Twitter and Twitterank

The Twitter universe suddenly went wild on November 12, 2008 when an application called Twitterank was suddenly unleashed on an unsuspecting world.  Within hours, the application spread virally and consumed so much of the server resources that it was rendered un-workable for a while.  Within a short while, twitterank became the top search term on Twitter Search and it hit the top 20 on Google Trends for searches there.

Suddenly a viral rumor began to spread … ZDNet declared the application to be a phishing scheme and warned users not to give their userid and password to the application.  “Did you check your twitterank? … Change your password!” declared user after user.

If you do use twitter and want to check your Twitter Rank you can visit

http://www.twitterank.com/

… but we do recommend that you change your password, just in case, then change it again after you get your ranking.

The word twitterank is still the most searched term on Twitter search but it seems to be dying down on Google.  If you want to see who said what to whom over the past few days and try to dissect the entirety of this viral social media phenomenon you can find most of the articles and comments here and here.

Bill Austin

Social Networking Results From the Past Year

The recent NAR convention reminded me that it was about a year ago in Las Vegas, at the time of the previous convention, where I decided to get out and meet some of my peers in the “blogoverse.” At first, I was a “lurker” for quite some time. I quickly learned that, blogging and social networking was so much more than “pimping” listings. I’m not sure why, but I didn’t really expect to find any real value in this ”over hyped” type of prospecting. I had read about blogging but didn’t have a real grasp of it’s true meaning or usefulness. I did have an idea for a “hyper-local” niche but wanted to learn more and effective ways to take advantage of it. Heck, the term “hyper-local blog” didn’t even have nearly the buzz as it does today but I knew I was on to something. I began to read more and more and would comment on an occasional post or (gasp) even try to write something once in a while. You see, in the beginning, my niche idea was going to be “just” a web site. We think it will be a really cool site (soon) but, bringing in the blog aspect to our project has been WAY more fun and successful than I could ever have imagined!Here is kind of what has happened over the last year.

I decided to try and learn from the “best” bloggers and most knowledgeable people I could find. The following people have really been helpful to me or have been someone I have come to respect their work. (in no particular order) While there are others, I have personally met each one of these people and truly consider them friends. If you are new to blogging, you “need” to read all you can from each of these people. Heck, even if you are not new to blogging, you “need” to know these people. Following is a “small” list of some of the country’s best bloggers that I can call my friend. I truly believe I can pick up the phone and have a great conversation with each of these people at any given time. (more common to “talk” with them via Twitter or their blog though)

“The” Jeff Turner. One of those guys that really “gets it” when it comes to social networking. When Jeff talks about this stuff, it is really easy and beneficial to listen. Jeff and I have had some really great discussions here in Tempe, in Las Vegas and in San Francisco. We have had some fun and I appreciate all he does for so many people.

Ines Garcia. The Miamism.com blog absolutely rocks. They write about the community and show pictures that really make you feel like you want to live in their area. Serious, when I think Miami, I think of Rick and Ines Garcia. When I think of a friend that has done a great job branding a community, I look at the ways they do it in Miami.

Ok, this could get really long so, I’ll just mention a few more of my faves that are my friends across the country and then some here in the valley.

Daniel Rothamel, the “Zebra” rocks the stripes! Also works with Inman News. He is a “big deal” with an amazing personality.

Dustin Luther, amazingly talented and brilliant! Ever heard of a little thing called Rain City Guide? Did I mention brilliant?

Todd Carpenter, a pioneer in the mortgage business and a blogging supah star.

Pat Kitano, another truly brilliant mind and one of the nicest people you could ever meet. I feel truly blessed to be able to participate in Pat’s seminars on Social Media. You really need to participate in these knowledge packed sessions, they WILL help your business. Sign up for the series NOW!

Nicole and Reggie Nicolay, they know how to “sell” social media. Tons of fun, loads of talent.

Heather Elias, a smile to die for and a blog that rocks.

Mike Mueller, my “roomie” in Vegas. HUGELY talented, a great “people person.”

Ginger Wilcox, she is a great example of “giving back” to her community. Read her blog!

Brad Coy, really understands how to use social media. A good friend.

Andy Kaufman. sorry but just, “wow!” you gotta get to know this guy.

Laurie Manny My friend, opinionated, controversial & fun. “Google” Long Beach Real Estate. enough said.

Ricardo Bueno, this star is rising fast and doing some GREAT things!

“Active” Brad Andersohn: I really enjoyed meeting Brad at the Inman Connect real Estate Conference in San Francisco. Brad has helped me on several occasions and I am grateful to call him my friend.

“Active” Rich Jacobson. Great guy, we had a chance to talk for quite some time at the “Blog World Convention” in Las Vegas recently. Rich gave me some great ideas on how to effectively use Localism. We will be implementing them in the very near future.

OK… those are great people I have met from all over the country. Below is a short list of some of the bloggers (and people) locally that I have become friends with.

Calie Waterhouse, Jay Thompson, Dru Bloomfield, Christoph Schweiger, Paul Slaybaugh, D Patrick Lewis, Candace Robinson, Justin McHood, Steve Belt, Phil Sexton.

Of course, this isn’t a “complete” list of the friendships I have made and I know I will kick myself for leaving a few out. I almost didn’t write this because of that fact. I really do believe this is a great list of people and, who knows, next year, I might write an even longer post to share.

So, in summary, why should YOU blog? Why should YOU engage in “social networking?” The reasons vary as greatly as anything but, I will tell you this: It works. These friendships I have made are priceless and the benefit to my business is truly exciting. We each, in one way or another, can help each other and that is fun. Sometimes, a “helping hand” is as simple as someone linking to my blog. Sometimes, it is generating a great referral base of qualified and successful agents. Without my blog, I would probably not have met these people and would probably not have recently been featured in the Arizona State Press, contacted by the Arizona Republic, or had the opportunity to be in November’s issue of REALTOR(R) Magazine. Soon, I will update Rail Life with some of the other recent “press related” benefits we have had from writing a “silly little blog.”

Please feel free to check out some of the social media sites below and to add me as one of your friends or contacts. As one of the writers for the Arizona Real Estate Blogging Network, it is my goal to help share as much information as possible with you. Please join us at our monthly meetings.

Nick Bastian on LinkedIn

Facebook

Twitter

Interview with Social Media.ist, Mortgage Expert, Speaker, Negotiator Mike Mueller

During my trip to the Blogworld Expo in Las Vegas last week I had the pleasure to meet up with a long time online friend and social network guru Mike Mueller.  I shared with Mike about the Arizona Real Estate Blogging Network and he was more than happy to discuss social media networking with me.  Mike was a great sport to allow me to interview him with some video coverage and I wanted to share it here with you.

Mike Mueller does a really great job in getting his message out and in using many different social media tools in his business. Mike uses a lot of video and is an active blogger.

Of course, you can find him on Twitter, Facebook and just about any other network you can think of.

For some of the local agents that have no idea what any of this means, you should follow Mike and you should get involved by joining AZ Real Estate Blogging Network.

Here you can learn and share ideas with other agents of similar interests and goals.  With our Arizona Blogging Network we encourage one another with blogging for business and understand the value and importance of blogging, social media.

If you are looking for a great role model and social media guru then check out Mike, the Social Media.ist, Mortgage Expert, Short Sale Negotiator & Speaker with over 14 years experience.

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iPhone! What Is It Good For?

As many of you know, I won an iPhone from PropertyQube a while back, when I helped PropertyQube attract more new customers by growing my own PropertyQube network…sort of a win-win.  I’ve had my iPhone for roughly a month now, and thought now would be an excellent time to post on my findings thus far.

First, I must say I have no other SmartPhone to compare an iPhone too.  I am coming from a Motorola Razr as a mobile phone, so I don’t know how it compares to a Blackberry or Treo from personal experience.  If you are looking for such a comparison, I might suggest you visit My Tech Opinion.  Particularly read the comments if you are with Verizon or TMobile customer and can’t see yourself switching.

The Good

As far as the iPhone goes, I absolutely love it.  I can Twitter great.  I can update my location on Brightkite.  I can take some pretty decent photos, and post them to my personal blog: My Side Door via the WordPress App.  I can take notes via typing or voice recording on EverNote, and then view/listen to those notes later from my desktop PC (that’s great for when you have a blogging idea when you are out and about and don’t want to forget it!).  Of course I can read/send email, read/update my calendar, and read/update my contacts all real time, as if I were sitting at my desktop, thanks to the integration between iPhone and Microsoft Exchange (if you aren’t managing your business email/calendar/contacts via Microsoft Exchange, we’ll talk later about the HUGE boat you are missing).

Naturally, I can text message people, and place and send calls, but what phone can’t do that.  Being a movie buff, I like the BoxOffice application that tells me what’s playing and when at Desert Ridge or the Cine Capri.  On more than one occasion, I’ve used the integrated Google Maps feature to chat with a client about where we are going next, or help a lost soul find their way.  Many people enjoy the free internet radio service Pandora.  I honestly haven’t used it much, but my limited use has been favorable.  The iPhone is also an ipod, which I enjoy on my 4 hour bicycle rides.  It’s also ideal for watching video podcasts, like GeekBrief.TV.  Facebook, Pownce, Loopt, and Jott all have iPhone apps, for those that are heavy into those sites.  Facebook is the only one I use, but honestly, I’m not a big Facebook user, which is a mistake I know I need to correct.  So far, a Flickr app is missing.

I also use the application SportsTap to keep track of the Diamondbacks (when basketball starts up, that will include the Suns).  My kids play a number of free games when they are able to pry the iPhone from my hands.  Tap Tap and Moonlight Mahjong are their favorites.

Finally, many websites have iPhone or mobile web support.  FlexMLS’s mobile website is: wireless.flexmls.com.  Other sites that have iPhone support (like my blog, Brightkite, or ESPN), tend to notice that an iPhone is browsing them, and then switch into a simpler display mode.

The Bad

So, what’s not great about the iPhone?  The most important thing to me is the quality of the 3G network in my neck of the woods (North Scottsdale).  It’s horrible.  To combat this, I’ve turned off 3G unless I’m some place other than my home, office, Starbucks, or any other location north of Frank Lloyd Wright and East of Loop 101.  The regular Edge network is fast enough, and has better coverage.

With 3G turned off, that also helps the next major shortcoming: battery life.  I have an iLuv docking station at my office, and then a Belkin TuneBase FM for my car, which means it’s actually on a charger most of the time.  During a recent Diamondbacks game, however, I was able to nearly deplete the battery with some fairly heavy usage in just 3 hours via twittering, browsing, texting, and taking some photos.  At the time I was sitting next to a Blackberry user, and he had a similar experience, however.  Speaking of taking photos…that’s the fastest way to kill the battery.  I left it on camera mode this last Saturday morning and drained the battery in 2 hours.

My final gripe is with Starbucks and AT&T.  Starbucks decided to allow 2 hours of free wifi per day for its customers.  “GREAT!” I screamed, as wifi is even faster than 3G.  But here’s the catch.  You have to log in to the system when you arrive at Starbucks (via Safari), a process that is very time consuming, but 50% of the time doesn’t seem to work.  Then, if your session expires, which it seems to do very quickly, you have to log in again.  This might not be a big deal on a PC, where Firefox remembers your userid/password, but on the iPhone, I’m required to start over from scratch each time.  It’s a big enough hassle that I’ve completely stopped bothering.  I’m griping about it, because Starbucks has this arrangement via AT&T, and AT&T sells the iPhone.  The system should transparent when I’m on my iPhone at a Starbucks, and there shouldn’t be a 2 hr time limit for AT&T customers.  Stop requiring logins AT&T & Starbucks!

I’m not going to complain about the lack of copy/paste or SMS messaging (this is me not complaining).  The former is odd, while the latter I wouldn’t use much anyway.  I will complain about the speed of the text entry on some blogs/websites.  I have no idea why, but for example, when typing into the reply box on Trulia Voices, the iPhone goes into brain freeze mode, and typing speed is limited to 1 character per second…or maybe slower.  The lack of flash support can be frustrating as well.

Keeping it from getting ugly

If you decide to get an iPhone, you will almost certainly decide to get a protective case of some sort.   Lately I’ve been a bit fumble fingered around the iPhone, so it’s been nice that it’s protected.  I feel fortunate to have lucked into buying a Griffon Elan Form 3G after scouring the shelves of the Apple Store for 30 minutes.  This is a hard case with a leather outer, so it’s comfortable to the touch, while being protective.  Most people that have held my case, and have the silicon gel cases prefer my case.  Another ok buy was the Apple clear anti-glare shield for the screen.  Judging by the condition of this screen protector, I’m glad I have it.  However, it seems to scratch somewhat easily, leading me to considering the Zagg InvisibleShield here in a month or two, as that shield is not supposed to scratch and has a lifetime warranty.

Should you get an iPhone?

That’s a tough question.  The 16GB version is $399.  The unlimited voice, data, and texting plan is $140/month (or so) plus tax.  It’s undoubtedly the most expensive mobile phone solution there is.  For those that love their Treo for it’s lockbox access, that alone could be a deal breaker.  For Blackberry users, I can’t find a compelling reason to want a Blackberry, aside from the keyboard, and honestly, I’ve gotten quite a bit better at using the touch screen for a keyboard.  The first time I used it I thought it was impossible.  Now it’s a breeze.