A Preview

The co-author of the wildly famous book Naked Conversations, Shel Israel, is working on a new book entitled "Global Neighborhoods -- How Social Media are moving power from institutions to people". What intrigued me the most in reading the preview was the correlation to the real estate profession's bread and butter lead generator, referrals.

"We know the best shortcuts and what areas to avoid. When we need a recommendation, we ask a neighbor. We trust local experts.

This behavior is now moving to the internet, where people do not have to be physically present to live in a community, or for that matter, be recognized as a leader in it."

I think it's critical for one to understand how these networks are being used by internet empowered consumers to exchange information. Whatever means can be used to infuse your brand and top-of-mind awareness within social networks will pay off in spades in the long run. Social networks survive on target advertising and the level of sophistication regarding how relevant that targeting will be is increasing rapidly. Search engine keyword advertising campaigns are becoming more difficult for the average entrepreneur to participate in. Social networks may provide an opportunity to target contextual ads at a very narrow target. One would do well to understand how and where these networks operate and seek out opportunities to participate as both a member and advertiser.

"Global Neighborhoods also examines the likely outcomes to the workplace of a generation that gets its information and places its trust on peers rather than institutions. It asks what happens when they enter the mainstream marketplaces as customers, employees and potential competitors. It examines how businesses will need to adjust course to gain credibility with a generation that has cultivated a Teflon resistance to traditional marketing techniques."

If banks were robbed because "that's where the money is", your marketing will need to be focused on "where the prospect is". Social networks are shaping up to be one of those places.

Google Zeitgeist '06

The Washington Post reports Google has released it's annual "Zeitgeist" report that peeks into the most popular search terms over the last year. Podcasting showed up as number 4 on the list. I found it intriguing that one of the items was the interest in the popular Web 2.0 programming language "Ajax". YouTube was absent from the list entirely. It seems Web 2.0 issues and technologies dominated search in 2006.

"The top search terms were words related to user-generated content, such as blogs, social networking sites and podcasts."

The impact that user generation and RSS based content distribution are having the web is sure to be top amongst the year end "wrap-up" technology articles that will no doubt be gracing my bookmarks and feed reader in the coming weeks.