Santa Clara County Association of Realtors Partners With Inner Architect on Social Media Workshops

Notice: my blog deansguide has been victimized for the past 6+ months by a scraper called Country Chase Homes. The following article originated at deansguide and was written by Dean Guadagni. I am in no way affiliated or connected to Country Chase Homes other than the fact that they have been ripping off my content.

After a short trial period, Inner Architect is happy to announce our partnership with the Santa Clara County Association of Realtors as workshop facilitators. We will be ongoing facilitators on the subjects of Web 2.0 social media, social media marketing, social networking, blogging, Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin. Each workshop will run between 2-3 hrs depending upon the subject matter. Workshops are interactive with both powerpoint slides and internet examples. Some exercises will be provided to help attendees begin to implement the concepts being presented.

Instructors for the workshops will be Dean Guadagni and Susan Hanshaw. For information about us:

• Dean Guadagni
• Susan Hanshaw

1. Leveraging the Viral Marketing Power of Facebook for Realtors

Instructors: Susan Hanshaw and Dean Guadagni

Date: Thursday Sept 17

Time: 1:00 to 3:00pm

Location: Santa Clara County Association of Realtors 1651 North First St., San Jose, CA

Description: With over 250 million active users, Facebook reigns as the largest social network. Today’s fastest growing population segment is age 35 and older, making Facebook a very viable and important site for building and maintaining your professional network and showcasing your expertise and real estate services.

2. Blogging for Realtors, Part 1: Adopting Your Most Powerful Marketing Tool

Instructors: Susan Hanshaw and Dean Guadagni

Date: Monday Sept 28

Time: 1:00 to 3:00pm

Location: Santa Clara County Association of Realtors 1651 North First St., San Jose, CA

Description: Web 2.0 has ushered in a complete paradigm shift in the way we communicate on a global level. The old status quo channels of print, radio, and television media are giving way to the new channels within social media. The most powerful channel and tool in this revolution is the blog. This workshop is designed to provide a detailed overview of blogging, why blogging is the best strategy for your real estate career, and tips on how to plan your entry into the blogosphere.

3. Twitter for Real Estate: Leveraging the Power of Micro-Blogging

Instructors: Susan Hanshaw and Dean Guadagni

Date: Oct 13

Time: 1:00 to 3:00pm

Location: Santa Clara County Association of Realtors 1651 North First St., San Jose, CA

Description: According to Compete.com, Twitter is the fastest growing social network with a growth rate from 2008 to 2009 of 1,382%. With an estimated 12 million users and world wide adoption by mass media organizations like CNN, Twitter is one of the best opportunities available to network, broadcast and announce information. This workshop is designed to provide Realtors with a complete understanding of how to navigate the site, strategies, tips, and an action plan for getting started.

10 Blog Writing Strategies That Hold Readers Attention

Web 2.0 was built upon an architecture of participation according to Tim O’Reilly. The pillars of the social media strategies are blogs which provide a writing platform for people willing to take on the challenge.  Blog writing, according to usability expert Jakob Nielsen, is really about attracting the attention of a reader through a number of techniques. Whether you are looking for Google bots to crawl your new blog or human readers to stay more than 10 seconds, the following list is a beginner’s reference to creating content that is read.

Social Media Strategies for Blog Writing:

• Format: use formats that are the most read and interesting. Top 10 lists, series of articles tied together, best of articles, lists of tips, strategies, and case studies are often the most read blog formats
• Short Writing: the best blog articles for usability are succinct, short articles of no more than 500 words
• Bold Highlighting: use the bold function to create outstanding keywords that both bots and humans can pick out easilty
• Keyword Titles: use your keywords in your title in order to describe exactly what your article subject covers
• Bullet Points: use bullets to separate, highlight, and pull out information for the reader to easily find
• Headings: create headings made up of keyword phrases to identify the following information to the reader
• Links: create hyper links with words that name the source of information
• Content: write compelling, interesting content
• Use Pictures: use pictures or video to tell your story
• Get to the Point: make your point(s) early and often. Do not wait until the end of the article

Social Media Strategies: Stop Interruption Marketing Solicitations

Chicago Sun-Times published this deansguide article 7-24-09

What is your social media,  marketing or sales pitch pet peeve? Is there anything worse than over taxation, misrepresentation by politicians, horrible reality shows, celebrities with no talent, or interruption marketing? Yes there is one: Interruption solicitation. What is this Interruption Solicitation and how does it work? The following is a description of what I consider the worst type of hard sell marketing sales pitch known to man: Black Hat Marketing.

Black Hat Marketing: Interruption Solicitation

• Intrusion or interruption phone call for marketing or sales purposes
• Solicitation to join, buy, or listen to an offer
• Unclear message that has no detail, description, or story
• Pitch is all about “passive income”, money making proposition
• Declaration from caller that they are “making money” hand over fist and it is just “rolling in”
• Commonality is their reference point, as my recent Interruption Solicitation came from a former high school peer who I never knew in high school or had any kind of relationship

Our Perception

• Desperate sales pitch
• Trick, gimmick, or scheme to enrich the marketer while costing you money
• Attempt to lend mystique, secrecy, or exclusivity in order to create the illusion of desirability for a product or service

Legitimate businesses invite questions and provide forthright answers. They covet people’s willingness to perform due diligence as a way of proving the worth of their offer through honest investigation. Interruption solicitations via Black Hat marketing is anything but legitimate.

Twitter Strategies: Do Not Use Auto Response Direct Messaging

One of the most critical mistakes a person can make when using social media for marketing is to utilize an auto responder to deliver generic direct messages to their new followers on Twitter. Some people attempt to hide the fact that the DM they send is a batch message by making it generic. Others make no pretense and send a message, meant for thousands of drone followers, that is a blatant sales pitch and attempted call to action.

Due to the inability for the vast majority of Twitter users to utilize auto response tools correctly, consider ditching the idea altogether before the following happens to you:

Example #1 False Sincerity: We have never met so it’s hard to understand how this message is appropriate

Example #2 Hard Sell: This guy is a spammer with a novel (for Twitter) length sales pitch as his first message to me-ineffective at best, very harmful to his reputation at worst

Example #3  Have No Shame: This guy is telling you even though I am not interesting, don’t have anything to add to your knowledge base, or am just boring–I will still automatically follow you even if you are the devil himself

Twitter Strategies for Realtors: Follow to Follower Ratio Solution

Are you a beginning Twittering Realtor looking to connect but without a strategy? Have you gone off the deep end by following hundreds of people and companies and now find yourself in the unenviable position of being perceived as a spamming MLM sales person? Is nobody following you back because of your initial aggressive follow “strategy”? If you are in this situation there is hope and it starts with bringing your follow to follower ratio inline. Simply put you want to have a near 50-50 ratio between people you follow and people who follow you. A huge thank you to developer Dossi Shiobara for this fantastic tool.

The Premise

Dossi’s tool is based on the Twitter premise that many people adhere to in their strategy: I will follow you if you follow me back. That is a reciprocal follow strategy for nothing more than an attempt at generating large follower numbers. Dossi’s Twitter Karma tool allows you to check to see who has followed you and most importantly remained a follower thus keeping your follow to follower ratio intact.

Twitter Karma: Clean Up Your Ratio

Twitter Karma aka dossy.org is simple to use Example:

• Green Arrows: you follow them
• Red Arrows: they follow you
• Time Stamp: key to knowing their Tweeting habits
• Batch Unfollow: you can check multiple accounts if you wish to do a batch unfollow

Strategies:

• Unfollow: many Twitterers follow then quickly unfollow within a few days. The idea behind this is to build recipricol followers and then unfollow to create more room in their ratios. When you find someone like this dump them immediately
• Due Diligence: sometimes you foget to follow somebody. If you missed one then immediately follow that person to correct the situation
• Tweeting Habits: you can tell, by looking at the time stamp, how often a person tweets. If they are not tweeting enough then they could be a candidate to unfollow
• Abandonment: according to many recent reports up to 70% of new Twitterers abandon their Twitter accounts within 60 days. This is inline with the idea that blogging, Twitter is a microblog, has a high attrition rate. If you find someone who has not tweeted in months it is time to clean up and unfollow them. It helps your ratios so you can follow somebody signficant to your efforts

Class Action Court’s Final Approval of Pending Ed Okun Settlements October 7

Notice of disclosure: I am not an attorney nor am I part of the proceedings in this case. Please perform your own due diligence when looking for dates, times, and announcements on the Ed Okun case. If you reference Gearld McHale’s blog (link below) you will find all appropriate information.

The Ed Okun 1031 Tax Group proceedings continue as the restitution news continues to it’s conclusion. Trustee Gerald Mchale’s newsletter #16 contains  the following notice:

“In major procedural areas, the bankruptcy court has set hearings (i) on approval of the disclosure statement for August 13, and (ii) confirmation of the Plan for October 7.  The class action court will hold a hearing on final approval of the pending settlements, and certification of the class for purposes of approving those settlements, on October 7 as well. This will hopefully lead to the ability to make distributions during the calendar year 2009 if these proceedings are successfully concluded.”

Date #1 August 13: Approval of Disclosure Statement

The bankruptcy court has set hearings (i) on approval of the disclosure statement for August 13.

Date #2 October 7: Hearing Final Approval of Pending Settlements

The class action court will hold a hearing on final approval of the pending settlements, and certification of the class for purposes of approving those settlements, on October 7 as well.

The Summer of Our Discontent: Eight is Enough

Chicago Post-Tribune published this deansguide article 7-18-09

The summer of 2009 may go down as one of the most memorable times for the loss of so many influential people. Many would argue that the list of people who have passed away this summer is less than memorable. Yet we all have our favorites and what we value. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. For me, a complete fanatic of social pop culture, these people mark times and memories in my life. The people who were my peers remind me of my own vulnerability to the inevitable. With each loss, we should remember and honor in the best way possible. In no particular order:

1. Farrah Fawcet: Iconic super model actress of the 1970’s spawned an entire hairstyle and look

2. Walter Cronkite: The  greatest newsman anchor who ever slipped on a microphone–period!

3. Michael Jackson: Greatest dancer, R&B singer, creative talent of my generation

4. Steve McNair: Crushing the myth of the black QB with NFL excellence

5. Ed McMahon: The Alltime 2nd banana

6. Arturo Gatti: Known for his two guns smokin style of brawling, Gatti gave his heart and soul to boxing

7. Karl Malden: A San Francisco institution right “Stevie Boy?” Streets of San Francisco loved Karl

8. Billy Mays: Pop culture pitchman, too loud but extremely sucessful in getting our attention even with the volume off!

Social Media’s Connectivity and Evolution: Bruce Lee to The UFC

Courtesy Carnac the Magnificent Wiki

Johnny Carson’s Carnac the Magnificent could not have framed it better: “Social Media, Bruce Lee, the UFC.  .  . What’s a revolution, an institution, and a evolution.” Social Media is the revolutionary byproduct of Web 2.0 and blogging. It is a collaborative paradigm shift in communication and connectivity characterized, by Tim O’Reilly, as an “architecture of participation.” Yet what does it have in common with Mixed Martial Arts of the UFC and martial arts legend Bruce Lee? A: Connectivity and evolution.

Courtesy BruceLeeDivineWind.com

Bruce Lee and The UFC

Bruce Lee description of his fighting philosophy: “Be formless… shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle; it becomes the bottle. You put it into a teapot; it becomes the teapot. Water can flow, or it can crash. Be water, my friend…”  It was Bruce Lee’s creation of Jeet Kune Do that was the roots of Mixed Martial Arts. Jeet Kune Do relies upon multiple (mixed) styles no one more important than the other. Lee’s philosophy was that the opponent and circumstances dictated which discipline within Jeet Kune Do be used against an opponent. It is not fixed or rigidly patterned like traditional martial arts but rather it is a philosophy with guiding thoughts. Nearly 40 years later, the UFC represents the evolution of Jeet Kune Do by becoming the fastest growing sport on the planet.

Social Media and Blogging

Like Bruce Lee’s role in the creation of mixed martial arts,  blogging is the forefather or foundation on which Social Media was built. The connectivity that blogging brought to the masses is the basis for the Web 2.0 revolution that ushered in our current era where individuals have the power to create brands, mass media styled messages, and connect on a world wide basis with their targeted audience(s).

5 Things We Are Learning About Social Media

1. Social Media was built upon blogging as a platform
2. Social Media’s blogging platform is evolving with the explosion of micro-blogging
3. Social Media’s evolution is based on philosophies that allow for the malleable change and growth of social networks
4. Social Media’s evolution and continued growth relies upon adoption of social networks
5. Social Media’s growth depends upon participation and contributions by new adopters within social networks

Google Strategies: Use Google to Search on Social Networks

Courtesy Google.com

Ever wonder how to quickly find a person or company on a social network? There are many ways to do this yet there is one that will return information about people or companies within a niche: Google. After you have gone to the directories of social networks, for example Wefollow, try the following simple Google Search.

Google Search Social Media

• Begin your search on Google
• Input the business, industry, or niche you are searching
• After your business, industry, or niche type in “site:____”

Example of a Google Search on Twitter

If you wanted to find the number of wineries in Napa Valley that Tweet you would input the following into Google:

• Napa Valley Wineries site: Twitter.com

Make Your List

Once you have input the Twitter search, try the same search method using facebook.com. You can do this for Linkedin and any other social network. Make a list of the top people or companies to follow or friend. Now you have the beginnings of networking, due diligence, or recon information on your industry leaders

World’s Most Expensive Cities to Live: Top 10

Courtesy Forbes.com

Chicago Post-Tribune published this deansguide article 7-11-09

Forbes.com is the master of lists and Top 10 offerings. One of the most compelling is their Top 10 Most Expensive Cities to Live. The following is the list and each city’s 2008 ranking. Notes of interest shows Japan dominating the Top 10 list with #1 and #2, New York City vaulted from #22 to #8, and Copenhagen, Denmark is in the Top 10- remains a mystery.

World’s Most Expensive Cities to Live

1. Tokyo, Japan: 2008 ranking #2, Cost of Living index 2008: 127; Cost of Living index 2009: 147

2. Osaka, Japan: 2008 ranking #11. COL index 2008 110; COL index 2009 119.2

3. Moscow, Russia: 2008 ranking #1, COL index 2008 142.4; COL index 2009 115.4

4. Geneva, Switzerland: 2008 ranking #8, COL index 2008 115.8; COL index 2009 109.2

5. Hong Kong: 2008 ranking #6, COL index 2008 117.6; COL index 2009 108.7

6. Zurich, Switzerland: 2008 ranking #9, COL index 2008 112.7; COL index 2009 105.2

7. Copenhagen, Denmark: 2008 ranking #7, COL index 2008 117.2; COL index 2009 105.0

8. New York City: 2008 ranking #22, COL index 2008 100.0; COL index 2009 100.0

9. Beijing, China: 2008 ranking #20, COL index 2008 101.9, COL index 2009 99.6

10. Singapore: 2008 ranking #13, COL index 2008 101.9; COL index 2009 98.0