Rules for Real Estate Agents
Economics blog Big Picture's Barry Ritholtz just sold his house. He writes about what he thinks good real estate agents do right and what bad ones do wrong. The advice is spot-on.
Most interestingly, this purely real estate article has 48 comments (as of 12:01am Mar 17) and I did not recognize a single commenter's name (i.e., they aren't RE bloggers). That seems to indicate the readers of his blog Big Picture, which has a "housing" category, and the real estate bloggers don't intersect.... evidence of blogging's reader segregation.
related post - - - Dan Green discusses the same post independently at Bloodhound, and we both use the same adjective "spot-on" - it just confirms that you just have to click on that link up there...
Technorati Tags: real estate agent, real estate marketing, Big Picture, economics blog
I noticed that too Pat. It's becoming a full time job trying to keep up with everything everyone is writing though. Personally I'm starting to burn out on my RSS feed reader. I find myself wanting a "mark the whole $%^&ing lot as read" button, rather than one for marking individual feeds as read.
Also as an "uber commentor" I am still regarded as spam by every Wordpress/Askimet blog. I just switched blogs and email addresses and will take it a little slower this time.
It's a big Internet...
Reply to this
The real estate blog community was so small town just a few months ago... I estimate the population of blogs must be doubling every 4 months now. Yep, there is limited space on a feed reader and the more established ones will make the cut.
Reply to this
Pat -
that was indeed a great article. I saw it and noted it on Thursday - perhaps some were just listening rather than commenting?
Reply to this
I try to post comments on economics, market and tech blogs for the strategic purpose of developing new reader bases. Real estate bloggers tend to be a garrulous bunch, I'm surprised others aren't doing that.
I thought of one more possible reason why the readers aren't intersecting... Barry's housing viewpoints border on the "bubble" side and we intuitively know the bubble blog readers and the real estate bloggers are also different.
Reply to this
I had to look up "garrulous"....
I'm spreading out a little more myself into the family, personal growth, law of attraction circles of interest. Simply because I don't think I can sustain personal interest in nothing but real estate 24/7 and I'm interested in those areas. Real estate does certainly overlap and influence those other circles of interest. Extra readership and linkage is a bonus.
Reply to this
I just expounded on this at TBP and at BHB. Then, I saw you wrote on it, too.
We both used "spot on". How about that!
Reply to this
Hey Dan, you know I really want to say ... great minds yada yada ... I'll just say we both have great taste in content!
Reply to this
There must have been something in that green beer Yesterday. I came across Dan's post and used Barry's for a brief excuse of not writing my own. Barry, interestingly, took the time to respond to mine. I'm so special. Take a look
Reply to this
Barry Ritholtz has been killing Real Estate brokers for months now , he just purely crushes them and drags them through the mud ...
Through his eyes they are garbage , and sadly ( and he knows it) his audience is a pack of Tin Foil Hat wackos who love the trash talk...
Some R.E. pros should give him a few lessons about the "good" side of the biz
Reply to this
Pat -
Good catch. As I look around the real estate blogosphere, I see a few things; most notably I see a clique of bloggers who make it feel a bit like high school out there. They are an inclusive bunch and close the doors to the outsiders.
As one of the outsiders, I have no problems with them. I don't blog for other bloggers. I blog for the consumer.
There is a segregation between the bloggers we all recognize and everyone else. From blogrolls to commenting to inclusion in panels, discussions, etc., this group seems to have a foothold on one thing. Their own attention.
I'd love to read on one of these blogs about something that someone we don't all recognize has said or done.
Reply to this
Joshua, you make a good point about how the unique voices are like the "long tail" of the blogosphere, and should be appreciated. This long tail really extends way beyond the RE blog garden to the Big Pictures and the tech and political blogs. I've always admired Bigger Pockets' contributions to the complete real estate dialogue - there are very few focusing on real estate investment and personal finance... in fact I thought you were such an integral piece, I consider you an "insider". We'll be seeing an influx of new real estate blogs and I hope a hierarchy of "old guard" and "new guard" authors and cliques does NOT develop... I'll try to do my part...
Reply to this
My my - I got hit with MarkM's comment as well. Word for word.
Hmmm. I'm not sure it's really possible to stop the creation of cliques. I think most of us can really only follow 20 or so blogs with any freqency. If you get 15-18 people blogging all following each others work then a clique is a natural development.
Considering we all started off writing with an audience of just one person, having RE blogging reach "high school" status is an achievement.
Reply to this
Athol -
I appreciate what you do and continue to read your blog, however I disagree that cliques are any good. Yes, it is an achivement that your blog is followed by others, I just hope that the core 15-18 bloggers realize that there is a whole world going on outside the circle.
It would be great to see some new blood flowing around . . .
Pat - Old and new can get along. We both know thats the case. See you around . . . Josh
Reply to this
Didn't say cliques were "good", just a natural development.
High School is a natural development, but as we all know, there is life after high school. In retrospect it all seems inversely proportional in importance as it seemed at the time.
LOL the RE blogosphere (OMG he said "Blogosphere" thats soooo January) will be quite different in a couple months anyway. 2007 is going to be interesting.
Reply to this
Hey Pat...
Long time reader....first time commenter. I always wanted to say that.
Anyway, maybe I'm being overly sensitive, but Barry was kind of a jerk in his post. That kind of talk could get a man choke slammed in my neck of the woods, but that's just the combat veteran in me talking I guess.
Seriously, he gave good advice, but I don't think I like him. Granted, Real Opinionated has a nack for stirring things up from time to time as well.
Reply to this
Hey Jonathan... welcome! I run into your comments at all posts controversial... that's what makes you and Real so interesting.
There is a class of people in the world who are like Barry, we all know who they are... his value is unique content and personal versatility - he sees how the economy ties into industry.
Reply to this