http://turnersperspective.com/ This is my brain dump. My creative release. My way of sharing what I know is fact. My way of adding value. en-us http://turnersperspective.com/post/88457/google-is-a-woman <p><strong>"The only thing worse than a woman scorned is a woman ignored." - <a href="http://www.homefinders.com/"><em>Lenn Harley</em></a></strong></p> <p><img src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/5/4/7/7/5/ar11780635857745.jpg" height="130" alt="project blogger logo" width="246" />I had "Call Lenn Harley" on my <a href="http://www.vitalist.com">to do list</a> for almost four weeks. It seemed like something was always getting in the way. An emergency here... a crisis there. A few days ago, while stuck in LA traffic, I finally made time to dial Lenn Harley and introduce myself. I had no reason for calling. But so many people had her on their short list of most respected real estate agents that I just had to speak to her. Wow.</p> <p><strong>It was a truly delightful conversation and Lenn is smart, engaging, open and has an amazing sense of humor.</strong> At one point in the conversation she said, "Google is fickled." I laughed out loud, because I had said the exact same thing in a comment on my <a href="http://activerain.com/blogsview/61829/It-s-Not-About">It's Not About SEO. It's About YEO</a> post. One person responded that it wasn't that fickle, but I really believe it is. And so does Lenn. I related the response to her.</p> <p>"Well, of course it's fickle," Lenn said. "Google is a woman. It has to be a woman. The only thing worse than a woman scorned is a woman ignored. If you ignore Google, Google will turn on you. But if you treat Google right, give it strokes every day, Google will be a faithful lover."</p> <p><strong>You have to love the analogy. Thank you, Lenn.</strong></p> <p>This, of course got me thinking. Not about lovers, but bout <a href="http://activerain.com/jeffmortgageman">Jeff Belonger</a>. (Yes, I need to get out more often.) Jeff asked me a question via comment on <a href="http://activerain.com/blogsview/83253/Flickr-ing-Local-Photos">Flickr-ing Local Photos: You Engaging Others (YEO)</a>. I told him I would answer it in a post. This is that post.</p> <p><strong>Jeff lives in a very small town of 12,000 people.</strong> He has limited local entities to blog about, and he has a rational fear. Jeff's question was this: "do I get very detailed?&nbsp; Pick out say... a few restaurants?&nbsp; All 10?&nbsp; Do I just do 1 each day?&nbsp; My 2nd post was on churches... there are like 11 in town, but I took pictures of like 4 or 5 of them and wrote little inserts.&nbsp; Just looking for advice." <strong>My advice?</strong> <em>Pace yourself</em>.</p> <p><strong>You Must Pace Yourself</strong><img src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/6/8/1/6/6/ar117806513366186.jpg" height="77" alt="Pace Yourself" width="346" /></p> <p>I've been telling <a href="http://activerain.com/julieferenzi">Julie Ferenzi</a> that her blog, <a href="http://www.livinginplainfield.com">Living In Plainfield</a> is not a sprint. Jim Cronin said the same thing about blogging, "<a href="http://realestatetomato.typepad.com/the_real_estate_tomato/2007/04/the_10_biggest_.html">Blogging is a marathon.&nbsp; It's 100 marathons.&nbsp; It is not a sprint.</a>" So, this means you have to pace yourself. This is particularly true if you live in a smaller community. If you're not careful, you'll simply run out of things to talk about.</p> <p><strong>The Towsley Canyon Example</strong></p> <p><em>I do local content posts to serve as examples only.</em> So my post, <strong><a href="http://activerain.com/blogsview/71235/Towsley-Canyon-The-Perfect">Towsley Canyon: The Perfect Family Hike</a></strong>, was written with a post like this in mind. Towsley Canyon is indeed a great place to go hiking with the family. But it's also a great place to go mountain biking, or cross country running, or to challenge yourself in a workout, or to take a church or school group. <strong>But if I put ALL of that into one post, I miss out on the opportunity to write 5 or 6 posts on Towsley Canyon, all with a different focus.</strong> Each post will attract a different part of the long tail. Each post will engage a different group of readers.</p> <p><strong>Google needs to be stroked.</strong></p> <p>There is nothing magical about a blog that makes it better than a standard web page for search engine optimization. Except that it encourages you to write new content and that's what strokes Google. That's what Google is looking for. You want Google to love you? Write. You have to write regularly about your target. You have to engage the readers. And you have to do it over and over again. Blogging is not as complicated as some people make it out to be, but successful blogging is <a href="http://thewrongadvices.com/2007/03/11/blogging-is-harder-than-you-think/">harder than you think (read this)</a>.<strong>&nbsp;</strong><em> Don't make it even harder by trying to cram everything into one post!&nbsp;</em></p> <p><strong>"Google is a woman."</strong></p> <p>Lenn, I know you didn't think twice about spitting that out, but it's a brilliant observation. And I, for one, will never ignore her again. Because I'm not looking for a Google one night stand. I want a relationship.</p><div class="agent_signature"><p><span><a href="http://jeffturner.info">Jeff Turner</a> aka <a href="http://twitter.com/respres">respres</a></span></p></div> Jeff Turner (Real Estate Shows) Tue, 01 May 2007 20:14:07 -0400 http://turnersperspective.com/post/88457/google-is-a-woman http://turnersperspective.com/post/1366460/sharing-a-book-sex-and-real-estate <p><a href="http://zeek.com/sharing-a-book-the-tipping-point/"><img src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/3/8/9/2/0/ar125985976102983.jpg" height="444" alt="Sex And Real Estate Book" width="239" /></a><strong><a href="http://zeek.com/sharing-a-book-the-tipping-point/">The first book I shared</a>, The Tipping Point, was mailed to the winner, <a href="http://www.century21.ca/jeff.gingerich">Jeff Gingerich</a>, last week. </strong></p> <p>That book was shared from <a href="http://zeek.com">Zeek.com</a>, but this book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sex-Real-Estate-Love-Houses/dp/0385720394">Sex And Real Estate</a>, simply MUST be given away here on Active Rain. Why? Because this is where I wrote the original reviews and posts about this very interesting book. These posts still get visits two years after the fact. And the content of the book will always be relevant, in my opinion.</p> <p>"When you stop to think about it, buying and selling a house is a lot like dating," says Margorie Garber, "the same quickening of the pulse, the lingering around the phone, willing it to ring." Good markets or bad markets, that does not change.</p> <p><strong>If you'd like to read my thoughts on the book, here are a few links:</strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="http://activerain.com/blogsview/33429/Sex-And-Real-Estate">Sex And Real Estate: Part 1</a></li> <li><a href="http://activerain.com/blogsview/44170/Sex-And-Real-Estate">Sex And Real Estate: The House As Beloved</a></li> <li><a href="http://activerain.com/blogsview/47149/Sex-And-Real-Estate">Sex And Real Estate: The House As Mother</a></li> <li><a href="http://activerain.com/blogsview/119313/sex-and-real-estate-the-conclusion">Sex And Real Estate: The Conclusion</a></li> </ul> <p><strong>So here's how this will work. </strong>Simply leave a comment here indicating that you'd like to read this book and tommorrow at noon, PST, I'll select a comment randomly and send the book to you. The catch, you have to read it, write your own review and then offer it up to someone else.</p> <p><strong>Sound fair? </strong></p><div class="agent_signature"><p><span><a href="http://jeffturner.info">Jeff Turner</a> aka <a href="http://twitter.com/respres">respres</a></span></p></div> Jeff Turner (Real Estate Shows) Thu, 03 Dec 2009 11:10:47 -0500 http://turnersperspective.com/post/1366460/sharing-a-book-sex-and-real-estate http://turnersperspective.com/post/1666721/a-wordpress-plugin-to-import-your-activerain-posts <p><strong>A few weeks ago, ActiveRain released a new feature that allowed members to <a href="http://activerain.com/blogsview/1188079/how-to-backup-and-export-your-blog-posts-activerain-new-feature">export an archive</a> of their individual blog posts.</strong> In the announcement, <a href="http://activerain.com/blogsview/1188079/how-to-backup-and-export-your-blog-posts-activerain-new-feature">Brad said</a>, "It's open nature will allow for the development of third-party import tools."</p> <p>So, I sent the link to my partner, <a href="http://zeek.com/team/steve-zehngut/">Steve Zehngut</a>, and we put "create a Wordpress Plugin to import ActiveRain posts" on our to do list. Today we tested it and are ready to release it into the wild. You should be aware that the ActiveRain export does not include categories, tags or comments. So, our plugin imports the posts and gives them a category of "Active Rain" in your Wordpress blog. This will make them easy to find. If you're importing your posts into an existing blog, I would import them as draft. The video below will illustrate.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Visit this page to download the <a href="http://zeek.com/import-your-activerain-posts-to-your-wordpress-blog/">Wordpress Plugin to Import ActiveRain Blog Posts</a>.</strong></p> <p>Let us know if you have any problems with it.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p><div class="agent_signature"><p><span><a href="http://jeffturner.info">Jeff Turner</a> aka <a href="http://twitter.com/respres">respres</a></span></p></div> Jeff Turner (Real Estate Shows) Thu, 27 May 2010 21:19:46 -0400 http://turnersperspective.com/post/1666721/a-wordpress-plugin-to-import-your-activerain-posts http://turnersperspective.com/post/1596370/please-join-the-fight-with-me-mothers-fighting-for-others-inspire-the-child-change-the-world <p><p><strong>I'm continually moved by the support that the ActiveRain Real Estate community gives to <a href="http://mffo.org">MFFO</a>. But I want to say a special thank you to <a href="http://www.twitter.com/monicamcnamara">Monica McNamara</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/billlublin">Bill Lublin</a>, for stepping up to help others <a href="http://www.mothersfightingforothers.com/two-ways-to-turn-25-into-50/">double their money</a>!</strong></p></p><div>Via <b><a href="http://activerain.com/blogsview/1596325/please-join-the-fight-with-me-mothers-fighting-for-others-inspire-the-child-change-the-world">Monica McNamara (MonicaC@Ocean-CitySales.com Ocean City Maryland)</a></b>:<br /><blockquote><p><img title="Mothers Fighting for Others" src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/5/9/6/5/3/ar127111615735695.jpg" height="249" alt="Mothers Fighting for Others Logo" width="249" /><strong>In August 2008, I attended the<a href="http://www.inman.com/" title="Inman News"> Inman Conference </a>in San Franciso.</strong> Now how I even happened to end up at the conference is an interesting story unto itself. Earlier that year I had attended an e-Pro presentation given by <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/FrancesThorsen" title="Frances Flynn Thorsen">Frances Flynn Thorsen </a>and<a href="http://www.joeann.com/" title="Joeann Fossland"> Joeann Fossland</a> at our local board office. They inspired me to start blogging. I had been thinking about doing it, but did not know where I was going to find the time. Well, I decided to dive in. I wrote my first post on July 1, 2008 on the RealTown platform. Long story short, there was a blogging contest going on at RealTown to send someone to Inman for the winning blog post. <a href="http://www.realtown.com/MonicaMcNamara/blog/httpwwwrealtowncommonicamcnamarablogbuying-real-estate-what-to-know/buying-real-estate-what-to-know" title="Monica's 1st Blog Post">My post won.</a> I was thrilled and enthusiastically jumped on a plane to California with very little notice.</p> <p>Now I am at best, a very un-techie person, and even though I had a website (static to begin with), since the mid 90&rsquo;s, I really knew nothing at all. Was I to get an incredible eye opening experience at Inman. I really had no idea what I was going to be exposed to.</p> <p>The first day I attended the all day blogger&rsquo;s session, and found myself fascinated listening to a man speak by the name of <a href="http://www.jeffturner.info/" title="Jeff Turner Info">Jeff Turner</a>. I didn&rsquo;t know them at the time, but during the session, I was sitting next to <a href="http://www.locomusings.com/" title="Heather Elias">Heather Elias</a> and <a href="http://westofphillyburbs.com/" title="Kim Wood">Kim Wood</a>. They were talking about how <a href="http://twitter.com/ResPres" title="Jeff Turner on Twitter">@respres</a> was such a wonderful guy and a terrific follow. ( I didn&rsquo;t even know what they meant by &ldquo;a follow&rdquo;). I didn&rsquo;t even know what twitter was. The terms flying around my head were as if everyone was speaking Greek. But I was most definitely engaged and wanted to learn.</p> <p>So the learning process began. (It&rsquo;s ongoing!) I figured out how to sign up and use twitter, and I began to follow Jeff. He was extremely informative and was very helpful. Then I began to notice that someone named <a href="http://www.muthahood.com/about.html" title="Rocky Turner">@headmutha</a> showed up a lot associated with Jeff. Ok, I started to put it all together, it was his wife Rocky. Then I began to read Jeff's tweets about Rocky, and I saw the work she was doing, and I was extremely impressed. Rocky was giving her time doing volunteer work in Africa. Boy was she doing some volunteer work in Africa. Rocky is so wonderful, she started the organization<strong> <a href="http://www.mothersfightingforothers.com/" title="Mother's Fighting For Others">Mother&rsquo;s Fighting for Others.</a></strong> Their mission is simple. They are dedicated to providing orphaned girls with opportunities their parents would have provided, if they could; a loving and nurturing environment and a quality education, so they can learn, thrive, and achieve their highest potential.</p> <p>I watched Rocky&rsquo;s work over the last couple years, and become a true fan, and committed believer in their mission. That is why I am supporting her now and asking that you consider helping. <a href="http://ow.ly/1wTRu" title="Monica McNamara Widget for MMFO">Mothers Fighting for Others is currently raising funds to create a new home for 34 orphaned girls.</a> I have agreed to match funds contributed (via the widget you see here) $ for $ up to $2500 to help them do this. Please step up and help out such a worthy cause.</p> <p><strong>Thank you for your consideration. </strong> </p><div class="agent_signature"><p><strong><span><img src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/6/5/4/5/4/ar126447285345456.jpg" height="113" alt="" width="96" /></span></strong></p> <p><strong><span>Come and join us on the Beach at </span></strong></p> <p><a href="http://oceancitymdrealtyblog.com/" title="Ocean City Real Estate Talk"><strong><span>Ocean City Real Estate Talk</span></strong></a></p> <p><strong>Copyright 2010 |Monica McNamara | McNamara &amp; Associates| Ocean City, Maryland</strong></p></div></blockquote></div><div class="agent_signature"><p><span><a href="http://jeffturner.info">Jeff Turner</a> aka <a href="http://twitter.com/respres">respres</a></span></p></div> Jeff Turner (Real Estate Shows) Mon, 12 Apr 2010 19:12:45 -0400 http://turnersperspective.com/post/1596370/please-join-the-fight-with-me-mothers-fighting-for-others-inspire-the-child-change-the-world http://turnersperspective.com/post/1278427/why-social-media-is-here-to-stay-complex-adaptive-systems <p><strong>I was honored to be the kick-off speaker at <a href="http://www.newmediaatlanta.com">New Media Atlanta</a> last month. </strong></p> <p>The topic I was given to speak about was, "Why Social Media Is Here To Stay." The reason is simple. Social Media is the love child of Social Networking and New Science. I actually wrote about this same topic here on ActiveRain in February of 2007, it just had a different title: "<a href="http://activerain.com/blogsview/42649/why-activerain-is-working-even-when-it-feels-like-it-s-not">Why ActiveRain Is Working Even When It Fels Like It's Not</a>." That post was about a book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Leadership-New-Science-Discovering-Chaotic/dp/1576753441/sr=8-1/qid=1170834742/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-6892949-1395024?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books">Leadership And The New Science</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complex_adaptive_system">complex adaptive systems</a>, and the death of Newtonian business principles. <em>My opinion has not changed. </em></p> <p><strong>Here's a video of the presentation. Thanks to <a href="http://www.dakno.tv">Dakno.tv</a> for capturing this session.</strong></p> <p> </p><div class="agent_signature"><p><span><a href="http://jeffturner.info">Jeff Turner</a> aka <a href="http://twitter.com/respres">respres</a></span></p></div> Jeff Turner (Real Estate Shows) Sat, 10 Oct 2009 11:32:15 -0400 http://turnersperspective.com/post/1278427/why-social-media-is-here-to-stay-complex-adaptive-systems http://turnersperspective.com/post/119313/sex-and-real-estate-the-conclusion <h2><strong>Buying a home is not about information. </strong></h2> <p><img src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/6/8/9/3/0/ar118139737303986.jpg" height="130" alt="Project Blogger Logo" width="246" /><em>If you've ever bought a home, you know this is pure fact. Searching on the Internet for a house may be about information, at first, but the act of actually BUYING the home is not. It never has been. It never will be.</em></p> <p><strong><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385720394?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=realestatesho-20&amp;link_code=as3&amp;camp=211189&amp;creative=373489&amp;creativeASIN=0385720394">Sex And Real Estate</a>, by Marjorie Garber, beautifully illustrates why. </strong></p> <p>If you read my first three posts on this book, <a href="../../blogsview/33429/Sex-And-Real-Estate">Sex and Real Estate :: Part 1</a>, <a href="../../blogsview/44170/Sex-And-Real-Estate">Sex And Real Estate: The House As Beloved</a>, and <a href="../../blogsview/47149/Sex-And-Real-Estate">Sex And Real Estate: The House As Mother</a>, you already understand the major cultural reasons why buying a house is such an emotion filled decision.</p> <p><strong>The fact that we "fall in love" with houses can't be ignored at any level.</strong> And while the first two chapters of Sex And Real Estate clearly speak directly to the real estate industry, the final chapters are dedicated to illustrating the depth of our cultural and literary fascination with homes. They focus on the concepts and archetypes of home in literature and culture throughout history. And while these final chapters do contain nuggets that a real estate agent or home stager could benefit from greatly, they are harder to find. The final chapters are the material of college literature courses, not business reading. I enjoyed it, don't get me wrong, I'm just not sure everyone will as much as I am sure everyone will love the intro and first two chapters.</p> <p><img src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/3/0/7/9/4/ar118139862349703.jpg" height="444" alt="sex and real estate" width="239" /><strong>The House As Body, chapter three, came close to matching the chapters one and two but left me searching for analogies that I shouldn't have had to search for.</strong> Chapters, four through through seven, The Dream House, The Trophy House, The House As History and The Summer House, were all literary and historical treasure troves, but they served simply to amplify what The House As Beloved and The House As Mother so clearly and easily illustrated.</p> <p><strong>This reinforces something I said earlier - after reading just the introduction.</strong> I said that <a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/boldtype/0700/garber/excerpt.html">the introduction to the book</a> is worth the entire price. After reading all of it, it's even more true. So, you want to get the most from this book in the shortest amount of time? Buy the book and read just the intro and first two chapters. You'll still think it was a deal.</p> <h2><strong>Buying a home is NOT about information.<br />It's about emotion.</strong></h2> <p>So those selling the home need to understand this at the action level. But sadly most don''t. The vast majority real estate marketing that I see completely ignores this. And it's simply wrong. <a href="http://activerain.com/316teamrealty">Loreena Yeo</a> hit the nail on the head with her post, <a href="http://activerain.com/blogsview/113544/Sell-a-Lifestyle">Sell A Lifestyle</a>.</p> <p><strong>I will scream the next time I see someone put <a href="http://activerain.com/blogsview/28499/Front-Of-House-Other">"front of house"</a> as the description on the photo of the front of a house. </strong>I'm not talking about a figurative, silent scream. I mean a real physical outburst. It floors me every time. "Living Room" under or over a photo of the living room. WOW!</p> <p><strong>But it goes further than that.</strong> The vast majority of the listing posts I read on AR and nothing more than a regurgitation of MLS data that someone could find on Realtor.com, or Trulia, or Zillow. It does NOTHING to distinguish the unique and compelling aspects of the house that will make someone want to come see it more than they want to see a house with the exact same specs listed by someone else. And it certainly does nothing to distinguish the agent from other agents.</p> <p><strong>This kind of purely information laden language is powerless. </strong>It whispers, "me too," when, with just a bit more effort, it could be screaming, "ME ONLY! I'M THE ONE. I'M THE HOME YOU'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR."</p> <p>And by default, "I'M THE REAL ESTATE AGENT YOU NEED. I'M THE REAL ESTATE AGENT YOU WANT."</p> <p><strong>For me, this Garber quote from the epilogue ties it all neatly together:</strong></p> <ul> "Perhaps increasingly, for busy people, space has come to substitute for time, and the house becomes the unlived life. In an era when the "welcome mat" and the "answering machine" all-too-often stand in for personal greeting and human voice, the house - with its "living" room, "dining" room, "family" room and "media" room - is the place where we all too often stage the life we wish we had time to live." </ul> <p><strong>If you don't believe this, then just keep on pumping out data.</strong> Keep on putting "front of house" on photos of the front of the houses you sell. Keep on writing as if a home could be defined by stats and numbers.</p> <p><strong>But if you recognize that buying a home is really about emotion, about an ideal, about a hope, about a dream... then take action NOW to make sure you do everything you can to <a href="http://res.realestateshows.com/effective-titles-make-a-world-of-difference/">ensure your writing paints the picture of a home</a>, not just a house. </strong></p> <p>blockquote {margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 30px; padding: 10px 0pt 0pt 20px; width:500px; background: transparent url(http://www.realestateshows.com/jeff/quotes.gif) no-repeat scroll left top; font-size: 120%; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial; color: #356D9E; line-height: 1.2em;} h2 { color:#356D9E!important; font-family:Trebuchet MS,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:20px!important; font-size-adjust:none; font-stretch:normal; font-style:normal; font-variant:normal; font-weight:normal; letter-spacing:0pt; line-height:24px;a margin:9pt 0pt 0px; padding:6px 0pt 0px; } h3 { color:#356D9E!important; font-family:Trebuchet MS,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:20px!important; font-size-adjust:none; font-stretch:normal; font-style:normal; font-variant:normal; font-weight:normal; letter-spacing:0pt; line-height:24px; margin:9pt 0pt 0px; padding:6px 0pt 0px; } a { color:#356D9E; text-decoration:underline; } p{ margin-top:2px!important;} a:hover { color:#ffffff; text-decoration:none; background:#356D9E; border 1px solid #DDA603 }</p><div class="agent_signature"><p><span><a href="http://jeffturner.info">Jeff Turner</a> aka <a href="http://twitter.com/respres">respres</a></span></p></div> Jeff Turner (Real Estate Shows) Sat, 09 Jun 2007 09:39:51 -0400 http://turnersperspective.com/post/119313/sex-and-real-estate-the-conclusion http://turnersperspective.com/post/1067771/you-engaging-others-concentrate-on-the-verb-not-the-adjective <p><strong>When I talk about the concept of YEO, You Engaging Others, the word "engaging" is used as a verb. This is not an accident. </strong></p> <p>Reading through the comment stream of <a href="http://activerain.com/blogsview/1056636/yeo-maintaining-contact-with-thousands-why-do-you-care-">my post last week</a>, I occured to me that some were responding to the word "engaging" as an adjective. In it's adjective form, engaging means, "Interesting; charming; attractive, especially of a manner or behaviour." And while I think that's all well and good, that's not what I mean when I use the word "engaging."</p> <p><strong>I mean the <a href="http://www.brainyquote.com/words/en/engage160119.html">verb</a>:</strong></p> <ul> <li><span class="body">To gain over; to win and attach; to attract and hold; to draw.</span> </li> <li><span class="body">To gain for service; as, to engage friends to aid in a cause.</span> </li> <li> <span class="body">To employ the attention and efforts of</span> </li> <li><span class="body">To embark in a business; to take a part; to employ or involve one's self; to devote attention and effort; to enlist;&nbsp;</span></li> </ul> <p><strong>For our purposes, whether or not you are "engaging" is judged by other peoples actions, not by yours.</strong> It is not judged by how charming you are, but by whether or not your followers take action on your behalf.</p> <p><strong>The path to engagement is through awareness and interaction.</strong></p> <p><img src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/3/7/5/1/7/ar124179062471573.jpg" height="389" alt="Awareness To Interaction To Engagement" width="531" /></p> <p>Focusing on "engaging" as an adjective may get you to awareness and interaction, but only focusing on the the actions required to make it a verb will lead you to engagement, to someone taking action on your behalf.</p> <p><strong>One additional thought.</strong></p> <p>Often, engagement must look like this first. If you want others to engage on your behalf, engage on their behalf.</p> <p><img src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/9/9/9/8/6/ar124179054468999.jpg" height="117" alt="you engage first" width="531" /></p><div class="agent_signature"><p><span><a href="http://jeffturner.info">Jeff Turner</a> aka <a href="http://twitter.com/respres">respres</a></span></p></div> Jeff Turner (Real Estate Shows) Fri, 08 May 2009 07:27:32 -0400 http://turnersperspective.com/post/1067771/you-engaging-others-concentrate-on-the-verb-not-the-adjective http://turnersperspective.com/post/23252/small-rooms-take-off-the-door <p><strong>When shooting a very small room, there are several things to remember.&nbsp;</strong></p> <p>First, take the photos at an angle as commented on by <a href="http://activerain.com/blogsview/15731/Photo-Tip">Dawn Shaffer</a>.</p> <p>Second, if you don't have a wide angle lens, get one. I like <em>the <a href="http://res.realestateshows.com/panasonic-lumix-fx35-vs-kodak-v705/">Panasonic Lumix FX35</a>.</em></p> <p><strong>And here is a tip I like personally: Take off the door.</strong> This is especially helpful in small bathrooms. The first photo below is taken with a wide angle lens with the door on. The second, with the door off. You can see the subtle, but important difference it makes. The room feels larger, less cramped. It takes only a few seconds to remove most doors and the sellers will be very impressed with the results.</p> <p><img src="http://activerain.comhttp://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/3/4/7/4/5/ar116483313354743.jpg" alt="Photo With Door On" /></p> <p><img src="http://activerain.comhttp://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/6/0/2/1/0/ar116483316501206.jpg" alt="Photo With Door Off" /></p><div class="agent_signature"><p><span><a href="http://jeffturner.info">Jeff Turner</a> aka <a href="http://twitter.com/respres">respres</a></span></p></div> Jeff Turner (Real Estate Shows) Wed, 29 Nov 2006 14:47:00 -0500 http://turnersperspective.com/post/23252/small-rooms-take-off-the-door http://turnersperspective.com/post/1036848/yeo-don-t-get-sucked-into-the-twitter-numbers-game <h2>Ashton Kutcher is about to pass <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ma8AcfKGaEI">1,000,000 followers on Twitter</a>.</h2> <p><strong>I'm happy for Ashton. And I mean that.</strong> He plans to do some great things with the account and I hope he does. But you're not Ashton Kutcher and neither am I. Unfortunately there are a whole slew of Twitter geniuses out there encouraging you to focus almost exclusively on getting as many followers as possible. It's fools gold. And I'm about to illustrate why.</p> <p><strong>Getting followers is easy. Building a community is hard.<br /></strong></p> <p>A phone call with <a href="http://www.twitter.com/jimmarks">Jim Marks</a> about creating some fake accounts (an entirely different post) prompted me to do something I've been meaning to do for a long time. People ask me constantly, "How do people get all of those followers on Twitter?" To which I always answer, "if all you want is followers, I can get you 10,000 followers easy. Building a community is hard."</p> <p><strong>I created two fake Twitter accounts.</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.twitter.com/jwmont">@jwmont</a> and <a href="http://www.twitter.com/holachick">@holachick</a> are not real. Furthermore, 99% of their tweets were randomly generated.</p> <p><img src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/2/4/4/8/2/ar12398997728442.jpg" height="212" alt="Fake Twitter Accounts With Thousands Of Followers" width="447" /></p> <p><strong>I set both of these accounts up last Thursday.</strong> It took all of about 30 minutes to make up profile information and populate <a href="http://www.twitterfeed.com">Twitterfeed.com</a> with the RSS feeds that generated the random tweets to their accounts. @jwmont was set up to focus on iPhone twitter search results and @holachick was set up to focus on affiliiate marketing twitter search results.</p> <p>So, how did I get 2900 and 2500 people to follow accounts that were just a series of randomly generated status updates in less than a week?<strong> Click here to <a href="http://www.smminstitute.com/blog/2009/4/16/yeo-why-twitter-follower-counts-mean-nothing.html">learn how I got thousands to follow two fake twitter accounts</a> and why you should ignore Twitter follower numbers.<br /></strong></p><div class="agent_signature"><p><span><a href="http://jeffturner.info">Jeff Turner</a> aka <a href="http://twitter.com/respres">respres</a></span></p></div> Jeff Turner (Real Estate Shows) Sat, 18 Apr 2009 17:15:21 -0400 http://turnersperspective.com/post/1036848/yeo-don-t-get-sucked-into-the-twitter-numbers-game http://turnersperspective.com/post/1103271/yeo-on-twittertalk-radio <p><span>I was honored to be interviewed by <a href="http://www.twitter.com/aaswartz">Angie Swartz</a> on <a href="http://twittertalkradio.com/">Twittertalk Radio</a> a couple of weeks ago.&nbsp;</span></p> <p><img src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/1/8/2/6/6/ar12442213266281.jpg" height="130" alt="Twitter Talk Radio" width="240" />Angie and I spent a good portion of the first segment talking about YEO and it's origins here on ActiveRain. Her take on the segment: "Jeff Turner coined one of his taglines by accident in a blogpost he wrote for Active Rain&hellip;SEO vs. YEO. Although Jeff admits that SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is important, he purports that YEO (<a href="http://activerain.com/blogsview/61829/It-s-Not-About">You Engaging Others</a>) is by far the most essential factor in developing good content and relationships. If you focus on interesting conversations with others, you&rsquo;ll likely win in all directions."</p> <p><span>I thought I'd share the archives of those conversations with you here.&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span>Segment 1:</span> <a href="http://www.wsradio.com/player/wsradio-player2.cfm/type/windows/show/Twitter-Talk-Radio/segment/25437.html">Jeff Turner Talks YEO vs. SEO</a></p> <p><span>Segment 2:</span> <a href="http://www.wsradio.com/player/wsradio-player2.cfm/type/windows/show/Twitter-Talk-Radio/segment/25438.html">Gaming Twitter and Jeff Turner's Fake Bott #FollowFriday Friends</a></p> <p><span>Segment 3:</span> <a href="http://www.wsradio.com/player/wsradio-player2.cfm/type/windows/show/Twitter-Talk-Radio/segment/25439.html">Jeff Turner Mentors Ines Hegedus-Garcia with Mojitos</a></p> <p><span>Segment 4:</span> <a href="http://www.wsradio.com/player/wsradio-player2.cfm/type/windows/show/Twitter-Talk-Radio/segment/25440.html">Rocky Turner's Story: Twitter Helps Kenya by Launching Mothers Fighting For Others</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p><div class="agent_signature"><p><span><a href="http://jeffturner.info">Jeff Turner</a> aka <a href="http://twitter.com/respres">respres</a></span></p></div> Jeff Turner (Real Estate Shows) Fri, 05 Jun 2009 12:03:17 -0400 http://turnersperspective.com/post/1103271/yeo-on-twittertalk-radio http://turnersperspective.com/post/1120220/a-community-powered-reading-list-my-facebook-neighbors-speak <p><strong>The following doesn't surprise me anymore. </strong>I've come to expect it. The reading list contained in the conversation below was generated in less than 30 minutes on Facebook. What's more, I expect that it might grow a bit from here. I think it illustrates <a href="http://activerain.com/blogsview/61829/It-s-Not-About">the beauty of YEO</a>. Because these relationships are real, I've come to trust these people that some of my "real life" friends affectionately call "faux friends." I'd strongly disagree.</p> <p><strong>I asked a simple question and the community was quick to respond.</strong> They spoke and I listened. I now have four of their recommendations in my iPhone Kindle app. And I'm looking forward to reading their suggestions!</p> <div class="like_box no_likes like_not_exists"> <div class="ufi_section participants_not_expanded"> <div class="like_sentence_container"> <div class="like_sentence like_sentence_exists like_component_exists"><a title="Click here to stop liking this item"><img class="like_box_thumb_icon spritemap_icons sx_icons_like_on" src="http://static.ak.fbcdn.net/images/spacer.gif?8:11" alt="" /></a> <h3 class="UIIntentionalStory_Message"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/jeffturner?v=feed&amp;story_fbid=93966806308">The Question</a>: I'd love to do some reading (books) while on vacation next week. Any suggestions?</h3> </div> <div class="like_sentence like_sentence_exists like_component_exists"><strong>The answers:</strong></div> <div class="like_sentence like_sentence_not_exists like_component_not_exists"><a title="Click here to like this item"><img class="like_box_thumb_icon spritemap_icons sx_icons_like_off" src="http://static.ak.fbcdn.net/images/spacer.gif?8:11" alt="" /></a></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="comments_list_wrapper"> <div class="comments_paging_container"> <div> <div class="ufi_section"> <div class="comment_profile_pic"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1286289775&amp;ref=mf" title="Brad Hanks"><span class="UIRoundedImage UIRoundedImage_GIRLIE UIRoundedImage_SMALL"><img class="UIRoundedImage_Image" src="http://profile.ak.facebook.com/v226/524/0/q1286289775_1228.jpg" alt="Brad Hanks" /></span></a></div> <div class="comment_content"> <div class="comment_actual_text"><a title="Click here to remove this comment" class="x_to_hide">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1286289775&amp;ref=mf">Brad Hanks</a><span class="comment_meta_data"> at 8:54am June 18</span>: Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. Quick read but good.</div> </div> </div> <div class="ufi_section"> <div class="comment_profile_pic"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1584177245&amp;ref=mf" title="Carol Smith"><span class="UIRoundedImage UIRoundedImage_GIRLIE UIRoundedImage_SMALL"><img class="UIRoundedImage_Image" src="http://profile.ak.facebook.com/v226/1736/4/q1584177245_9602.jpg" alt="Carol Smith" /></span></a></div> <div class="comment_content"> <div class="comment_actual_text"><a title="Click here to remove this comment" class="x_to_hide">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1584177245&amp;ref=mf">Carol Smith</a><span class="comment_meta_data"> at 9:00am June 18</span>: <a href="http://amzn.com/1594489602">The Kite Runner</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="ufi_section"> <div class="comment_profile_pic"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=718145545&amp;ref=mf" title="Jeff Turner"><span class="UIRoundedImage UIRoundedImage_GIRLIE UIRoundedImage_SMALL"><img class="UIRoundedImage_Image" src="http://profile.ak.facebook.com/v226/1617/100/q718145545_6474.jpg" alt="Jeff Turner" /></span></a></div> <div class="comment_content"> <div class="comment_actual_text"><a title="Click here to remove this comment" class="x_to_hide">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=718145545&amp;ref=mf">Jeff Turner</a><span class="comment_meta_data"> at 9:00am June 18</span>: Brad, that is now on my iPhone Kindle app. Thank you. Anyone else?</div> </div> </div> <div class="ufi_section"> <div class="comment_profile_pic"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=573846910&amp;ref=mf" title="Courtney Brown Simmons"><span class="UIRoundedImage UIRoundedImage_GIRLIE UIRoundedImage_SMALL"><img class="UIRoundedImage_Image" src="http://profile.ak.facebook.com/profile6/1890/124/q573846910_3445.jpg" alt="Courtney Brown Simmons" /></span></a></div> <div class="comment_content"> <div class="comment_actual_text"><a title="Click here to remove this comment" class="x_to_hide">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=573846910&amp;ref=mf">Courtney Brown Simmons</a><span class="comment_meta_data"> at 9:01am June 18</span>: '<a href="http://amzn.com/0385721706">The Wisdom of Crowds</a>'</div> </div> </div> <div class="ufi_section"> <div class="comment_profile_pic"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=501429814&amp;ref=mf" title="Kevin Jones"><span class="UIRoundedImage UIRoundedImage_GIRLIE UIRoundedImage_SMALL"><img class="UIRoundedImage_Image" src="http://profile.ak.facebook.com/v225/1041/103/q501429814_4148.jpg" alt="Kevin Jones" /></span></a></div> <div class="comment_content"> <div class="comment_actual_text"><a title="Click here to remove this comment" class="x_to_hide">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=501429814&amp;ref=mf">Kevin Jones</a><span class="comment_meta_data"> at 9:01am June 18</span>: What's the purpose of the read? Self Help? Pleasure? ...</div> </div> </div> <div class="ufi_section"> <div class="comment_profile_pic"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1166267930&amp;ref=mf" title="Garron Selliken"><span class="UIRoundedImage UIRoundedImage_GIRLIE UIRoundedImage_SMALL"><img class="UIRoundedImage_Image" src="http://profile.ak.facebook.com/profile6/680/28/q1166267930_3020.jpg" alt="Garron Selliken" /></span></a></div> <div class="comment_content"> <div class="comment_actual_text"><a title="Click here to remove this comment" class="x_to_hide">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1166267930&amp;ref=mf">Garron Selliken</a><span class="comment_meta_data"> at 9:02am June 18</span>: Outliers is great! also "<a href="http://amzn.com/0143036580">End of Poverty</a>" by Sachs is brilliant. &amp; "<a href="http://amzn.com/0143037889">Singularity is near</a>" by Ray Kutzweil - heavy but mind blowing.</div> </div> </div> <div class="ufi_section"> <div class="comment_profile_pic"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=718145545&amp;ref=mf" title="Jeff Turner"><span class="UIRoundedImage UIRoundedImage_GIRLIE UIRoundedImage_SMALL"><img class="UIRoundedImage_Image" src="http://profile.ak.facebook.com/v226/1617/100/q718145545_6474.jpg" alt="Jeff Turner" /></span></a></div> <div class="comment_content"> <div class="comment_actual_text"><a title="Click here to remove this comment" class="x_to_hide">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=718145545&amp;ref=mf">Jeff Turner</a><span class="comment_meta_data"> at 9:08am June 18</span>: Kevin... I haven't read a novel in years, if that helps. Not big on typical "self-help" books, so... :)</div> </div> </div> <div class="ufi_section"> <div class="comment_profile_pic"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=718145545&amp;ref=mf" title="Jeff Turner"><span class="UIRoundedImage UIRoundedImage_GIRLIE UIRoundedImage_SMALL"><img class="UIRoundedImage_Image" src="http://profile.ak.facebook.com/v226/1617/100/q718145545_6474.jpg" alt="Jeff Turner" /></span></a></div> <div class="comment_content"> <div class="comment_actual_text"><a title="Click here to remove this comment" class="x_to_hide">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=718145545&amp;ref=mf">Jeff Turner</a><span class="comment_meta_data"> at 9:08am June 18</span>: Carron... thank you. Off to check them out.</div> </div> </div> <div class="ufi_section"> <div class="comment_profile_pic"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=703171369&amp;ref=mf" title="Molly McMahan"><span class="UIRoundedImage UIRoundedImage_GIRLIE UIRoundedImage_SMALL"><img class="UIRoundedImage_Image" src="http://profile.ak.facebook.com/v230/1385/24/q703171369_2009.jpg" alt="Molly McMahan" /></span></a></div> <div class="comment_content"> <div class="comment_actual_text"><a title="Click here to remove this comment" class="x_to_hide">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=703171369&amp;ref=mf">Molly McMahan</a><span class="comment_meta_data"> at 9:08am June 18</span>: On vacation something light might be a little more fun...like Carl Hiaasen!</div> </div> </div> <div class="ufi_section"> <div class="comment_profile_pic"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=718145545&amp;ref=mf" title="Jeff Turner"><span class="UIRoundedImage UIRoundedImage_GIRLIE UIRoundedImage_SMALL"><img class="UIRoundedImage_Image" src="http://profile.ak.facebook.com/v226/1617/100/q718145545_6474.jpg" alt="Jeff Turner" /></span></a></div> <div class="comment_content"> <div class="comment_actual_text"><a title="Click here to remove this comment" class="x_to_hide">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=718145545&amp;ref=mf">Jeff Turner</a><span class="comment_meta_data"> at 9:10am June 18</span>: Garron, ordered End Of Poverty but Singularity Is Near is not available for Kindle.</div> </div> </div> <div class="ufi_section"> <div class="comment_profile_pic"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=718145545&amp;ref=mf" title="Jeff Turner"><span class="UIRoundedImage UIRoundedImage_GIRLIE UIRoundedImage_SMALL"><img class="UIRoundedImage_Image" src="http://profile.ak.facebook.com/v226/1617/100/q718145545_6474.jpg" alt="Jeff Turner" /></span></a></div> <div class="comment_content"> <div class="comment_actual_text"><a title="Click here to remove this comment" class="x_to_hide">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=718145545&amp;ref=mf">Jeff Turner</a><span class="comment_meta_data"> at 9:11am June 18</span>: Carron, actually it is. I just ordered it as well. Thank you!</div> </div> </div> <div class="ufi_section"> <div class="comment_profile_pic"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=569146320&amp;ref=mf" title="Damien D Hustle Bryant"><span class="UIRoundedImage UIRoundedImage_GIRLIE UIRoundedImage_SMALL"><img class="UIRoundedImage_Image" src="http://profile.ak.facebook.com/profile6/751/46/q569146320_6109.jpg" alt="Damien D Hustle Bryant" /></span></a></div> <div class="comment_content"> <div class="comment_actual_text"><a title="Click here to remove this comment" class="x_to_hide">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=569146320&amp;ref=mf">Damien D Hustle Bryant</a><span class="comment_meta_data"> at 9:11am June 18:&nbsp; </span><a href="http://www.thecultureofcollaboration.com/the-book.html"><span>http://www.thecultureofcol</span><span>laboration.com/the-book.ht</span>ml</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="ufi_section"> <div class="comment_profile_pic"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=542648886&amp;ref=mf" title="Stephen Schweickart"><span class="UIRoundedImage UIRoundedImage_GIRLIE UIRoundedImage_SMALL"><img class="UIRoundedImage_Image" src="http://profile.ak.facebook.com/v227/1053/63/q542648886_8985.jpg" alt="Stephen Schweickart" /></span></a></div> <div class="comment_content"> <div class="comment_actual_text"><a title="Click here to remove this comment" class="x_to_hide">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=542648886&amp;ref=mf">Stephen Schweickart</a><span class="comment_meta_data"> at 9:11am June 18</span>: <a href="http://amzn.com/B000GLWLBE">GREEN EGGS AND HAM</a>...best book of all time!</div> </div> </div> <div class="ufi_section"> <div class="comment_profile_pic"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=502432769&amp;ref=mf" title="Lyell E. Petersen"><span class="UIRoundedImage UIRoundedImage_GIRLIE UIRoundedImage_SMALL"><img class="UIRoundedImage_Image" src="http://profile.ak.facebook.com/v230/794/122/q502432769_7104.jpg" alt="Lyell E. Petersen" /></span></a></div> <div class="comment_content"> <div class="comment_actual_text"><a title="Click here to remove this comment" class="x_to_hide">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=502432769&amp;ref=mf">Lyell E. Petersen</a><span class="comment_meta_data"> at 9:12am June 18</span>: Do you like war memoirs?</div> </div> </div> <div class="ufi_section"> <div class="comment_profile_pic"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=748577375&amp;ref=mf" title="DeAnn Monique Rice"><span class="UIRoundedImage UIRoundedImage_GIRLIE UIRoundedImage_SMALL"><img class="UIRoundedImage_Image" src="http://profile.ak.facebook.com/v226/1641/43/q748577375_586.jpg" alt="DeAnn Monique Rice" /></span></a></div> <div class="comment_content"> <div class="comment_actual_text"><a title="Click here to remove this comment" class="x_to_hide">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=748577375&amp;ref=mf">DeAnn Monique Rice</a><span class="comment_meta_data"> at 9:12am June 18</span>: Have you read "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&amp;field-keywords=The+Shack&amp;x=0&amp;y=0">The Shack</a>"?</div> </div> </div> <div class="ufi_section"> <div class="comment_profile_pic"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=718145545&amp;ref=mf" title="Jeff Turner"><span class="UIRoundedImage UIRoundedImage_GIRLIE UIRoundedImage_SMALL"><img class="UIRoundedImage_Image" src="http://profile.ak.facebook.com/v226/1617/100/q718145545_6474.jpg" alt="Jeff Turner" /></span></a></div> <div class="comment_content"> <div class="comment_actual_text"><a title="Click here to remove this comment" class="x_to_hide">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=718145545&amp;ref=mf">Jeff Turner</a><span class="comment_meta_data"> at 9:14am June 18</span>: Courtney, just purchased "<a href="http://amzn.com/0385721706">The Wisdom of Crowds</a>" as well. I think that will do it for next week. :) But don't stop Y'all! Great list forming here.</div> </div> </div> <div class="ufi_section"> <div class="comment_profile_pic"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=751763583&amp;ref=mf" title="Sarah Nichols"><span class="UIRoundedImage UIRoundedImage_GIRLIE UIRoundedImage_SMALL"><img class="UIRoundedImage_Image" src="http://profile.ak.facebook.com/profile5/320/41/q751763583_19.jpg" alt="Sarah Nichols" /></span></a></div> <div class="comment_content"> <div class="comment_actual_text"><a title="Click here to remove this comment" class="x_to_hide">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=751763583&amp;ref=mf">Sarah Nichols</a><span class="comment_meta_data"> at 9:15am June 18</span>: Well Jeff, I would suggest some classic novels but you just wrote that you don't read novels. Anyway, My favorite novels are: "The Good Earth' by Pearl S. Buck, '<a href="http://amzn.com/1400096898">Memoirs of a Geisha</a>', all the Harry Potter books (You won't be able to put those down) - that should occupy you for a while if you opt to read a few fun novels.</div> </div> </div> <div class="ufi_section"> <div class="comment_profile_pic"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1311440975&amp;ref=mf" title="Cathy Carnell Chapman"><span class="UIRoundedImage UIRoundedImage_GIRLIE UIRoundedImage_SMALL"><img class="UIRoundedImage_Image" src="http://profile.ak.facebook.com/v226/694/118/q1311440975_8029.jpg" alt="Cathy Carnell Chapman" /></span></a></div> <div class="comment_content"> <div class="comment_actual_text"><a title="Click here to remove this comment" class="x_to_hide">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1311440975&amp;ref=mf">Cathy Carnell Chapman</a><span class="comment_meta_data"> at 9:17am June 18</span>: <a href="http://amzn.com/0785229213">The Noticer</a> by Andy Andrews!</div> </div> </div> <div class="ufi_section"> <div class="comment_profile_pic"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=535868823&amp;ref=mf" title="Julianna Turner Salvante"><span class="UIRoundedImage UIRoundedImage_GIRLIE UIRoundedImage_SMALL"><img class="UIRoundedImage_Image" src="http://profile.ak.facebook.com/v224/223/103/q535868823_7056.jpg" alt="Julianna Turner Salvante" /></span></a></div> <div class="comment_content"> <div class="comment_actual_text"><a title="Click here to remove this comment" class="x_to_hide">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=535868823&amp;ref=mf">Julianna Turner Salvante</a><span class="comment_meta_data"> at 9:19am June 18</span>: My favorite "<a href="http://amzn.com/140007780X">Einstien's Dreams</a>" ....... Right now I am reading "<a href="http://amzn.com/1400077427">Stumbling on Happiness</a>" very enjoyable read.!</div> </div> </div> <div class="ufi_section"> <div class="comment_profile_pic"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=751763583&amp;ref=mf" title="Sarah Nichols"><span class="UIRoundedImage UIRoundedImage_GIRLIE UIRoundedImage_SMALL"><img class="UIRoundedImage_Image" src="http://profile.ak.facebook.com/profile5/320/41/q751763583_19.jpg" alt="Sarah Nichols" /></span></a></div> <div class="comment_content"> <div class="comment_actual_text"><a title="Click here to remove this comment" class="x_to_hide">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=751763583&amp;ref=mf">Sarah Nichols</a><span class="comment_meta_data"> at 9:20am June 18</span>: <a href="http://amzn.com/1400096898">Memoirs Of A Geisha</a> is actually a very riveting novel that - while it glorifies the idea of being a geisha - also shows the pain, struggles, and mental anguish that these girls go through when they are torn from their families and thrust (and sold) into this life that they didn't choose.</div> </div> </div> <div class="ufi_section"> <div class="comment_profile_pic"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=718145545&amp;ref=mf" title="Jeff Turner"><span class="UIRoundedImage UIRoundedImage_GIRLIE UIRoundedImage_SMALL"><img class="UIRoundedImage_Image" src="http://profile.ak.facebook.com/v226/1617/100/q718145545_6474.jpg" alt="Jeff Turner" /></span></a></div> <div class="comment_content"> <div class="comment_actual_text"><a title="Click here to remove this comment" class="x_to_hide">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=718145545&amp;ref=mf">Jeff Turner</a><span class="comment_meta_data"> at 9:21am June 18</span>: My reading list for next week. :) <a href="http://skitch.com/reshows/bwi1t/reading-list"><span>http://skitch.com/reshows/</span>bwi1t/reading-list</a></div> </div> </div> <div class="ufi_section"> <div class="comment_profile_pic"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=726616160&amp;ref=mf" title="Jim Cronin"><span class="UIRoundedImage UIRoundedImage_GIRLIE UIRoundedImage_SMALL"><img class="UIRoundedImage_Image" src="http://profile.ak.facebook.com/profile6/1304/26/q726616160_4340.jpg" alt="Jim Cronin" /></span></a></div> <div class="comment_content"> <div class="comment_actual_text"><a title="Click here to remove this comment" class="x_to_hide">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=726616160&amp;ref=mf">Jim Cronin</a><span class="comment_meta_data"> at 9:22am June 18</span>: <a href="http://amzn.com/0061721832">52 Rules of Thumb</a> by Alan Webber (Founder of Fast Company). And yes, Outliers was great.</div> </div> </div> <div class="ufi_section"> <div class="comment_profile_pic"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1036852057&amp;ref=mf" title="Audrey June-Forshey"><span class="UIRoundedImage UIRoundedImage_GIRLIE UIRoundedImage_SMALL"><img class="UIRoundedImage_Image" src="http://profile.ak.facebook.com/v228/289/80/q1036852057_7988.jpg" alt="Audrey June-Forshey" /></span></a></div> <div class="comment_content"> <div class="comment_actual_text"><a title="Click here to remove this comment" class="x_to_hide">&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1036852057&amp;ref=mf">Audrey June-Forshey</a><span class="comment_meta_data"> at 9:24am June 18</span>: I am with Carol Smith, <a href="http://amzn.com/1594489602">Kite runner</a>!</div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <p>&nbsp;</p><div class="agent_signature"><p><span><a href="http://jeffturner.info">Jeff Turner</a> aka <a href="http://twitter.com/respres">respres</a></span></p></div> Jeff Turner (Real Estate Shows) Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:02:34 -0400 http://turnersperspective.com/post/1120220/a-community-powered-reading-list-my-facebook-neighbors-speak http://turnersperspective.com/post/1056636/yeo-maintaining-contact-with-thousands-why-do-you-care- <h2>The following conversation on Twitter inspired this post today.</h2> <ul> <li> <div> <h4><img class="avatar avatar-32" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/twitter_production/profile_images/60972083/ME_normal.JPG" height="32" alt="" width="32" /> <span class="img-guest-user"><a href="http://twitoaster.com/homesbythomas/" class="guest-user">HomesByThomas</a></span><span class="meta">&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="img-time-reply">yesterday</span></span></h4> <p><em>@respres</em> Jeff, with over 6000 followers, how hard is it to maintain any sort of contact with people? Did you notice that I sent you a Thank You?</p> </div> <ul> <li> <div> <h4><img class="avatar avatar-32" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/twitter_production/profile_images/127037238/JeffBlack2_normal.jpg" height="32" alt="" width="32" /> <span class="img-twitoaster-user"><a href="http://twitoaster.com/respres/" class="twitoaster-user">respres</a></span><span class="meta">&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="img-time-reply">yesterday</span></span></h4> <p><em>@HomesByThomas</em> yes, I did, but hadn't responded yet. And a lot easier than you might think. You may have given me my YEO post for the week.</p> </div> <ul> <li> <div> <h4><img class="avatar avatar-32" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/twitter_production/profile_images/60972083/ME_normal.JPG" height="32" alt="" width="32" /> <span class="img-guest-user"><a href="http://twitoaster.com/homesbythomas/" class="guest-user">HomesByThomas</a></span><span class="meta">&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="img-time-reply">21 hours ago</span> </span></h4> <p><em>@respres</em> Jeff, I'm glad to hear your response. I thinks it's awesome that you can respond like this and I'm excited I could inspire a Blog!</p> </div> <ul> <li> <div> <h4><img class="avatar avatar-32" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/twitter_production/profile_images/127037238/JeffBlack2_normal.jpg" height="32" alt="" width="32" /> <span class="img-twitoaster-user"><a href="http://twitoaster.com/respres/" class="twitoaster-user">respres</a></span><span class="meta">&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="img-time-reply">12 hours ago</span> </span></h4> <p><em>@HomesByThomas</em> well, let's hope I find the time to write it tomorrow. <img class="wp-smiley" src="http://twitoaster.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" /></p> </div> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> <p><strong>If you're being followed by a lot of people, how hard is it to maintain any sort of contact with those people?</strong></p> <p>Not very hard at all. Why? The answer lies in how we define "contact" and "engagement." And that is different for the 6,000+ followers I have, people who have chosen to "listen" in on my stream, than it is for the nearly 4000 people I follow, people I have chosen to "listen" to.</p> <p><strong>In this context, "contact" can have a good number of definitions.</strong> Each time I post a status update, I have the potential of making contact with some percentage of those 6,000 people. There are many variables that influence what that number will be at any given time. It depends on who is online at the time and their level of interest in me and the content being delivered. It also has to do with the number of people they're following (their own stream noise level) and the pace at which others are posting status messages at that same time.</p> <p>If I'm consistently delivering value to, the contact happens as part of my daily activities. There is no extra effort required. I call this "ambient presence." My followers are aware of me and what I say and can choose to engage in a conversation or take action on a request, but I don't have to reach out specifically to anyone specific each time I want to make contact.</p> <p><strong>The more critical question would be this: "How do you maintain any sort of contact with the 4000 people you are FOLLOWING." </strong></p> <p>Why is it more critical? Because what I have said by "following" those people is this, "I am listening to you." I'm saying that I want to have a conversation with them, that I want to engage with them. I'm saying they are of interest to me. I don't follow everyone back for one reason and one reason only. I want the people I follow to know that I have a desire to engage with them at a higher level.</p> <p>Thomas sent me a welcome message shortly after I followed him and about 12 hours before the question that prompted this post. I knew this because I got a txt message update using a tool that we built at <a href="http://www.zeek.com">Zeek</a> for <a href="http://benmartincae.com/">Ben Martin</a> called <a href="http://www.twext.me">Twext.me</a>. Twext.me <a href="http://zeek.com/twextme-twitter-mentions-to-sms-text/">sends a summary of the "mentions" I receive on Twitter</a> and alerts me to the possibility that I might want to go pay attention. Ben expressed his need for a tool like that, so we built it. And it's free. I needed that tool too, because it IS hard to pay attention to 4000 people. It's not as hard as one might think, but it's still hard.</p> <p><strong>There is a need for better tools to manage our online relationships. </strong></p> <p>If we are attempting to engage with thousands, this may seem fairly obvious. But even if we're trying to engage hundreds, we will not be as effective if we don't use tools like <a href="http://www.tweetdeck.com/beta/">Tweetdeck</a> and <a href="http://www.tweetgrid.com">Tweetgrid</a> to our advantage. That's a fact. But even if we do, we are missing systems that would allow us to understand who we have and have not talked with in any given period of time. Current systems don't allow us to see who has and has not acted on requests we've made. They don't give us the tools to help us assess our reach with the messages we're promoting. And while the social side of me says, "who cares. Just engage and let it take it's course." The business analytics side of me says, "it would sure be nice to know."</p> <p><strong>So, Thomas, if someone mentions me on Twitter, I know about it.</strong> I have all the tools necessary to make sure that I can respond and engage appropriately. What's missing are the tools to help me beter categorize the people I'm following and help me me identify who I've not spent enough time conversations with. Sites like <a href="http://www.twittangle.com">twitTangle</a> attempt to make it easier for me to conentrate on certain people, but they don't go nearly far enough.</p> <p><strong>But this has me wanting to ask a different question.</strong></p> <p><strong> If you are a local real estate agent, why would you need to follow thousands?</strong> Having thousands follow YOU may happen whether you like it or not. If you're interesting, it will probably happen. <em>But why would you need to follow thousands?</em></p> <p>I saw <a href="http://twitter.com/AnitaMatys/status/1550977522">this tweet a few weeks ago from @anitamatys</a>. She said, "I am new to twitter and my son told me I needed to get 2000 followers." To which <a href="http://twitter.com/respres/statuses/1582073065">i replied</a>, "Why did your son pick the number 2000? Are there 2000 people on Twitter in Klamath Falls?" I never received a response. She now has her 2000 plus followers, but <a href="http://twitter.com/AnitaMatys">she has only posted 11 updates</a>. I glanced through a few pages of her followers and who she was following. There was no rhyme or reason to the people she had chosen to listen to. Not that it matters. She isn't really talking to anyone. i don't get it.</p> <p>Again, do YOU (not the universal YOU, but you specifically) even need to maintain contact with thousands of people in order to be successful in the social media space? What are your goals with Twitter? Facebook? Does the number of people you're listening to support those goals or interefere with them?</p><div class="agent_signature"><p><span><a href="http://jeffturner.info">Jeff Turner</a> aka <a href="http://twitter.com/respres">respres</a></span></p></div> Jeff Turner (Real Estate Shows) Fri, 01 May 2009 11:18:05 -0400 http://turnersperspective.com/post/1056636/yeo-maintaining-contact-with-thousands-why-do-you-care- http://turnersperspective.com/post/487861/for-sale-by-owner-raise-the-price-then-call-a-realtor- <p><strong>This was posted on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/respres">Twitter</a> by someone trying to sell his home himself:</strong></p><blockquote><p><img src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/2/2/1/7/6/ar120940974467122.jpg" height="220" alt="For Sale By Owner" width="300" /><em>&quot;If I can&#39;t line up a buyer by May month-end, I&#39;ll raise the price and get a Realtor involved. Hope I don&#39;t have to do THAT.&quot;</em></p></blockquote><p>He posted that in the morning on April 27th. Then, a little over 24 hours later on April 28th, he posted this:</p><blockquote><em>&quot;Got a buyer for my condo. They want me to hold the mortgage. Any advice?&quot;</em></blockquote><p><strong>This is an intelligent, technologically savvy home owner in Arizona who wants to sell a home without using a real estate agent.</strong> </p><p>Why? We can only guess, of course, but it appears he&#39;s trying to keep from paying the commission. But he&#39;s willing to sell the home for a lower price to do so. In addition, he&#39;s found a &quot;buyer&quot; who now wants him to hold the mortgage.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>What would you say to this home owner? </strong><strong> Why should he get a REALTOR&reg; now and not later? <br /></strong></p><p>I know your responses may be longer than might be appropriate in a comment, so I invite you to write your responses as your own posts and link them here in the comments. </p><p><strong>Maybe I&#39;ll forward this to him when we have a few responses.</strong> I mean, he did ask for some advice. </p><p><strong><br /></strong></p><div class="agent_signature"><p><span><a href="http://jeffturner.info">Jeff Turner</a> aka <a href="http://twitter.com/respres">respres</a></span></p></div> Jeff Turner (Real Estate Shows) Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:49:40 -0400 http://turnersperspective.com/post/487861/for-sale-by-owner-raise-the-price-then-call-a-realtor- http://turnersperspective.com/post/1047363/yeo-numbers-that-mean-something <h2>Last Thursday I wrote about <a href="http://www.smminstitute.com/blog/2009/4/16/yeo-why-twitter-follower-counts-mean-nothing.html">Why Twitter Follower Counts Mean Nothing</a>.</h2> <p><strong>The post touched off some interesting public and private discussions.</strong> The number huggers are everywhere and their logic, in a very comfortable, that-sounds-like-something-i've-done-before, kind of way, can certainly appear sound. They ask questions like, "Why broadcast to 10 people when you can broadcast to 10,000?" <em>Who could argue with that, right?</em> &lt;raises hand&gt; The clue to the answer lies in the question itself.</p> <p><strong>Broadcasting?</strong></p> <p>Is that really what we're doing in the social media space? Some think so.&nbsp; I don't. I received a direct message from <a href="http://www.theagenttrainer.com">Matt Rathbun</a> this morning that contained a link to a page selling a Twitter Mini-Course Book. I'm not sharing his site. I'm not giving Snake Oil salesman link love. Matt wasn't kind in his analysis.</p> <p><img src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/2/8/8/9/2/ar12405099029882.jpg" height="115" alt="Matt Rathbun DM" width="526" /></p> <p>The people who will succeed by treating Twitter, Facebook and other social networks like electronic direct mail are people who are selling &ldquo;magic&rdquo; solutions for growing your business to people looking for &ldquo;easy&rdquo; &ldquo;I want results now&rdquo; answers. And those successes will be short lived. Because that&rsquo;s not how effective social media marketing works.</p> <p><strong>Engagement Is The New Marketing Metric.</strong></p> <p>Engagement through Social Media is aligned with how trust is built, how real relationships form and transactions result. "Working to build relationships (over time)" is not as easy to sell as "attract more customers now!" But those who see its wisdom will profit in the long run.</p> <p>In 2008, <a href="http://blogs.forrester.com/marketing/2008/04/forrester-marke.html">Forrester Research</a> rightly stated that "engagement" was the new marketing metric. "Using engagement, you get a more holistic appreciation of your customers' actions, recognizing that value comes <em>not just from transactions</em> but also from <em>actions people take to influence others</em>. Once engagement takes hold of marketing, marketing messages will become conversations, and dollars will shift from media buying to customer understanding."</p> <p><strong>All the numbers that really matter are related to engagement.</strong> Forester proposed a <a href="http://www.socialmediaplayground.com/research/engagement-marketings-new-key-metric/2008/04/10/">four "I" concept</a> for measuring engagement.</p> <ul> <li><strong>Involvement</strong> tracks site visitors, time spent, page views and more (old-school stuff)</li> <li><strong>Interaction</strong> measures the contributions to blogs, photo and video creation and uploads, and purchases</li> <li><strong>Intimacy</strong> tries to understand consumer attitudes, perception, and feelings about a brand through surveys or monitoring technology as well as applications providing an interactive environment between brand and consumers</li> <li><strong>Influence</strong> measures the likelihood that consumers will recommend or advocate products or brands</li> </ul> <p><strong>I'm not against numbers per se.</strong> But the numbers must mean something. Would truly engaging with 10,000 be better than truly engaging with 10? Of course. But the key to the value in that statement is the word "engaging." How many people can YOU truly engage? It's going to be a different number for you than for the next person stumbling onto this post.<br /><br /><strong>YEO (You Engaging Others) is not focused on YOU. It's focused on OTHERS.</strong> YEO is about communicating in a way that allows you to be heard above the noise. It&rsquo;s about listening more than talking. And it's impossible to listen when all you're doing is broadcasting.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p><div class="agent_signature"><p><span><a href="http://jeffturner.info">Jeff Turner</a> aka <a href="http://twitter.com/respres">respres</a></span></p></div> Jeff Turner (Real Estate Shows) Thu, 23 Apr 2009 16:42:29 -0400 http://turnersperspective.com/post/1047363/yeo-numbers-that-mean-something http://turnersperspective.com/post/1027097/yeo-take-control-of-the-machine <h2><strong>"The computer is a moron." - Peter Drucker</strong></h2> <p>A few days ago I received an email from someone who was comparing Real Estate Shows to another company. They wanted to know if we automatically distributed our Shows to the 10 or more social networking sites that another tour company distributed them to.</p> <p><strong>My response was a simple. No.&nbsp; </strong></p> <p><img src="http://activerain.com/image_store/uploads/7/3/5/6/3/ar123934039236537.jpg" height="242" alt="Control The Machine" width="382" />And we have no plan to do so either. Why? Because doing so would simply encourage our clients to let the machine control their behavior instead of having their behavior control the machine. There are no technical barriers to making this happen. It's actually quite simple. But just because you CAN do something, doesn't mean you SHOULD.</p> <p>What I explained to them was this; unless presented in the context of a conversation with potential clients and referral sources, links to social media sites have almost no value. In fact, they probably have negative value. Social networking sites are organized around conversation, not advertising. The more your page looks like an advertisement, the less successful you will be. Guaranteed.</p> <p><strong>What happens when you let the machine control your behavior?</strong></p> <p>We don't have to look much further than right here on ActiveRain to find out. No doubt you've seen the "Announce new blog posts on your Twitter feed!" section of your settings here on ActiveRain. It's a convenient little setting. Once you've set it, you don't have to think. That's the problem.</p> <p><img src="http://img.skitch.com/20090409-gdk3145wgka7q4r3amijr2seaq.jpg" height="161" alt="Announce new blog posts on your Twitter Feed!" width="449" /></p> <p>Sure, it takes a few minutes off of the process of posting your AR blog posts to Twitter, but it also encourages some really silly behavior. I can't tell you how many times I've encountered the following, but I saw two just like it today alone.</p> <p><img src="http://img.skitch.com/20090409-xu4rpdut1x9takmyd964si2t2r.jpg" height="555" alt="Twitter stream filled with ActiveRain blog posts. " width="600" /></p> <p>In all fairness to <a href="http://www.twitter.com/billarce">Bill</a>, this image was captured four months ago. He has begun to do more than just post his ActiveRain posts, but at the time of this writing, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/billarce">Bill's twitter stream</a> is still dominated by ActiveRain posts. I'm not sure what this use of the tool accomplishes, but I'm 100% certain what it will NOT accomplish. It will not accomplish engagement.</p> <p><strong>The machine wins way too often. </strong></p> <p>In the case above, what Bill and hundreds of other like him have become is a big billboard for ActiveRain. I like ActiveRain as much as the next guy, but I don't want my twitter page to be another cog in the ActiveRain promotion machine. And the crazy thing is the same exact result could be accomplished by simply posting an ActiveRain RSS Feed to <a href="http://www.twitterfeed.com">Twitterfeed.com</a>.</p> <p>Instead of every tweet starting with "Just posted on ActiveRain:" he could have had each tweet begin with, "Just posted by Bill Arce" or "Real Estate Latino." Then his Twitter page would be a billboard for himself. I mean, if you're not going to use social media to be social, you should at least be promoting your own brand and your own keywords and not those of another social networking platform. The result will be exactly the same, of course, but you might get some Google love from it.</p> <p><strong>The Focus Should Be On <a href="http://www.smminstitute.com/blog/2009/3/4/its-about-you-engaging-others.html">You Engaging Others</a> - YEO</strong></p> <p>The only thing that matters is you, your clients and your clients needs. The temptation to take short cuts will always be there. And some automation tools can be extremely helpful, if used with the right focus. The right focus is engagement not expedience. Is it expedient to be able to post to 10 different social networking sites without thinking? Sure. But being able to automatically post to 10 different social networking sites only has value if you are actively engaging people on 10 different social networking sites. I know very few people who are successfully doing that. Actually, I don't know any.</p> <p><strong>Don't let the tools dictate your behavior.<br />Don't let the machine control you. <br />Make the machine work to help you engage others. </strong></p> <p>_______________</p> <p><strong>BTW... This is an anniversary post</strong>. Two years ago today I wrote this, "<a href="http://activerain.com/blogsview/61829/Its-Not-About-SEO-Its-About-YEO">It's Not About SEO. It's About YEO.</a>"</p> <p>At the time, I was simply looking for a catchy headline to grab some attention in the Project Blogger competition. The competition has long since ended, but <a href="https://twitter.com/mousewords/status/1429686070">the concept of YEO continues to resonate</a>. I'm glad it has.</p> <p><em>(aside: It would be great if the gang here at ActiveRain allowed you to put in your own "Twitter lead-in," like Twitterfeed allows you to do.)</em></p> <p>And one last thing. Bill, I hate pointing out a problem without offering a solution. So, if you'd like some suggestions on how to make Twitter work for you, please send me an email or send me a direct message on twitter (<a href="http://www.twitter.com/respres">@respres</a>). I'll be happy to help.</p><div class="agent_signature"><p><span><a href="http://jeffturner.info">Jeff Turner</a> aka <a href="http://twitter.com/respres">respres</a></span></p></div> Jeff Turner (Real Estate Shows) Fri, 10 Apr 2009 00:51:24 -0400 http://turnersperspective.com/post/1027097/yeo-take-control-of-the-machine