Twas the blog before Christmas, when all through the twitterverse
Many avatars were still stirring, all so diverse.
The comments were streaming by on tweetdeck with furry,
In hopes that someone famous like @garyvee would follow them in a hurry

My followers were nestled all snug with iPhones in hand,
With visions of links and pics in high demand.
And @Oprah in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just started our one forty rap.

When out on the stream there arose such a tweet,
I sprang from another site and even Xed out of DeedStreet.
Away to the top of my computer screen my eyes flew like a flash,
Tore open the link like I was in a mad dash.

The webpage that was on my google chrome browser
Gave the lustre of something cooler than a baby schnauzer.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a youtube video, in its premier.

With a imposing young actor, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be @aplusk playing a trick.
In no time, he started a celebrity scandal,
And he sang, and shouted, and called these celebs by their handle!

“Now @The Real Shaq! now, @jimmyfallon! now, @iamdiddy and @ladygaga!
On, @britneyspears! On, @TheEllenShow! on, on @johncmayer and @BarackObama!
To the top of the most followers list! to the top of their streams is where to be!
Now tweet away! Tweet away! Tweet away all! But you’ll never catch me”

Are you a real estate agent?

Do you believe that it’s not necessary to use social media for your business?

If you answered yes to both these questions, then I hope you’re retiring in the next few years.

Now before everybody gets angry at me and tells me how wrong I am, I want you to consider the following: A generation of people are growing up on Social Media. DeedStreet doesn’t have any statistics, but I’m willing to bet that more than a majority (much more) of people between ages 14-21 are on at least one social networking site.

Sure, these people aren’t buying houses today; but they will be in the not too distant future. They are your future business. Growing up, reaching out on these networks, how do you think they’re going to find their real estate agents? They’re going to do what is natural to them and ask their Facebook and Twitter friends (or whatever networks exist in the future). And then they’re going to make their first ‘touch’ on those same networks (I’m sure by then, reaching out for business purposes on the phone will feel at best, awkward for a generation communicating most frequently on social media platforms).

Still not convinced. Then please see the video below (“Social Media Revolution”). I apologize for those who have seen this video, as it’s been going around, but still sends a powerful message: that social media is growing at an exponential rate.

Now please don’t think this is some sort of scare tactic. It’s just really an observation of a generation’s social habits and applying that to the future. Common sense really. Also, please don’t panic if you’re not on any social media networks. I know it can be overwhelming at first, but it’s like riding a bicycle. And just like your big brother, sister, parent, etc., was there to help you when you first got on that bike, there are plenty of good people out their who will help you get started. Just ask them for help. Ask them to help you get on just one social network. Because that’s how it starts. All these networks have a similar feel to them. They’re made that way so that you can jump from one to the other.

So, I’ll ask my original questions again. Perhaps a few more “No’s” to the second question this time? If so, what are you waiting for? There’s a whole world of future business out there that is communicating on real time social media networks. Get in on the conversation.

Ever walk by a local business and just sigh in relief that there are still some non-national-chain stores and/or innovative entrepreneurs in your neighborhood? Arizona Real Estate agent and Vlogger extraordinaire Dean Ouellette has; and he brought his video camcorder with him.

Recently, Dean has begun posting a series entitled “Bringing Tempe to You” on his Facebook TempeAZ fan page. The series features local businesses and leaders in Tempe, AZ, in a one-on-one video taped interview format. To date, Dean had interviewed Richard Stuart of LunchBox Collective (web designer); and Denise of UDA Milk ‘n More (milk and freshly made cheese).

Here at DeedStreet, I think one of the best services we can do is highlight when someone uses social media and/or real time technologies in a way that brings positive attention to their neighborhood or city in an innovative way. Dean not only accomplishes this in “Bringing Tempe to You,” but he also (real estate agents take note) manages to do all of the following as well:

1. Position himself as an expert in Tempe, AZ
2. Build his Realtor brand in the community
3. Provide publicity that ultimately strengthens valuable local businesses (and one good deed always deserves another)
4. Bring an almost endless stream of material to his fan page/blog (plenty of businesses to interview)
5. and help locals/wanna-be-locals discover new businesses that keep $$ within the community

Not bad from the use of a camcorder, huh? By the way, if you are the proprietor of a local Tempe business or know of a local Tempe business that needs some deserved recognition, I’m sure if you ping Dean, he’ll be more than happy to oblige. Just hope you’re/they’re not camera shy.

Doug

I know the DeedStreet forum is usually reserved for Social Media and Real Time app talk. But wanted to go a little off subject. I was talking to a friend today about the “way it was.” We were talking about how a few years ago, our clients couldn’t place money fast enough (we are both in commercial real estate).

Funny how times have changed. Today, the CRE market is practically non-existent and our clients are begging us to find them a way out of their projects. The conversation though, quickly changed over to whether things will ever go back to the way they were. Now this conversation was particular to commercial real estate, but this question can easily be extended to real estate in general. Will we ever value real estate the way we did a few years ago? And by this, I mean, will underwriting and common sense ever go out the window again when evaluating real estate?

Now, I think most would say “never. we’ve learned our lesson. We’ll never let real estate bubble like this again.” However, I’m not so sure that we should be underestimating “greed” so much. As Warren Buffett had said, “What we learn from history is that people don’t learn from history.”

I would love to hear your thoughts.

Great news all! I’ve been invited to speak at Inman Connect New York in January.

For those not familiar, Inman Connect is a semi-annual conference rotating locations between New York and San Francisco. Basically, the conference is Real Estate meets Tech. And while I haven’t previously had the pleasure to attend, those who have, speak glowingly of the event. “It’s the best collection of real estate minds assembled in one place that I’ve personally experienced,” according to Jay Thompson (aka The Phoenix Real Estate Guy).

For your pleasure, I’ve provided some of the noteworthy speakers, including Craig Newmark –  founder of Craigslist, Pete Flint – CEO of Trulia, Dennis Crowley – Co-Founder of FourSquare…and of course representing DeedStreet – myself.

In case you’re interested, I’ll be speaking on a panel discussing: Tweet This! The Business Case for Twitter. As the panel suggests, we’ll be talking about all things Twitter. I do hope though, we end up speaking more generally about Real Time apps and the future of Social Media, but I’m just happy to be there.

So wish me luck, hope I don’t have a panic attack on stage and hopefully I’ll be able to take the experience and education gained and translate that into a better DeedStreet user experience.