Peter Pays Paul

Free “gifts” for real estate webloggers: “The need to deny influence is damaging to the soul”
On Vendorslut Eve, here are a couple of quick notes on free “gifts” and their intended influence. ...

Are You Ready To Be Sued In 2009?
Sorry to alarm you but seriously…are you prepared to be on the defending side of a big lawsuit in 2009? ...

Godaddy, You Go To Far.
Hello Godaddy.  I hate you.  A bunch.  Why?  Because everything is about you, not me. ...

Worst Recession Since the 30s Will end in 2009
Economists at Wells Fargo predict the economy will improve by the second half of 2009. ...

The Future of Real Estate Communication
Yesterday I was perusing online through my cell phone bill.  I took note that my two teenagers ages 15 and 17 had sent and received over 10,000 text messages – in December. ...

MLSs Should Pay Attention to Doc Searls
... I think the reason we get upset about What Twitter is Doing, or What Google Is Doing, is that we are too dependent on them. ...

On tap: Macworld and CES
It's time once again for tech companies to provide a glimpse of what they've been cooking up for the year ahead. TechFlash will be covering the Macworld Expo in San Francisco and the big Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week. ...

Recession Could Bring Big Change in What Consumers Demand in New Homes
What will new homes look like after this recession, which has brought construction nearly to a halt? ...

What would Greg Swann do? Integrity, transparency and Web 2.0
... But if you don’t sculpt and burnish your reputation for integrity in everything you do, you probably won’t have a chance to explain yourself later. ...

By publishing enough of the right information, Mom and Pop teams can triumph over Redfin, VOWs, Realty.bots or big-name brokers
... The problem Mom and Pop have, going forward, is a publishing problem. ...

New iPhone e-book application takes aim at Amazon’s Kindle
Is Apple's iPhone emerging as the primary competitor to Amazon's Kindle electronic book reader? ...

Fidelity closes LandAmerica deal
Fidelity National Financial Inc. has closed a deal to acquire troubled LandAmerica Financial Group Inc.'s underwriting companies, making the company the nation's largest title insurance underwriter. ...

Are All the Homes for Sale in Foreclosure? I Don’t Think So…
... Since the price drop-data is for November while mortgage rates declined in December, it may be that the market just needs time to respond. ...

8 Solutions to Keep 2009 from Going Down in Flames
... So, here’s a list of 8 solutions to your current economic, real estate woes. ...

The Frog and Scorpion (Millenium Edition)
... Blago is to public service what Bernard Madoff is to investment advisory; a modern day pirate, raping and plundering. ...

Learning to Appreciate the Arts
Not everyone appreciates the entertainment value of watching the body politic. ...

Top 10 Fastest Growing States in the United States 2007-2008
Do you want to live in a state that is growing rapidly? Then head to the Mountain West where six of the top 10 fastest growing states are located or the Southeast where 3 are located. ...

Mortgage Rates are at 50 year lows!
Mortgage markets improved last week for the second week in row. After the Federal Reserve said it would use “all available tools” to stimulate the economy, traders responded by driving mortgage rates to 50-year lows. ...

Social media is a tool and a mindset
A recent post by my good friend *John Jantsch asserts that "social media is a tool, it's not a religion, there are no real rules and we are experimenting every day." ...

Blog Blazers - Get a Glimpse in the Mind of 40 Successful Bloggers
One of the books that has hit my mailbox lately for review is Blog Blazers - a book of interviews with 40 top bloggers exploring how to create successful blogs. ...

John Kalinowski’s custom real estate signs - and his custom-made approach to everything at his new Cleveland real estate brokerage

Totally stunning email this morning from John Kalinowski of LiquidBlueRealty.com. John is a profile in courage, to my way of looking at things. He’s just launched a brand new brokerage. In this real estate market. In Cleveland. ...

Joe Strummer: My thoughts on the looming crisis
... In this essay, penned yesterday, Strummer shares with us his reflections upon the burgeoning economic crisis ...

Feedback: The Breakfast Of Champions.
People say ‘gimme feedback,’ but when you ‘give ‘em what they want,’ which is honest feedback, it comes off as harsh or whatever. ...

Random Thoughts For The New Year
For 30 days, consciously eschew multitasking when it comes to your professional life. ...

Welcome to the Anthropocene
... Some geologists believe human impact on the planet is so strong it warrants viewing this period of time now as the dawn of the Anthropocene. ...

A Poke (in the eye) from Facebook
... In Australia we were recently treated to a quick look behind Facebook’s curtain and I have to tell you: the king ain’t wearing any clothes! ...

Making a Scenius scene to make an impact on your target market
... With the right scene, you can aggregate content and share it with people you want to do business with. ...

“Ben Bernanke Is Now One Of Us” Booyah!
... Cheerleader Jim Cramer is now certifiably confident that housing will bottom in 2009 and the economy is saved because of the Fed’s recent action. ...

New “What If” Feature Added to HomeGain’s Home Values Tool
We launched a new “what if” feature to our instant home valuation tool earlier this evening. ...

A Web 2.0 feud: Zillow and Trulia
Is Zillow.com co-founder Rich Barton pilfering ideas from San Francisco rival Trulia? ...

What’s Macworld without Apple?
Apple surprised the tech world this afternoon with the news that CEO Steve Jobs won't be delivering the upcoming Macworld Expo keynote, and that this will be the company's last year at the annual conference. ...

The Fed Translated…
The Federal Open Market Committee decided today to establish a target range for the federal funds rate of 0 to 1/4 percent. ...

What matters more — Attitude or Aptitude? I had always put my money on Application, but I realized the best bet is all three
... But it doesn’t matter how many times you say, “I can do it!” — if you don’t actually know how to edit 1,407 files in four minutes. ...

Fed Drops Interest Rates To Near Zero
I am not sure what this will do to home sales, but the benchmark rate hitting near zero can not be great. ...

Predicting the Future of Residential Real Estate Brokerage
Okay, so they’re not really all "100%". Re/Max is now a maximum of a 95% split. Further, most of the 100% companies have various other more traditional splits (IE: 70 - 30) for those who can’t pay the standard monthly bill. ...

MGM Mirage Sells Treasure Island
MGM Mirage agreed to sell its Treasure Island Hotel & Casino for $775 million to billionaire Phil Ruffin, relieving pressure on the company. ...

The Millionaire’s Secret Trait That Attracts Crazy Amounts of Success
... The millionaires’ secret trait is: Generosity. ...

Bank-Owned Listings Shoot Up
... Since we pay by the record, this means that, for the markets we cover, the number of bank-owned listings not in the MLS has, in one month, increased 123%. ...

In Detroit, Idle is a Four Letter Word
In a prior life, before becoming a licensed real estate professional, I was responsible for implementing supply chain technology in the discrete manufacturing arena - more specifically - the auto industry. ...

Yet Again - The Importance of an Effective Web Presence
The NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers 2008 is chock full of valuable information. ...

Is MLS destined for the cloud?
... How much value could be created by the Real Estate Standards Organization if it were able to implement and gain adoption on universal property IDs? ...

Hope and despair at the onset of economic recession: Who cares about the tunnel? All I can see is the light…
... If despair were a classroom discipline for which one could be tested and graded, I would probably flunk out. ...

Some of the best discussion yet on the RE.net
If you aren’t paying attention to the discussion on the future of real estate sales going on over many blogs the last week or so, you should go read up now and lay down some comments.  This is really good stuff. ...

Is an iPhone Under Your Tree This Christmas?
If you had but one item you could purchase or have someone get for you as that special gift this year, I would highly recommend the Apple iPhone. ...

Why Buy a House?
... Economic figures suggest that the whole world is falling apart and Armageddon is soon upon us. ...

Did Home Prices Hit a Lifetime Peak?

The lead story in USA Today suggests we may never again see housing prices as high as they were two years ago. That may be an overstatement. ...

Why Breaking This Childish Habit Would be an Ugly Mistake
... Professional Negotiator Peter Stark tells the story of a son who is a master at asking for something over and over again, from many different creative angles, until he accomplishes his goal. ...

Will Real Estate Ever Have a 900 Pound Gorilla?
... Take what is currently, factually, the really biggest real estate company in the world, Realogy: other than Sotheby’s what brand do they have that matters? ...

YourYoutubeMillions.biz - Make Easy Money on YouTube, Guaranteed
Remember seeing all those ads about making easy money with AdSense? Pretty soon those hucksters will be displaying ads on how to make easy money on YouTube, based in part on this NYT article about how a couple YouTube video creators are making $20,000 a month. ...

Redfin drops Microsoft Virtual Earth for Google Maps, looking for speed
Online real estate site Redfin, once a high-profile showcase for Microsoft's Virtual Earth technology, said this morning that it's switching exclusively to Google Maps in an effort to improve map-rendering speed on its site. ...