Turner's Perspective

OZ’S VOICE: Do not arouse the wrath of the Great and Powerful Oz! I said — come back tomorrow!

I bought my first house in 1984 when I was 22 years old. It was in Speedway, IN.

I do not remember much about the detail of the transaction, but I do remember sifting through the classifieds of the newspaper, trying to get a feel for what I might be able to afford. I remember feeling lost. I didn’t know anyone in the real estate industry or where to begin, so I began calling around for someone to assist me. I had no clue what to look for. If someone had said, “come back tomorrow,” if I wanted the information, I would have had to come back tomorrow. How else was I going to get what I wanted?

When I look back, I’m amazed at how little control we as consumers had over what we were shown. I don’t remember giving it a second thought at the time. The real estate agent was like the Great and Powerful Oz. I was just happy to have a sitting.

DOROTHY: If you were really great and powerful, you’d keep your promises!

OZ’S VOICE: Do you presume to criticize the Great Oz?

[Toto pulls back the curtain to reveal the Wizard at the controls. The Wizard is unaware]

 

 

Click Here For The Rest  on BloodhoundBlog

Here are the first three comments from the post I put up last night at BloodhoundBlog.com...

1. Broker Bryant January 28th, 2007 8:23 am 

   Love the post Jeff, It’s the intangibles that I bring to a transaction that are valuable. Solving problems and keeping folks focused on the end result is what I do best. With out a calming force in the transaction the smallest little bump in the road can derail the entire transaction. It’s my job to keep it on track.

2. Brian Brady January 28th, 2007 9:06 am

   I can wash, dry, and iron my clothes, too.

   When I want it done right, I go to Solana Beach Dry Cleaners. They do it faster and with greater effectiveness.

3. Jeff Turner January 28th, 2007 9:12 am 

   BB, the FACT that many real estate agents don’t is what is driving the notions of disintermediation. I’m not sure disintermediation is possible in real estate, not by strict definition. “The elimination of an intermediary in a transaction between two parties.”

   I see the word used when “transparency” is what they are describing. I see it used when what they are describing is a change to a different kind of middle man with a different kind of value proposition. John Battelle has a popular piece directed at the media. http://adage.com/article?article_id=46255

   He starts, “Those who fear disintermediation should in fact be afraid of irrelevance — disintermediation is just another way of saying that you’ve become irrelevant to your customers. It doesn’t mean there isn’t a customer, or middlemen of some sort who service that customer, or that the core proposition of your business has disappeared.”

   The real issue is value. How is it defined? How is it delivered? I have a hard time believing there won’t always be a middleman in real estate transaction.

   Battelle also wrote, “the truth is, the products that are threatened by disintermediation are not imperiled because of technology; they are imperiled because they are based on models that offer less value to the customer than competing alternatives. In example after example, the middleman isn’t being cut out. He’s simply being replaced by a better one.”

Yesterday I posted an ActiveRain Crossword Puzzle.

Today I'm hosting The ActiveRain Word Search.

Why am I doing this?

Because casual games are sticky. And whether you know it right now or not, you want sticky. You want people to come back to your site over and over, even when they aren't looking for a home and you'd like them to stay for long time, if possible. Casual games provide a way to do that.

"Casual games are tapping into a Middle American audience like few services on the Web do," says Erick Hachenburg, senior vice president of global publishing for Electronic Arts. And, if projections hold up, in 2008, online casual gaming will be a $2 Billion industry.

Who is the casual online games player? The answer is everyone. While market research shows the majority of the audience today is women 30-45 years old, it can be easily seen that the audience crosses all demographics for  playing online games and buying downloadable game. The spectrum is from children to young males to seniors playing online bridge.  Casual game players find that these types of games provide entertainment, diversion, socialization and competition.

And all of this happens largely through advertising (less than 2 percent of players actually pay to subscribe). Again, these subscribers are mostly women 35-54! People are searching all over for free games to play. And talk about sticky: Pogo.com's players spend about 24.8 million hours on the site each month, says Nielsen/NetRatings. "Checkers is a big pickup scene," says Todd Frentzel of Electronic arts. (3) 

So, yes, this is all just for fun. And it IS fun. But don't write this fun off as "Jeff is just fooling around. I've got better things to do with my time." I certainly know that almost everyone has better things to do with their time. But there's a lesson here, and there is always a method to my madness. 

I couldn't resist.

We started the day with Aloha Shirt Friday and, well, that just put me in a really good mood. Even better than the really good mood I was already in. So, I thought I'd start something new: 

Come on! It's a game! It's online. What more do you really need to know.

To the left is an image of today's puzzle. I guess you could print it out and do it old school. You'll need a small point pen and some really good eyes if you do. But you'll have more fun if you link right to it!

OH MAN! I HAVE TO PLAY RIGHT NOW!

If you all like it. I'll do a regular one and I'll make 'em harder. This one's a piece of cake. 

Tomorrow I will be posting an ActiveRain Word Search. There is a method to my madness.

This is a thank you post to everyone at ActiveRain.

On November 28th, not yet two months ago, as a Newbie here on ActiveRain, I wrote my first post. It wasn't until this post 9 days later, "Make It Personal: There's No Template To Follow," with Broker Bryant as my muse, that I really started to understand what blogging was supposed to be about. It was a self exploration as much as a realization.

From that moment to this, the ActiveRain community has been encouraging and supportive. I've enjoyed every second. And I will continue to do so. I wish I could name every person here who has had an impact on me, but I would hate to leave any of you out. You know who you are. Your emails and phone calls have been a gift.

A couple of days ago, out of the blue, I was invited to be a contributor on BloodhoundBlog.com. I really can't tell you how much I was flattered,honored and surprised. After talking to several of you, I decided I would accept the offer. Brian Brady recommended me to Greg Swann and team, and I want to publicly thank him for doing so. But I have to tell you, from where I sit now, it seems daunting. It will be a challenge to keep up with the quality the other contributors churn out. So, I'm not going to try. I'm just going to make it personal. That's what you've taught me. 

So, yesterday, despite my angst, I decided to write my first post on BloodhoundBlog.com. There was just one tiny problem. I had no clue what I wanted to write about. No clue, until another ActiveRain member posted a comment on my introduction. It was Teresa Boardman. She wrote, "Jeff, what is a nice guy like you doing in a place like this? Now I’ll have to stop by to get my Jeff fix. If you come on over to my blog we could have a nice cup of tea and talk about the world of real estate." A simple invitation to her blog ended up being the push I needed.

So ActiveRain came through again and I'm proud to link you to my first attempt at howling: Lessons Learned While Watching American Idol 

For my money, whether you're a child or an adult, one of the best ways to spend a day is at The Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History.

I recently took my children for the day and I was as mesmerized by the displays as I was by their reaction to them. While the stuffed animals, bones and statues don't literally come to life as they do in the recent movie "A Night At The Museum," they recreate the natural environment in ways that feel very, very real. If you'll allow yourself the freedom to imagine, to be a child for a mement, you can feel yourself in the environment, walking amongst the animals. It's a wonderful experience.

The museum is broken into many bite sized chunks, allowing you to move at your own pace and linger where you find the most interest. My kids loved the African and North American mammals in their natural environments, but I was most intrigued by the Lando Hall of California History. "This exhibition spans the Southwest from the 1500's through time and place to downtown Los Angeles in 1940. The gallery is organized chronologically and features twelve themes: Native Americans, New World Exploration, Spanish Outpost, International Competition, Mexican Territory, War with the U.S., 31st State, Craftsman Style, Agriculture, Land, Sea & Air, Motion Pictures, City of Los Angeles. In this hall the history of the past appears in both artifacts and the records of the people who lived there."

Words can't do it justice, however. So I've put together a Show from our visit. I think you'll see for yourself, history can be fun! 

I'm thrilled with the response so far. Thank you!

So many of you responded favorably to the notion that the ActiveRain cyber-community is uniquely suited to becoming a resource for helping real estate agents impact the cyle of poverty in their local communities, places they can see and touch. (If you are just now stumbling on this idea, some background reading may help you. Please read "The Poverty Gap Is Growing: What Can We Do?" and "Harnessing The Power Of The ActiveRain Community: An Idea.")

The idea was and is a simple one. I'd like to state it now as an actionable statement.

We will focus the collective energy of many willing real estate professionals to create a website, based on blog technology, that would specifically highlight information and actionable ideas in the following four areas:

• Renter Content: rent to own strategies, good tennant plans, renter marketing.
• Builder Content: working with builders to encourage low income projects
• Local Government & Association Content: how to be an advocate for the empoverished
• Education Programs Content: for existing community groups, for broker sponsored events, for elementary and high school classrooms.

In my last post, I asked you to respond to some names.

I registered several names and put them up for discussion. The overwhelming consensus was that the following two were the best: RainOfHope.com and RainForChange.com. My initial leanings were toward RainOfHope.com, but I agree with many of the commenters, hope is nice and needed, but change is what we're after.

So, I'm suggesting we go with RainForChange.com!

How will this work? A TypePad Pro blogging account will provide the perfect platform for this endeavor. It is extremely powerful and simple to use. RealEstateShows.com will cover the very minimal monthly costs for this service and our team will work on the logo design and other design aspects of the site. The TypePad Pro account will allow us to invite as many guest authors as is necessary. The guest authors will have full editing and posting control. However, it will NOT be necessary to write original content specifically for the site, though that would certainly be great.

Why? One of the original goals was to use the ActiveRain platform as a source. We are all strapped for time. Posts can and should be written on ActiveRain or the guest authors own blogs. RainForChange.com guest authors will be responsible for pointing readers to content and adding editorial and instructional comments about the use of the information in the fight against poverty. RainForChange.com then becomes a repository of ideas and knowledge, gleaned from many sources. It provides direction and focus. The ideas will come from many sources. (This is a working concept and certainly open for any level of debate.)

We will need a volunteer staff to monitor the organization of the ideas, to insure that posts are categorized properly and to make certain the material presented is truly directed towards the goal. 

We're still in the idea phase... but moving toward action! Your input is invaluable. I'd like to hear which of the areas above you feel you might be able to contribute content for and, of course, any other ideas you think are necessary to improve on the basic concepts and move this forward.

The pile of books on the table next to us was hard to miss from my vantage point. It wasn't because of the size of the piles - she easily had more than a dozen books stacked in various configurations - or the tangle they created around her laptop computer. It was because of the titles. 

Evocative Titles Sure Do Attract Attention 

I was in a meeting at Panini Cafe in Marina Del Rey with Bill Leider and Rochell Heininger. At the table next to us was a middle-aged women feverishly studying and writing. I found myself straining to read the the titles on her books. When you hear a couple of titles you'll understand why: Queer Theory/Sociology (Twentieth-Century Social Theory), Human Sexuality in a World of Diversity, and The Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human Mating, were just three of the dozen or so books. 

I'm not the least bit shy, in fact I go out of my way to meet people, so as soon as there was a lull in our business conversation I turned to the woman and said, "I do believe that is the most provocative looking pile of books I've ever seen."

She smiled very wide and said, with a thick Spanish accent, "Well, Realty Blogging certainly looks very provocative as well." (It is now required reading for our staff and I had brought a copy for Rochell to read. It was the only book sitting on our table!) This woman, who turned out to be a UCLA professor from Spain, delivered the line with such perfection, all three of us laughed out loud. No, real estate is not very sexy. Or so I thought.

Then, something happened that happens to me a great deal. Fate reared it's beautiful head. There was a reason why I was meant to talk to her.

She followed up her humorous zinger with, "I just read a book by a Harvard Professor that you might find interesting." Apparently she had been listening to our conversation about how all of real estate revolves around relationships, even down to the consumer and "falling in love" with the house they buy. "The book is titled Sex and Real Estate," she said. "I can't remember the writer's name, but it is a very well written book that goes into the psychology behind why we love houses." hmm.

I, of course, was online and immediately went to Amazon.com to find the book. It is by Marjorie Garber, the Director of the Humanities Center at Harvard University. After reading the synopsis and looking over the table of contents. We bought two of the books. I need to tell you right now that I have not read this book yet, but I will read it the day it arrives. I know, without question, I am meant to read it and share it here.

If the first paragraph is any indication, it's going to be a fascinating read.
"What do college students talk about with their roommates? Sex. Twenty years later, what do they talk about with their friends and associates? Real estate. And with the same gleam in the eyes. Real estate today has become a form of yuppie pornography". I have no idea whether I will agree with her by the end of the book or not, but I'm intrigued. I spend a good deal of time in any presentation I give talking about the fact that the Internet does a poor job of conveying emotion today. I rant about how necessary it is to give the Internet viewer something to help them fall in love. Intuitively we all know this. I think this book will give me the sociological explanations to back up the intuition.

The Chapters

• Introduction: Sex and Real Estate
  
• 1: The House as Beloved
• 2: The House as Mother
• 3: The House as Body
• 4: The Dream House
• 5: The Trophy House
• 6: The Summer House
• Epilogue: Why We Love Houses 

So, I'm going to come back later with a review of Sex and Real Estate: Why We Love Houses.

But that's not why I'm writing this post.

I'm writing this post to encourage you to engage those around you, especially interesting and friendly looking strangers. Invite them into conversation. Follow it wherever it leads. It may dead end, or it may lead you down a new path. It's not really about expanding your referral network, or finding your next listing. You might, but that's way too contrived for what I'm talking about. It's about authentically connecting with experiences and knowledge and energy that you may not find any other way. There's a whole world of unknown opportunity out there waiting to be discovered!

After 45 years of life experience, I've come to the conclusion that the single greatest source of wisdom in the universe is the refrigerator door.

My first experience with this came on my Mammaw's refrigerator door in Grafton, West Virginia. To this day I can remember her hand written note. It was held first by tape and then by a magnet. It read, "Anger is a substance that does more harm to the vessel in which it is stored, than the vessel on which it is poured." I have no idea how long it was there... I have no memory of it ever NOT being there. Anyone who ever spent time in her kitchen remembers it. Her refrigerator door held much wisdom!

I have found this to be true of every refrigerator door in every home I have ever entered and certainly true of our refrigerator door today.

We have lots of things stuck to our refrigerator door. It is a magnet for the pieces of life we hold most important. And it's a magnet for wisdom. This is my current favorite piece of wisdom that has found it's place there: "Raising children is like being pecked to death by a chicken." If you have children, you know this is a sincerely profound truth. It is hauntingly accurate. I am left staring at the refrigerator wondering how it can be so profound and keep things cold at the same time.

Of course not all of the wisdom is as obvious at that wisdom. There are things that don't appear to be wisdom right away. They cleverly disguise themselves as plain humor. But because the refrigerator is the greatest source of wisdom known to man, even the humor ends up being wisdom. For example, ths humorous little phrase is on a very large magnet: "Ahhh... I see the screw up fairy has paid us a visit again."

To the unsuspecting passerby that seems like just plain humor, but it's not. It's wisdom because it teaches us to laugh at ourselves and our mistakes. I can't read it without smiling and thinking about the most recent screw up in our kid-filled house!

But the most important piece of wisdom on our refrigerator is also one of the most important lessons anyone can learn in life. It is prominently placed at child's eye level and reads, "House Rules. Rule #1: Mom is the boss. Rule #2: See rule #1." Most of the children in our house are still to young to fully grasp this eternal wisdom. However, on more than one occasion this week alone, that piece of wisdom has served me very well. I may be the President of my company, but I'm not the President of my house. Thank you for reminding me, oh great and powerful refrigerator door!

So... what piece of wisdom does your refrigerator door have to share?

A new local blog search engine debuted yesterday, January 1, 2007,  and I felt it should be noted here on ActiveRain.

Placeblogger.com is focused on being a search engine for "hyperlocal sites," not unlike the neighborhood oriented content blogs that many of our members "other blogs" desire to focus on. The site is built on Drupal technology and intends to bring people to sites about places that are too "physically small" or "sparsely populated" to get much traditional media coverage. (1) 

They've launched with just a few sites that they are calling the best "placeblogs in the US. But you can add your own blog to their search engine.

1. Baristanet, Montclair, NJ
2. Edhat, Santa Barbara, CA
3. Fresno Famous, Fresno, CA
4. Westport Now, Westport, CT
5. ChiTown Daily News, Chicago, IL
6. New Haven Independent, New Haven, CT
7. Gotham Gazette, New York, NY
8. Philly Future, Philadelphia, PA
9. MNSpeak, Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN
10. Duke City Fix, Albuquerque, NM

From a design and ease of use standpoint, it hard to tell how it will function, since this is day two and so little content is now there. It certainly looks pretty. Some consumers may find it hard to find the search by zipcode search function.

I did a search on my zipcode and came up with no search results within 25 miles. But then again, Los Angeles probably doesn't fit the "physically small" description.

I don't have a local site to submit, but I think it would be helpful is one of our members who does have a site would submit one and let us know how simple it is. The form is simple, takes the RSS feed, so I'm only imagining it will be painless.

Again, this is brand new, so the jury is out. But it's an interesting site idea.