Editor’s note: This is the first installment of a recurring news segment in which we catch up with real estate industry professionals through their posts on Twitter, a messaging site. Tell us what you think and let us know if you’d like Inman News to "follow you" on Twitter.
Todd Waller (@toddwaller), a Realtor and co-founder of Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Team366, shares a humorous video clip in which a pushy real estate agent doesn’t take "no" for an answer. You’ll never think of the question: "Did I ask?" in quite the same way.
Joel McDonald (@joelrunner — the "@" denotes that a Twitter user name follows, and you can substitute this character with: "http://www.twitter.com/," followed by the username, to locate the URL), an online traffic consultant for real estate professionals, re-tweets (to repost a Twitter message, or "tweet," posted by another Twitter user — often referred to as "RT" in Twitter vernacular) a post by @DonSchnure on checking the availability of your name "across 120 different social media sites."
ActiveRain co-founder and CEO Jonathan Washburn (@JonWashburn) spots a Zillow reference in a Sprint wireless ad: "1,200 people are job-hunting on Monster.com inside a car they bought on eBay parked outside a house they found on Zillow." He declares: "Offline national branding for Zillow has begun."
Real estate broker, consultant and self described "media junkie," "tech geek" and "car guy" Matt Wilkins (@mattwilkins) of Lake Ridge, Va., describes a chilling site in a for-sale home: an air-conditioning unit located above the kitchen sink: "Guess you can cool off AND dry the dishes at the same time!" he quips.
Twelve Facebook strategies: a Webinar recap link, compliments of Reggie Nicolay (@cyberhomes) of Cyberhomes.
In Knoxville, Tenn., real estate broker Jim Lee (@RealtorJimLee) points out a Reuters article that details economic shrinkage (-6.3 percent) in late ’08, with economists expecting more bad news (but less severe) for this year’s first quarter (see article).
Multiple offers: Yes, they still exist. "Just called on a lease for a client. Discovered house he was interested in had four offers this week, after being on market for two years." That’s the tweet on the street from Dru Bloomfield (@drubloomfield), a Realtor, blogger and tech enthusiast, situated in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Google me, me, me: Joe Spake (@joespake), a Memphis, Tenn., real estate broker, consultant, blogger and "social media networker," tweets about a Time article on the "act of Googling oneself," also known as "Egosurfing." It’s not always as shallow as narcissism, according to a study on the phenomenon — it can relate to an interest in personal online branding.
Sherry Chris, the leader of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate, a franchise brand of Realogy Corp., tweets about a tour of Zappos, an online reseller of shoes and clothing that has created a sort of cult of culture around its business philosophy. She writes, "Hope they don’t ask me to put something in their blender" (see picture) in reference to a blog post about a thoroughly "modified" iPhone. Zappos Chairman, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer Alfred Lin will deliver a keynote address on "Building a Brand that Matters" (no, not "Blending a Brand that Matters") at the upcoming Real Estate Connect conference in San Francisco. Watch Inman News for an in-depth interview with Lin.
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