Category: Via Geek

I have to wonder if these new terms will kill Craigslist for Real Estate Agents. It’s really the “do not” list that’s problematic. And, really, just one thing in that list.

Each real estate for sale posting must be 100% about a single, specific, currently available property.
Lead capture, loans/financing, services, offers to buy, lists/directories, and/or driving users to a website are not allowed.

• please do include:
  • all relevant information about the specific property you are selling
  • multiple high-quality photographs of the specific property on offer
  • street address, and location on craigslist map
• please do NOT include:
  • cartoon or graphic images, photographs of yourself or other people
  • links to “more information” elsewhere (emphasis mine)
  • photos with “click below,” contact info, or other writing
  • search links, or information about multiple properties
  • advertisement for services of any kind, including financing or loan information
  • advice about buying and/or selling and/or market conditions

No links to “More Information” is one of the crucial benefits to us as agents. I guess we shouldn’t complain too much as Craigslist is a free tool. Not  getting traffic to our sites, though, is painful.

I wonder if driving agents away from Craigslist will serve to lower the value to customers? Or is the spammy content too negatively impactful?

Anyway, we’ll adapt to whatever Craigslist tosses our way.

Matthew Keys, the deputy social media editor for Reuters, has been let go (Mr. Keys’ description of that event is here). As with all things like this, discerning the truth will take some time. We don’t have Reuters side, and most likely won’t until the union grievance is resolved.

The details listed on his Tumblr post give me pause, though. It seems Reuters’ beefs centered around his Twitter postings surrounding the Boston Marathon bombings. Each item seems to have a logical rebuttal, which always raises my eyebrows. I can sense there are gaps here, but there’s not enough detail yet to read between the proverbial lines.

One thing, though, I wonder about is how this affects Twitter’s relationship with journalism. It seems that Mr. Keys mostly aggregated information from police scanners, as well as other tweets. This is an endeavor that makes accuracy tough. Yet, I’d argue, there’s deep value. Yes, we, as citizens and media consumers, need to recognize the spurious nature of these moments. But the barrage of data helps ensure that the truth comes forth. Yes, it needs to be sorted through. Yes, there will be disinformation and misinformation. Activities like aggregation helps in that sifting process. Plus, it gives us a place to verify the accuracy of past reporting when looking at the next event. Someone with a history of mis/disinformation should, theoretically, immediately be suspect the next round.

I’m expanding on my thoughts from a few weeks back.

LinkedIn functions as an afterthought for so many. Sharing of personal stories happens on Facebook. Well, most internet interaction seems to happen on Facebook. It had games, myriad other apps for consuming time. Yet, if you’re like me, you have a career to manage. I value my career, even though I’m trying to find a unique path through my work life. So, I’m trying to nurture my LinkedIn account.

Maybe I should call it “curate”. Immaterial, really, the label. What’s important is deliberate focus. I seek to expand my influence. Thus, connecting with new people consistently. At least weekly access, though I shoot for more. Sharing relevant articles. And, though seeking to expand my network, not add everyone in the world. Additionally, I want the heavy lifting done before I’m seeking a new job. That’s one of the cynical parts to LinkedIn. People don’t use the tool extensively until they’re job hunting. True or not, there is that perception. I have noticed more users sharing content, though, and with greater regularity. LinkedIn’s potential should really expand over the coming year.

These are just a few thoughts on what I’m doing with this interesting tool. I don’t think I’m utilizing it to it’s full potential, yet I’m doing better than most.  What are you doing with it? Live it? Hate it? Let me know in the comments. 

I assume all of you readers are using LinkedIn. Do you have any strategy? At this point, my main focus has simply been to connect to >1 person / week, which I’ve had no problem accomplishing. However, I’m confident that there’s much more I could be doing. I’d love to hear what success you have, ideas, etc.

Just over a week a ago, I attended at social media workshop hosted by Lori Ballen. Covered a great deal of content that I deeply care about, thus there’s tons to write about. There’s one piece that really struck me, though. Her ability to connect.

One thing that happens regularly for her: people who she’s never met treating her like she’s their best friend. These are people who have only connected with her via social media. For all the criticism about social media destroying society, clearly these tools still enables us to bond.

Utilized well, people can connect solidly to brands, ideas, individuals. This gives communicators powerful ways to affect our audience. And elicit cynicism. If we’re not careful, these tools will end up viewed simply as deceptive marketing tools, building a false sense of connection and, thus, exploitive.

We need to be vigilant, ensuring we strive for genuine connection. Respectful, solution driven, thoughtful, and focused on our customer more than on driving cash-flow. Once your audience becomes jaded, rebuilding that trust is painfully slow and, perhaps, impossible.