I received an email request from the Georgia Association of Realtors asking me to complete an online survey regarding continuing education. The Georgia Real Estate Commission, which oversees real estate licensees in the state, is considering increasing the number of mandatory continuing education...

03/30/2012

What does an Internet user expect to find online?

39 Comments

Ask anyone that uses the Internet on a regular basis what they expect to find when searching online and the answer will almost always be something akin to: “free information.” The boom of the Internet is also its bane. The constant struggle with Internet entrepreneurship has always been devising ...

03/29/2012

Spring beauty: It takes your breath away …literally!!!

20 Comments

You can’t beat Spring in Georgia for the sheer beauty of all of the early flowering plants bursting forth at once. But as with all good thing, the annual show comes with a high price … it becomes nearly impossible to breathe! Even those not afflicted with allergies are affected by the sheep numbe...

03/28/2012

The “dumbing down” of society.

23 Comments

Some might say that my observations are skewed by academic snobbery or a misguided attempt to demonstrate my own generational self-importance. But I am often astounded by the increasing level of ignorance that I encounter on a day to day basis. And it is NOT due to a lack of credentialed educatio...

03/27/2012

Is selling real estate “Show Business?”

15 Comments

Self promotion has always played a big role is the successful real estate agent’s business model. After all, a real estate agent has to find a job each and every day. And while one could send out resumes to each and every prospective client, it’s much more effective to get out there in front of t...

03/26/2012

When color returns to life:

29 Comments

The dark drab dabs on palette dry,The artist sets the old aside,‘Tis Spring, now vivid, vibrant colors glowFrom God’s own hand the pigments flow. (R Weisser 2012) Perhaps the drabness of Winter is such a stark contrast that our perception is skewed. Perhaps we are so anxious to withdra...

03/24/2012

What does a real estate agent sell? The answer may surprise you.

86 Comments

Ask just about anyone what a real estate agent sells and the overwhelming response would be something along the line of “houses.” And while that may be true in a small fraction of the cases, most of the time the real estate agent is selling something else entirely. Real estate agents and brokers ...

03/22/2012

Will Pinterest go the way of Napster? If it was up to me, the answer would be “YES!”

69 Comments

To tell you the truth, I never even looked at Pinterest until yesterday. After all, I am loathe to use the work of others for my own benefit. But after discovering that many of my images were being used without the required accreditation or citation, I became incensed. Why should I give up the ri...

03/21/2012

Marketing or gimmickry?

12 Comments

In any business endeavor, effective marketing is the key to success. And there are many theories as to what makes marketing effective. Remember all of those screaming commercials on TV? You know, the ones with the shrieking so loud that it made you change the channel? Can you remember the product...

03/20/2012

Where do I purchase a license to be a writer? Or a journalist?

15 Comments

I was asked once; “Have you ever written anything?” When I responded that I wrote a daily real estate blog post the questioner continued: “Have you ever REALLY written anything?” Call me simple-minded, but I always assumed that a writer was someone that writes. I never realized that there were p...

03/19/2012