Just Holding a Place...

I no longer post here, but I want to keep this site up to show those interested in Blogger as a platform...  Please visit CT-Gilbert.com for the latest information and for our current workshop schedule...

Social Media RE Bootcamp I A Success!!

I can admit it now.  I was worried.  I wasn't sure we could pull it off.  Take 10 hours of hands-on workshops covering Active Rain, Twitter, Google, Facebook, and Blogging that we normally cover in 5 separate sessions and do it all in one day.  We called it a bootcamp because it was going to be tough.  The end result?  I'll let you read what the attendees had to say:


Great class.  I'm now very interested in blogging and getting up and running on Facebook.  Thank you for allowing me to participate.  You have a ton of patience.
Eva - United Brokers Group




In one day I learned more about Social Media than I learned in the last year!  The light bulb went off that I can use these tools to do a free drip campaign to replace a mail campaign that used to cost me $4800 a month...
Carlie - Keller Williams




This is an awesome boot camp!  Take all the classes you can with Bill and Paul.  They share so much information you can't go wrong, and all the while you are learning for the future...
Cindy - Century 21




Thank you!  This was overwhelming but you definitely have changed my mind about participating in social media.
Kim - United Brokers Group




We were also lucky enough to have a couple local agents who are active in the local social media real estate scene show up. Nick Bastian of Raillife fame, and Dean Ouellette, Chief Videographer at DeanSellsAz, shared their insights with the campers.  Thank you for your support Nick and Dean...




Paul Guenther, Shane Hollenback and I, want to thank this brave group for taking on the challenge.  We learned a lot in this first go round, and we will be announcing Social Media RE BootCamp II very soon.


Shane Hollenback and The Veracity Team post on the event


In the meantime, we have a couple different workshops series currently underway.  Check out Paul's blog for schedule information. 

Do a Good Deed for Yourself and Check Out DeedStreet.com

If you want to do a good deed for yourself today, check out DeedStreet.com and give your real estate tweets more reach...

If you've been on Twitter for any length of time, you know there are hundreds of API's (application programming interface)  that have been built to help you use Twitter more effectively. There are apps to share photos, find fellow tweeters, manage your network, and more.  In fact, at oneforty.com, they have over 2200 Twitter applications categorized and ready to install.


For Realtors, a local start-up has tackled the issue of aggregating and indexing real-estate specific tweets.  Now, instead of having important, relevant content simply vanish in the twittersphere, savvy agents can tag these tweets and have DeedStreet.com do all the work!  DeedStreet.com founder Doug Lazovick uses the ^ (caret) as a tag, much like the hashtag (#) is used by Twitter to tag groups. Go to DeedStreet.com and sign up (it's free) and simply use the ^ to tag your real estate tweets.  For example, if you are sending a tweet about Gilbert area market data, tag the tweet with ^Gilbert.  If the tweet covers general real estate, use ^^.  That's all you have to do.  In fact, you never have to login to DeedStreet again.


Over time, as you tag your tweets, DeedStreet.com becomes a repository for your real estate tweets.  DeedStreet.com even ranks the individual Tweeters that have provided the most content for a specific term. As the site continues to develop and grow, new features are added.  Users can now build out their profile on the site.  There is also a DeedStreet.com widget for your blog.  With this widget, only the tweets you tag for DeedStreet.com will be displayed.  You can even select certain ^ tagged terms to filter the tweets displayed in the widget.  You can see an example of the DeedStreet.com widget here.


This site is only a few months old and agents and lenders have an opportunity to get in on the ground floor and get those tweets saved, categorized, and indexed. A primary goal for DeedStreet.com is to build a consumer facing portal, allowing buyers and sellers to find targeted tweets and the agents that provided them. How often do you get a chance to be a part of something from the beginning?  Check out DeedStreet.com and start using the ^.

Chicago Title Premier Services - Property Profiles at Your Fingertips

Chicago Title offers customers the most comprehensive and accurate real estate related services in the nation.  You can rely on Chicago Title, with it's rich history of over 160 years, to provide assurance and security for you and your heirs for all your real estate transactions and title insurance needs.


Premier Services gives you online access to products and services from Chicago Title.  As new technologies are deployed, members are notified via e-mail and announcememnts in our site.


Membership gives you access to: 

• Property Profiles
• E-Farms
• Real Estate Calculators
• Blank Legal Documents

With Premier Services, you may also have additional links to order forms and services that vary from one jurisdiction to another.  Log in for a complete list of features available to you.


If you need an account set up, contact Paul Guenther at Paul.Guenther@ctt.com. 


As always, if you are looking for our social media workshops, please check out Paul Guenther's website.

December Workshop Schedule

With the holidays taking over most of our free time, we are holding a limited schedule of workshops in December.  As always, you can go to http://www.mytitleguypaul.com/ for our complete schedule. 

Here is December's schedule:

December 1st - Facebook Workshop (No credit)  Bring you laptop
                        10am-noon Keller Williams Sonoran Living
                        4621 E Chandler Blvd Ste 160 Phoenix AZ 85048

December 4th - Build a Blog Workshop (No Credit) Bring your laptop
                         10am-noon Chicago Title Gilbert Branch
                         1959 S. Val Vista Dr Ste 115 (NE corner Baseline and Val Vista)

December 15th - LinkedIn Workshop (No Credit) Bring Your Laptop
                           10am-noon Keller Williams Sonoran Living
                           4621 E Chandler Blvd Ste 160 Phoenix AZ 85048

We have multiple workshop series either scheduled or in the process of being scheduled for the new year, so check back frequently to http://www.mytitleguypaul.com/ or here.  Make it your New Year's Resolution to get to learn how Social Media can help your real estate business, and let Chicago Title help you keep that resolution!

Muppets take on Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody

Having grown up on The Muppet Show and the Muppet Movies, I couldn't resist the following video posted by Barb Dybwad of Mashable.com when it popped up in my Reader...

Thanks Barb for a big smile today!!





I wonder if there's a Muppet Stairway to Heaven out there?

Long Term Benefits of Blog Posts

Are you aware of the long term benefits your blog posts provide? 

I attended the ActiveRain presentation with Bob Stewart and Brad Andersohn in Phoenix in September.  I took away many ideas to work on, but one stood head and shoulders above the rest for me. The idea was courtesy of Brad Andersohn (Sorry Bob, you had great content as well, but Brad's idea was stellar). When trying to show doubters that they do have time to blog, Brad created that "Eureka!" moment for me.

One effective way to use a blog is as a database for answers to many of the commonly asked questions we face every day in our work. And to grow that database, why not begin with those very same questions? It

has immediately paid dividends for me. When I was asked for an easy way to edit HTML for blog posts on AR, I wrote a post on Kompozer.net. I've already e-mailed the link to that post to 6 agents looking for help.

I've also done the same recently for Google Docs. This application makes document sharing a snap for team members, and I wrote a post about Google Docs, which has already been shared via a link twice! Now I've got a notepad filled with post ideas to stock my Q&A directory!

I try to develop relationships with agents and lenders by being a resource. If I can answer a question, or solve a problem, then the relationship only becomes stronger. Answering questions and solving problems using my blog? That's a homerun!


Can you think of a couple questions you answer all the time? Why not post the answer in your blog, and drive traffic there while helping a client or prospect?  Why not let our blog posts work for us long after they are published?