Recently, however, I began to notice that I was getting what I deemed to be superfluous amounts of company updates sent directly to my inbox. Some examples:

In response to this, I gently suggested that the company reserve this type of information for venues such as company blog/webpage, subscription based newsletters, or even the Fan Page/Group wall. I reasoned that such company-specific news is something that people want to have the choice to read, and not sent directly to their Facebook inbox for them to almost have to read. After all, I’m going on Facebook to see what’s new with the people I want to know about (and to do a quick scan of the people who just show up on my feed).

My friend reasons that, if someone friends a business, they should expect to hear about that business. I agree, but only insofar as to the extent that I described above. Maybe it’s just me, but if I were to send everyone who is a fan/group member a message on Facebook about listings, recruits, etc., I would do so with the fear that I was being a tad offensive, and that I’d risk losing members.

For retailers, I can see getting messages about upcoming sales or specials- if I signed up to receive them.

What do you think… does joining a company group constitute consent to receive messages in your Facebook inbox? Are the examples above the type of information that should be getting sent out? I’d love some feedback.

There is a thorough amount of interactivity, the information streams, and there is no more waiting in the mail for your latest issue.

For advertisers, content can be localized and interactive. Can you imagine taking out an ad spot on this tablet that allows the reader to browse your featured homes of the month… virtual tour, narration, and all?

I’d love to hear what you think about this… have a look.

Participants will include Eric Bryant, of MyRECoach.com, Tyler Hurst of TDHurst.com, Jay Thompson of PhoenixREGuy.com, and yours truly.

It should make for some interesting discussion. To further the drama, I am sticking to my guns as a proponent of why we SHOULDN’T be spending our time trying to guess what Web 3.0 is/will be.

I am ready to rumble.

Do you think this type of technology, while still relatively expensive, can help justify print ads in the Real Estate Industry? Imagine taking a full page ad out in the paper that, when held up to your webcam, suddenly and mysteriously produces an image of your company’s president speaking straight to the consumer. As you rotate the physical ad, the president delivers different messages in front of different homes in different locations. Would you like to try this out? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Example#1- If I Google “Comcast”, a quick scan of the first page of results causes my brain to process the following info: Comcast’s website is www.comcast.com, there are several Comcast locations in my area, Wikipedia has a Comcast article, and I can view a video of a Comcast technician sleeping on a couch on YouTube.

Example #2- If I search “Comcast” on the Twitter feed, a whole different set of information is revealed to me: someone’s Comcast bill is $150 and they think it is absurd, more than three people hate Comcast “with a passion”, Comcast is offering free premium shows online, and it took Comcast 22 days to install Evan’s cable, but only three days to respond to this blog article.

Spot the difference? Google has built a kingdom around their ever evolving search algorithm. In order for any one webpage to rise to the coveted #1 position, certain criteria must be met, and a plethora of factors can affect its overall score. How long has the website been around? How long is the domain registered for? How many external links point to this site? What is its traffic? How reliable is the content? How rich is the content? You get the pictures.

Google has perfected the science of crawling, organizing, and outputting information. Crawling, organizing, and rendering- however fast it may be- still takes time. Someone texted me earlier today to ask if Kanye West was dead. My first response was to ask google for confirmation, where no mention of the egomaniac’s passing could be found. Second stop? Twitter. It was flooded with news of Kanye’s death. For a very brief moment in time, tens of thousands of people were talking about Kanye West’s alleged death.

And Google had no idea. (Searching “Kanye West” on Google now yields results about a Twitter hoax)

More and more people are placing an increased value on real-time search. Enter Bing.

Bing’s search engine market share has quickly grown to over 10%. It launched in June with 0% market share… It is a rapidly growing beast.

Despite it’s sometimes gimmicky strategies (You mean I can really get $1.50 back for purchasing a $250 cardigan from J Crew? Sweeeeet….), Bing has made some fairly strategic moves to position themselves as the number one search engine by 2015. What sticks out the most, though, is its proactive decision to partner with Facebook and Twitter. Bing will now license data streams (Hellloooooo Revenue!) from Twitter. And remember that $240 Million investment from Uncle Microsoft to Facebook two years ago? It’s all coming to a head now.

Perhaps Google will always rule mainstream search. It is an ever changing encyclopedia of information whose heart has a slow, resounding rhythm.

The NY Times could tell how popular Superbowl Commercials were via Twitter,  Pizza Hut and Comcast qualm  would-be cyber revolutions before they begin, and companies monitor the general public’s sentiment on a day-to-day basis. Real time search is here to stay, and it is growing at the pace of a TMNT. It’s life blood is circulated by a frantic, fickle, mass of millions who move at the speed of light and can change the tide of information in a frenzied heartbeat.

And Microsoft has that pulsating heartbeat in the palm of its hand.

***UPDATE****
About 5 minutes after I published this, I went to Tech Crunch’s site to see what was new. This is what was new.

Don't sell your haunted house!

As Halloween approaches, I thought this nice little bit of historical litigation was appropriate. In the 1991 case, Stambovsky v. Ackley, the New York Supreme Court ruled that the would-be purchaser of a home in Nyack, NY be reimbursed his initially forfeited down payment. Why? Because the house was haunted, of course.

Jeffrey Stambovsky, of New York City, was interested in a house for sale until he found out it was haunted. He made an offer, put down a $32,500 down payment, and then refused to attend the closing once he found out that the house- located 1 LaVeta Place- was haunted. He demanded that he be reimbursed his down payment, citing that the fact that the house was haunted wasn’t previously disclosed to him.

Helen Ackley, owner of the home in question, had previously advertised her house as having been haunted. She claimed that poltergeists roamed the halls of the lovely dwelling, and that her bed would be violently shaken every Spring (the ghosts didn’t like waking up early that particular season).

After a much publicized case, which was initially dismissed in lower court, the Supreme Court of New York ruled that, since the house was publicly advertised as having been haunted, it affected the overall value of the home. Subsequently, Mr. Stambovsky was  awarded the return of his down payment. Or, as the Court put it:

Where, as here, the seller not only takes unfair advantage of the buyer’s ignorance but has created and perpetuated a condition about which he is unlikely to even inquire, enforcement of the contract (in whole or in part) is offensive to the court’s sense of equity. Application of the remedy of rescission, within the bounds of the narrow exception to the doctrine of caveat emptor set forth herein, is entirely appropriate to relieve the unwitting purchaser from the consequences of a most unnatural bargain.”

More of the story can be read in this Wikipedia article.

While I was surfing the web, I came across a pretty nifty site. Rentshout is a site specifically tailored to those looking to get their property rented fast. While most of us are used to putting it our ads up on Craigslist or Postlets, Rentshout places your rental listing on about 60 different sites. It also has a lot of cool features that come with each listing, including: virtual tours, click to call, downloadable rental applications, and more. It definitely seems far superior to Postlets, which- as far as syndicates go- was probably your best bet up until  now. Heck, Rentshout even offers you your own “lead management system” for each specific property.

The only downside? Postlets and Craigslist are free, while Rentshout will cost you a few dollars. It’s $29.99 for one listing, and $90.00 for five. Considering all the tools and syndication provided, however, I say Rentshout is definitely worth the investment.

The advent of Social Media, alongside its subsequent utility in the professional arena, has  been the topic of much conversation over the last 18 months. As a matter of fact, no Real Estate conference this side of Mars hasn’t had a panel discussion or outright speaker’s session on how agents can use Social Media to their advantage.

Somewhere between 18 months ago and today, I began to feel a lurid anticipation towards these types of events. From locally organized get-togethers to those held on the national (and international level), there wasn’t a program to be found that didn’t have at least 45 minutes dedicated to the topic of, you guessed it: Social Media.

As my eyes scanned any given agenda, I would become excited at what I might learn that day… “New Websites That Provide Powerful Tools for Your Company and Agents” at 10:00 AM. “Latest Technology Created Specifically for the Real Estate Industry” at 12:30 PM, “NYU Economist Predicts How Long We Will Face Recession” at 3:00 PM. “Networking Hour. Open Bar.” at 6:30 PM. All of these things flooded me with a certain expectation that promised to fulfill the itch for knowledge I had woken up with that very morning.

Then, out of nowhere, my darting eyes would abruptly stop. The momentum that was picking up in my brain would smack into a solid brick wall that was built around the pillars of Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin. Without fail, a bead of sweat would slowly roll down into the corner of my eye as I looked about aimlessly, confused and afraid. Will this be the one? I’d ask myself. Will this be the one where I learn something? Will this be the one that is somehow different than all of the other ones?

The answer, as we all know by now, is a very resounding “No”. You know it, I know it, we all know it. The only thing new about the Social Media panels we’ve been attending for the last 18 months are the Social Media Gurus who have been speaking at them. They tell us things we already know, and we go back to our Company and tell our agents a lot of the same things that they already know.

It’s time to make a stand. I’m a Social Media Guru, and there’s a very large possibility that you are, too. So as Gurus, it’s time to step up to the plate and change the game a little bit. After all, if we say the same thing for another 18 months, my Luddite friend from college will cash in on becoming a Social Media Guru, too. Kind of like how he waited in line to get his Real Estate License back in ‘05.

So, we’ve all been to the SocMed101 class. Some of us have taught it (time and time again). And, undoubtedly, SocMed101 still has its place. But it’s time to start enrolling people in SocMed102. How? It’s simple, and here is the course outline:

• Bebo, Hi5, and QZone: why it’s time to know what these are, too
• Social Media Aggregates and Apps (plaxo, ping.fm, tweetdeck, seesmic, etc.)
• Strategic Social Media Content Placement (understanding the fundamentals of Passive vs. Active Marketing)
• Social News and Bookmarking- how it’s shaping what you know (Mixx, Digg, Reddit, Delicious, etc.)
• Targeted Ad Marketing on Facebook (why hasn’t anyone talked about this yet??)
• Controlling Your Google Page 1
• Blogging (ok, so we’re starting to skim the surface with this one, but not effectively)
• Peer-review sites (yelp, epinion, etc.)

These are just a few of the things one could discuss, and there are plenty more. The samples above, by themselves, are more than enough to fill 45 minutes of discussion.

(cue pipe organ) And so, my fellow colleagues, tech enthusiasts, brokers, managers, and gurus: the time is upon us to TEACH the people what they need to know! Long are the days that face us when we have to toil over our spiral notebooks, coming up with new ideas and content to present at our next social media panel, but short be the nights that are filled with people who don’t already know the same things we’ve been talking about for almost two years! I say to you now: you shall rue the day that a fellow guru comes up with new and exciting topics of discussion as it relates to social media before you! I say to you now: the time has come to educate and empower our agents with newer, better, and bigger tools and ideas! I SAY TO YOU NOW: go forth and renew the people’s interest in social media so that we may once again shine in the eyes of our peers as what we were always meant to be… SOCIAL MEDIA GURUS!!!!

<ahem> I may have gotten a little carried away there (the soapbox in my head was made of pearl encrusted gold, in case you were wondering), but I think you get the point. One of two things is going to happen the next time you get up to speak about social media:

1. 2 people are going to take notes, and everyone else is going to say I already know this in their heads (there’s a look people give now that says that exact thing to someone else from across the room… I’ve become an expert at interpreting it)
2. They are going to take notes and right down all of these things that they’ve never heard of at a social media panel and try at least one of them when they get home. They might work, they might not.

I’d rather be known for the guy who talked about new potential ways to enhance our career via social media than the guy who said the same thing the last 50 guys did…. wouldn’t you?

If “Zestimates” are the only Zannoyances you’ve had to deal with in your real estate career, count yourself lucky. Recently, I’ve had the pleasure of dealing with Zillow’s customer service.

Approximately a week and a half ago, we noticed a peculiar charge on our bill. Upon investigation, we found that the same charge had been placed against our corporate credit card every month since April.  Since I had no recollection of ever authorizing anything that had to do with ad sales (the description on the bill), I decided to call the toll free number provided on the billing statement.

The first call was pleasant enough. I spoke to an outsourced call center rep and inquired. He told me that he saw no charges being billed to our company, but that he would look into it if I faxed the credit card statement to him. After constant assurances that I would be called back within 24 hours, I faxed over the paperwork and waited.

Zillow's customer service staff

48 hours later, I called again. A different rep informed me that there were no charges being placed against the account attached to my email address. I asked him if there was a possibility that the charges were being made with a different e-mail address. After learning that there was, indeed, such a possibility, I proceeded to give him the 5 e-mail addresses of the people that have access to the card number in question. Still, no dice.

After hearing, “You are not being charged anything” several times in a row, I asked to speak to the billing department. His reponse? There is no number to reach the billing department. At this point in the conversation, I begin to lose my patience.

“Is there any possible way you can find out why we’re being charged this amount on a monthly basis?” I asked.

“Yes, sir, please fax over the credit card statement with the charge in question.” I bit my tongue and faxed over the statement again, but not before I asked how long it would take for the issue to be resolved. “24 hours,” I was assured.

48 more hours passed and I was on the verge of driving to Seattle myself. I called the 800-number once more and was greeted by a soothing, pleasant, female voice:

“Thank you for calling Zillow, how may I help you?”

“I apologize in advance if I sound a bit brash, ma’am, but I’ve been trying to get to the bottom of a very curious charge that no one can seem to tell me anything about.”

“What is your e-mail address, sir?” I told her my e-mail address, along with the fact that I was having the same conversation with her that I’ve had with two previous people.

“I’m sorry, sir, but there are no charges associated with that e-mail address.” I turned my thumb and index finger into a gun and pointed it at my temple, pulling the trigger.

“I would like to speak to the billing department, please”

“There is no number to the billing department, sir.”

“There has to be a way to get in touch with your billing department to find out why we’re getting charged the amount we’re getting charged.”

“I’m sorry, sir, but the billing department is completely different from

Zillow customer service = crap

customer service, and there is no number where you can reach them. I can’t even reach them. All I can do is put your inquiry into the system. If you could fax over the-”

“I already faxed over the bill. Twice. You have to be able to tell me why we’re getting charged. Are you telling me that you have a billing department that is not only inaccessible, but also charges companies monthly fees and has no idea why they are charging the amount they are?”

“That is correct, sir.” That is correct? I was in disbelief. I had to ask the question again.

“Wait, so you’re telling me that you have an entire billing department that has no idea what it’s doing?”

“That is correct, sir.” It was the first thing that made sense since I began this tiresome quest. “Perhaps if you emailed the credit card statement to me?”

“I am going to email this to you, and I want you stay on the phone with me and tell me when you get it, ok?”

“Ok.”

And so we sat on the phone in awkward silence as I waited for her to receive the email. Finally, she told me that it arrived. I asked how long it would take for someone to get back to me. “24 hours,” I was assured.

56 hours later, I received a phone call from a Zillow employee. The issue still remains unresolved, and we will probably be charged again next month.

The moral of the story? Stick with Trulia.

I’ll have a more objective stance on this once the excitement wears off.

Oh yes, the pic of the day: