Jeff: Brad, a look at http:jeffturner.info will probably illustrate your point. But just when I think I’ve joined every social network known to man, another one rears it’s ugly head.

I think some people watch my behavior and think I’ve got nothing better to do than play on social networks, when that’s clearly not the case. I don’t actually use all of the social networks I’ve joined, or all of the web 2.0 tools or social messaging sites I test.

For example, there are three major social messaging sites today, Jaiku, Pownce and Twitter. If you go and view my page on each of those networks independently, you’d certainly get the impression that I am active in all three of them. In fact, I’m only active in one, Twitter. I feed original content from Twitter into my Pownce Profile and I use RSS feeds to drive content into my Jaiku Profile. Now, there are a few people on Pownce who I will sometimes communicate using the Pownce tool, but it is rare. And even as I’m writing this, a new site, FriendFeed, is quickly becoming a place of value for myself and others, but I still drive most of the content there via Twitter.

I join these networks to learn. I’m looking at very specific things when I am setting up a profile and engaging with it for the first time. I’m looking at user interface and user experience and the size and quality of the visible communication on the network. Often, I’ll finish out the profile and see if I know anyone on the network and move on. Sometimes my continued use of a network has nothing to do with being social. Some social networks are valuable because of the tools they are built around.

I’ve signed up for well over 400 different web 2.0 sites, a percentage of them would be considered pure social networks, so managing passwords and logins is also key for me. I am on a Mac, so I use 1Password to manage all of the passwords. I allow the program to generate random passwords, so my logins are very difficult to compromise. But I don’t recommend that an agent even begin to be a part of that many online sites. Two or three social networks will be all that most people will ever need to navigate.

Jeff: First of all, you have to treat your online social networks the same way you treat your offline social networks, your “real world” friends. If you have your friends over every night for dinner and drinks and games, before long, you’ll simply grow tired of even your closest friends.

You must set boundaries on your time or you will find yourself eating up large amounts of it before you know it. And sometimes it’s hard to spot when it’s happening. Some networks, like Seesmic, eat up time in large chunks, so it’s easy to identify the time that’s wasted. Other networks, like Twitter, eat up time in very small, 140 character chunks, so they are deceptive in how much time can be wasted. If you’re capable of multitasking effectively, then a network like Twitter can be used effectively with partial attention. That luxury doesn’t exist with many other social networks.

My advice for most people would be to set aside some time each day to check into your social networks. Most of these networks do not require constant attention.

Jeff: We have a large number of extremely vocal Real Estate Shows supporters who are also very active in social networks that real estate agents frequent. The social networks magnify and expand what would have happened anyway via word of mouth. The benefit to Real Estate Shows is that their unsolicited testimonials are spread further and faster as a result.

For me personally, social networks like ActiveRain, have provided a place to share knowledge and to connect with people I certainly would not have met otherwise. And, I try very hard NOT to be constantly selling Real Estate Shows on ANY social network. Some may argue with that approach, but I think the biggest mistake people make in social media is placing a higher priority on the media aspects of the network than they do on the social aspects of the network. Something happens to business people when they go online. They behave in ways they would not if they were at a local Cub Scout function with their kids or at the local Chamber Of Commerce meeting. They forget to be social, they forget to get to know people first, and they rush into the network and just start selling, selling, selling. You might be able to get away with that in a Business to Business (B2B) social network, but that’s never going to play well in the open social networks with people who come to those networks solely to be social.

Jeff: Brad, I started to answer this in the last question. I’ve used the analogy of deer hunting to explain this. Imagine that Realtors are the hunters and consumers are the deer. When hunters go out to hunt deer they do their best to camouflage themselves so they can sneak up on their prey. But they’re forced to wear these bright orange vests so they don’t shoot each other in the process. When you and I go on these social networks, we’re not hunting deer. We’re hunting hunters. So, they’re easy to spot. They’ve got on these bright orange vests. They can’t hide.

That makes it a lot easier for those of us who are working in the B2B world. Using the same analogy, if you could, the best way to hunt deer would to be able to become a deer and walk right up to them in the wild. I think social networking will turn into something valuable for many Realtors, but they’re going to have to learn to take off their orange vests and camouflage and just be a deer.

Jeff: Brad, we actually spend a great deal of time here at Real Estate Shows talking about these very things. I’ve said, on more than one occasion, to others heavily involved in what is now called the “RE.net” that we’re all just talking to ourselves. So, in our view, Alexander van Elsas’s post about the tech elite creating its own bubble, is right on target. Bill Leider wrote about this very thing on our blog back in September of 2007.

The most common reality is not found online. Today, in the midst of the techno noise about the latest, “we can’t possibly live without this” applications, the most often used approach to contact and prospect for new clients is – DIRECT MAIL. Sending postcards via snail mail is still the default choice in the average Realtor’s marketing tool kit. Why? Because it still works.

Relationships and personal referrals are still the most prominent and coveted sources for getting new clients. And the vast majority of Realtors have not yet connected the dots as to how technology can help create the kind of new relationships that lead to referrals. There is an entire generation of Realtors who do well and account for a huge number of transactions that will probably NEVER make the connection because they don’t have to. They can continue to operate effectively and earn their livelihoods for the rest of their careers.

So we may be looking at a very long-term technology adoption cycle. It may not occur in meaningful numbers until an entirely new generation of Realtors, buyers and sellers dominates the transaction world.

It’s one of the major reasons our focus at Real Estate Shows is on easy and effective, not on the latest tech craze.

I have been reading the Maverick blog by Mark Cuban recently. If you haven’t had a chance to read his post, I recommend you give it a try. In fact, recently I’ve been reading several blogs authored by C-level corporate types. The variety of topics are both interesting and thought-provoking. Mark (Owner of the Dallas Mavericks NBA team) seems to get on his occasional anti-big media rants but always makes his point about blogging in a manner that helps you understand how to build your brand and elevate the perception of your product or service in the eye of the public. His no-holds barred blogging style is both transparent and honest. He has a pretty big ego, but then again, look what (or who) he has to deal with on a day to day basis. Talk about egos – NBA ballers must possess the biggest egos of all. I’m not prone for recommending many blogs but in this case, I say give it try and let me know what you think. Be prepared – it’s different!

Local Raleigh Developer Tries His Hand at Blogging

In a different vain, because I’m so drawn to other blogs that discuss real estate, I recently discovered a blog authored by Greg Ferguson with Mercury Development here in Raleigh. Greg does a nice job providing a unique perspective as the co-leader of his real estate development company. Greg blogs about each phase of the construction process of a large residential project in Eastern Wake County – Wendell Falls. I like the “insider perspective” he brings to his blog. I also like how he refuses to use his blog to “over hype” the new community. The blog is “raw” but effective providing a glimpse into the endless sea of red tape required to get a project of this magnitude moving along. I look forward to Greg’s updates as the project takes shape. I have a real sense of the purpose of Greg’s blog and he does a nice job communicating that to his audience. It’s obvious Greg is a quick study and a willing learner of the art of blogging.

My Personal Blog Project

This brings me to my personal blog project I recently launched. With my focus on the Southern Outer Banks of North Carolina, it is my desire to provide a blog portal to my site visitors that communicates valuable area information and offers a unique perspective to the Crystal Coast. I believe individuals and families who come to the Crystal Coast to vacation or maybe desire to live here as a permanent resident will find the information useful. From fun things to do or real estate tips, site visitors will gain a perspective on this area of the North Carolina Coast that will enhance their vacation value or maybe help them make smarter decisions how they buy and sell real estate on the Crystal Coast. So far the feedback has been positive, but it is a work in progress (like all blogs should be). So that’s my blogging objective, to help those who visit or decide to live on the Crystal Coast to understand and appreciate the natural beauty of this area and to make the most of the precious time they share together here.

So what is your blogging objective? For some it is making people aware of your brand, for others it’s their platform to spread their “gospel”. In each example above, the authors of these blogs have a mission – a blogging objective. The next time you write a post maybe it would be a good idea to think about that as you write your blog.

Helping you blog with a purpose,
Bobby

A Crystal Coast Blogger

Raleigh, North Carolina – Dakno Marketing, Inc. a rapidly growing real estate web design and marketing firm, announced today the acquisition of Blogger Lounge and its blog portal http://www.bloggerlounge.net/. Blogger Lounge is the comprehensive blog marketing Web site recognized by Technorati as one of the top 1% of blog sites in the world. The acquisition highlights Dakno’s investment to transform social media marketing functions into a viable component for real estate professionals who desire to effectively reach consumers in the blogosphere.

Added to Dakno’s ever-expanding real estate web products and marketing services, the acquisition of Blogger Lounge and its authoritative blog site will enable thousands of professionals to have immediate access to all of Blogger Lounges’ marketing minds, tools and resources. BloggerLounge.net contains a wealth of information resources including blog writing tools, B2C marketing to the blogosphere, blog site development tools and more. The addition of this asset will make BloggerLounge.net a true one-stop destination for professionals and organizations who seek to broaden their on-line presence and knowledge.

According to Brad Carroll, CEO/President of Dakno Marketing, “Blogger Lounge and its’ Web site is one of the largest repositories for blog skill development, as well as social media marketing concepts and promises to provide a platform to gain high-value blogging consultation and experience. Offering a wealth of information on social media marketing, SEO endorsement benefits and a superior platform for real estate marketing idea incubation, this blog site acquisition is a natural fit with Dakno’s overall growth plans and new emphases on social media marketing.”

“Blogger Lounge and its’ highly regarded blog site has proved to be a valued resource to the blogosphere for many years. Possessing a strong network of more than 1,200 blog sites, BloggerLounge.net has a superior Web site infrastructure, and a solid revenue generation track record which closely aligns with ours,” said Bobby Carroll, Director of Business Development at Dakno. “This acquisition advances our growth strategy and our ability to deliver superior blog marketing consultation.”

About Dakno Marketing

Dakno Marketing is real estate web design and a single-source solution for online and offline real estate marketing needs. Providing client-focused real estate marketing solutions since 1998, Dakno counts many of the industries top producing real estate professionals and brokerages as its clients.

For additional information regarding Dakno Marketing, Inc., send an email to info@dakno.com, visit their Web site at www.dakno.com, or call (919) 877-8511.

Through all these months we’ve shared and learned form each others, I’ve known very good friends and loyal readers. I’m very grateful with all of you. Thanks for the experience and thanks for the wonderful moments, we’ll meet again.

Thanks to all of my loyal readers, but above all friends. Thanks to:

Jon
Santosh
Mjda
Thomas
Phlizzow
James
Prasanga
Caroline
Josh

If one day you need someone to talk or if you need an advice or just a friend, you knw where to reach me. medianthem(at)gmail.com

Well thanks to all of you I wish I could thank each one. That’s it! See you my friends! and keeo enjoying BloggerLounge now with a new head and a new administration.

Bye.

George C.

Yesterday I stumbled accross with a very interesting blog, StylishLabs ; It is a blog about creativity, innovation, trends, design and much more, I think it will become a great blog soon.

StylishLabs is a community dedicated to all those designers, developers, freelancers, entrepreneurs, artists, bloggers and creatives looking for inspiration, style, ideas, creativity and knowledge. Our aim is to build a space where ideas flow, and where knowledge is shared also a space to inform you about the latest trends, tips, ideas and news.

Here you’ll find all you need to know about design, creativity, innovation, style, entrepreneurship and much more. This is a place for the talented ones and for those willing to become part of a new breed of creatives and entrepreneurs. But this is also a space to learn and share, with a little bit of fun and style. If you want to be part of the new age, The Age of Creativity you’re in the right place.

Well their first project is very interesting too, StylishLabs is calling for creative sites around the Internet to become part of this “Distinguished circle“. So if you run a blog or site about design, freelancing, creativity or innovation submit it now and the guys from SL will review it as soon as possible.

This is my newest theme, the second of the autumn-winter collection 2007.

3 Columns

Widget Ready

Wide Content area

Unique Design.

This theme is available for Download. I hope you like it. what do you think?!

Download Aureol 1.0!

So, to the winner come on and claim your prize, contact me so we can start with your poject. To the other readers, please participate and comment.

Today I want to introduce the first theme of my new autumn-winter collection 2007, it is called Pristine 1.0. This is a 3 colum widget ready theme, wide spaces and clean atmosphere. Pristine 1.0 was created in collaboration with Web Hosting Geeks and PR6 SEO Directory.

This theme is available for Download. I hope you like it. what do you think?!

Download Pristine 1.0

Hi everyone! Today I want to announce our second Comment//Zation Contest! You might remeber our first contest, where Santosh won the logo design. Well This time BrandNiu is going to be the desegner of the winner’s logo.

The Rules

Again, the rules are very simple, during this 2 weeks, starting from today, until Tuesday 18th write as many comments as you can, share your opinions, ideas and thoughts with us about the posts on this blog, but please write good comments, only high quality, relevant and useful comments will be approved, there are some old post where comments are closed.

The one that comments the most will be presented as the winner of this contest. The deadline date as I said is on Tuesday 18th , so hurry up, it only takes less than two minutes to write a good comment.

The Prize

If you become one of the top commentators of these two weeks, you’ll receive a backlink, but the winner will get an amazing Premium logo design for his/her blog or website or product, or whatever!, designed of course by me.

A good logo design can cost you up to $1,000 so this is a really good deal, you just have to comment, that’s it.

Additional to that, the winner will also receive a permanent backlink from this blog because his/her name along with the name of the blog (or whatever) will be published in a post.

That’s it! start commenting and spread the word!

There’s something we must all have to increase our posibilites of success, we must be very well conected, we must have “touch” and good relationships. Remember that if you want to lead you always need someone that follows you, right? , because above all “A leader is a people person”.

The point of this post, is that you understand how important is the ability to relate well to others because this will become part of your future professional success. Probably you are the most brilliant designer or programmer in the world, but if you lack of social graces you will not develop into a leader or an outstanding element, of course for every rule, there is a conspicuous exception. But how can you determine whether you are a people person or not? Well, there are 5 signs that can help you to define this.

• You listen to toher people’s ideas. But not just listen,you pay attention towhat they’re saying.

• You make eye contact. Everytime someone approaches, you establish visual contact, this is the best way to start a good conversation.

• You try to be in the same situation as others. This means you have the ability to put yourself in another person’s situation and mindset. A people person cares about his fellow man and woman.

• You Try to give them what they want. Because you know that one day everything will come back to you. What you give is what you get.

• You’re not a pusher. You understand that things have to be dome as you want them to be, but you also understand that if you push someone the result willnot be perfect. Lead, don’t push. Teach don’t impose.

All great leaders, from CEO’s to ruler’s have this special talent. Most of all never forget that they are also humans just like you, this is something very valuable and worthless that can be acquired over time, so if you feel you still don’t have it, don’t worry and start practicing.