Social Networking - What is the Cost of Membership?

As each day passes, more people join a growing list of users who are participating in at least one of countless online social networking communities.

To join, most of these sites are as simple as giving your name, email address, and creating a password and user ID. Click the link in the verification email immediately sent your way, and you've become another statistic in an exponentially growing list of online community members.

From big players growing their businesses to a new user getting acclimated to this new online world, anyone is welcome. Since most of these social networking sites are so easy to join, why not give it a try and see what comes of it? What do you have to lose?

Or .... Scenario #2 ... Pay to join.

Just recently, we ran across an article at microblink.com titled, "How Much Would You Pay for Twitter?". We recommend checking out their article and also visiting Guy Kawasaki on Twitter. You can also register your vote on Guy's social networking poll, "How Much Would You Pay for Twitter?"

We haven't voted yet because we're on the fence. From the looks of it, spending $5.00 a month for a social networking platform (such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Active Rain, etc.) would be a very small expense for what potentially one could gain from a membership.

In our minds, the bigger question is whether or not we would like our new online social worlds if we had to pay for it. To a certain extent, isn't the allure and power of online social networking the idea that anyone with access to a computer can join and immediately begin expressing who they are without spending any money to do so? Yes, time is money. However, if you don't have money, but you do have time, this may be your launching pad to something bigger and better. It provides a level playing field where creativity and what you know is not trumped by who you know and how well you're connected.

Would Twitter even need the default brown avatar (the default image for members who do not upload a profile picture) if it was a paid membership site? Who would pay for a membership and not take the time to brand their Twitter cubicle? I had a conversation last night about the brown avatar. That conversation would no longer exist. The laughs, connections, small talk - the Twitter community as we know it - would be in subtle ways completely different (as would Facebook, Linked In, Active Rain, just to name a few). As it is, some people for varying reasons can only contribute to their memberships now and again. Their lack of use doesn't necessarily equate to a lesser quality of content. If you were in this camp, would you pay knowing that your time to contribute was limited?

In short, what is lost when money becomes a factor? How much creativity and personality is left at the doorstep for control and manipulation when capitalism steps in and begins to rule the roost? Do you really think we would like what we see?

Social Networking Behavior - Are You Rude Too?

I'm often horrified by people's public use of the cell phone as it's original intent, a talking device. We've all had, to one extent or another, aggravating experiences at the mercy of poor cell phone manners.

Perhaps you're one of them! As far as I'm concerned, the following examples are rude and there are countless other social cell phone situations not mentioned here that scream poor etiquette. Shame on you!

• You're having a conversation with someone, their phone rings ... dead in its tracks, your conversation halts while they address the obviously more important incoming matter.
  
• You're in the supermarket and the person in front of you is taking forever to checkout because they can't hold the cellphone, dig out their credit card, and swipe their payment all at the same time.
• You're in a restaurant and your neighbor at the adjoining table is so loud that you've now learned more about their personal life than you would have ever cared to have known.

Compounding matters, the basic cell phone has evolved into countless variations of what we now call the "smart phone" (iPhone, Blackberry, Treo, etc.). They're here, they're here to stay, and it will become increasingly more difficult to remain competitive and efficient in our business spaces without using one.

From the palm of our hands, we now get to merge our online world with the real world. To be quite honest, for those of us already immersed in both worlds, the two are no longer mutually exclusive.

Helping to join this divide, Twitter, amongst many social networking tools, has definitely become a major component of our day to day networking activities. With only so much time in the day, in an attempt to remain productive, of course we Twitter via TwitterBerry on our Blackberry. No problem, right?

So, it's Thanksgiving. We're all done eating, some family is still gathered around the dinner table, others are in the front room, and I'm in the family room loosely watching the young ones run around. All is well, kids are playing nice, conversations are going on, no-one is missing me, it's time for a minute or two, perhaps three, of Twitter.

At the end of the evening, I'm having a conversation with my mother-in-law, mom, and wife and the conversation morphs into a discussion of my father-in-law and his recent obsession with his new Blackberry Storm. "People, especially the younger generation, are always on their phones, they can't seem to ever put them down!" Mind you, my father-in-law's obsession is more so due to the learning curve as opposed to having to stay connected, while my obsession comes from wanting to stay connected.

As the conversation continues, out of nowhere, all eyes converge on me and I'm asked, "Is it really that important to have to be 'playing' on the Blackberry on Thanksgiving?"

My first thought, "Playing?" And then my response was, "Well, this group is talking, that group is playing cards, they're playing Dominoes. Why single me out? What's the big deal? We're all doing different things, having a good time, enjoying ourselves."

They're response, "Everyone else is spending time with each other while you're solely engaged by waves emanating from your Blackberry."

Ouch!

I must admit, a bit embarrassing and even more so as I've become increasingly self-conscious of my actions as I'm finding myself more absorbed and constantly searching for a moment to take a peak, to stay connected.

If these tools are a major facet of our business operations and the tool naturally creates this type of give a bleep here, a tweet there behavior, what is one to do? How will our social interactions be shaped?

For now, I've become one of those individuals ... I'm not holding up the line because I'm talking; I'm holding up the line because I haven't noticed it move, since I'm too busy silently connecting. Different actions and now realizing same rude results.

Back to the Buzz!

Hopefully everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving. We did and are definitely feeling lethargic after all of that food. We're sure most everyone can relate.

Now, back to the Buzz!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today we traded the Buzz for the Turkey!

The Future of Social Networking - Where is There?

Before I get too far off on a tangent, let me begin by laying the groundwork for my random thoughts which will soon follow regarding all things future and social.

Finally making time, I'm walking out of the Verizon store today after testing the Blackberry Storm. Amongst other items, one of my frustrations centered around the keyboard. In consideration, a fairly decent size when flipped horizontally but definitely still too small for my fat fingers. Because of the new touch screen technology, it's easier, even though the keys are larger, to accidentally stroke a key that wasn't meant to be stroked. Due to my aggravation, I called my business partner who has been testing / comparing both the Blackberry Storm and the Apple iPhone. He had similar frustrations, but found the Storm to be easier to type on. Through our conversation, I simply asked, how can they fix this? Nobody wants a bigger device, so there's only a certain amount of Real Estate to play with. With this, I began to ponder a bigger notion.

Patience, I'm getting there.

Staying on the same theme but moving to a different platform, let's look at Twitter. On many levels, it's similar to the Blackberry Storm and the Apple iPhone. It's the latest and greatest. It's a glimpse into the future. It's content is compact, 140 characters or less for Twitter a few inches by a few inches for the smart phones. They both integrate pics, video, music, and other media. In short, both tools provide many important things to many people.

Okay, now for the notion I was left to ponder.

Our present push into the future is quite obvious. More interaction, more contacts, more content, better content, improved delivery system, all of which are packaged up tightly for a quick evaluation before we flee on to the next new, exciting thing. In essence, as we already know, we have our mobile network with us everywhere we go whenever we want it. If you have a question, turn on your phone and "dial or Tweet a few million friends".

We know we're going somewhere with this social networking stuff. Through trial and error, we have a loose pathway guiding us there. This tool works, that tool doesn't, this tool would be great if ..., while that tool would be ... Before you know it, a new and improved product pops to the forefront. We try the tool. Enough people like it. The players in the field Tweet it. Boom, a buzz, social acceptance, the next child is born running before it ever had a chance to crawl.

Voila, future becomes present day reality.

I don't have all the answers, but I do know that those much smarter than I will most certainly develop newer and improved solutions. Until then, I'm left to wonder where all of this is headed? How much smaller can we make all of this stuff before it becomes functionally useless? What's in store next?

We're heading somewhere. But, where is there and what does there look like?

Social Networking - Why All of the Resistance?

You hear it over and over again. I don't get it? What's the point? This is not useful. I don't want to .... Blah, Blah, Blah.

The sheer amount of negativity that comes with change never ceases to amaze me. In fact, it seems that, as a society, we're most ardent in our ways during periods of time when it's obvious that "the way we've always done it here" attitude is simply not working and the eulogy is all but written on the wall.

Now, with the latest social networking revolution of the web we're hearing the same rally cries from those who don't get it. Why all of the reluctance to embrace change? In essence, it comes down to one word:

IGNORANCE

I'm not providing this criticism to be negative. I get it. I started with all of the same thoughts. I know for most of you, all of this social networking stuff is relatively speaking new, different, and oftentimes confusing. Was the skepticism any different when people started using personal PC's (anyone remember the Franklin, Compaq - when it was, Commodore 64)? We all could give a 100 examples of what we would never use that we now can't live without.

As real estate professionals, we should be embracing the changes that come with the onslaught of all of this new technology and social networking platforms. Yes, there is a negative, when you don't want to be, you remain connected and it can be tough and downright frustrating to get away from time to time. On the flip side of the coin, this connectivity enables you to do a larger extent of your business operations from the comfort of your chosen working environment.

As a theme that reoccurs hear on The Realty Buzz, embrace these social networking changes and be a part of making the experience better. Instead of being frustrated by all of this newness, spend your time, efforts, and energy getting to know these tools to start using them to work for you!

As the saying goes, doing what you've always done gets you more of what you've always gotten. If that's good for you, I apologize for wasting your time here. For the rest, get movin' and usin'. Change is what you make of it.

The Google Promote Button

Discovering the little button we've all been seeing in our latest rounds of Google searching. If you like what your Google search has found, promote the link. If you don't link what your Google search has found, remove the link.

Google's position:

Google is always experimenting with new features aimed at improving the search experience.

This experiment lets you influence your search experience by adding, moving, and removing search results. When you search for the same keywords again, you'll continue to see those changes. If you later want to revert your changes, you can undo any modifications you've made. Note that this is an experimental feature and may be available for only a few weeks. - Google Experimental Labs

A quick video of a user's experience using the Google promote buttons:





Will these small buttons have a huge impact on our Real Estate marketing efforts? It looks like Google's not the only one who will be making updates to their site! SEO forever changing as we know it?