Oh Oh... "It's 4 O'Clock!" - 07/31/10 05:24 PM
Inner City parking? "Dang... today was kind of expensive"...
Everything’s at a premium in the city and parking is just one of them. On Eastlake Avenue East, just outside my office, there are a few designated spots along the curb that allow for public parking Monday through Friday until 4:00 PM. The tow trucks start lining up about 3:45 PM in wait and when the bell strikes 4:00, beware.
I’m moved to think, “Contemporary life is kind of like being in a casino every day.” Paraphrasing the words of Dirty Harry, “You've got to ask yourself one question: "Do you feel … (19 comments)

High Anxiety - 07/29/10 05:53 PM
As a seasoned commuter in the Puget Sound Megalopolis, I try to lessen the High Anxiety by breaking the trip down into a point to point scenario. I don’t think too far ahead. Just make it to the next marker. Hopefully the little successes will add up and out number any failures and by days end (now home),
I'll feel like a winner.
Keep it simple, (A) the points you dread, you know the one’s that are a ‘role of the dice’ everyday where anything is possible and likely to happen. When you successfully get by these with little or no … (6 comments)

Rogue cloud smashes into Seattle skyscrapers - 07/28/10 07:51 PM
A beautiful summer morning it was on July 23rd, 2010 in the Pacific Northwest. I was driving to work and coming into downtown around 7:45 AM. It was calm with crystal blue skies when the tall buildings came into view. I almost couldn't believe what I was seeing. This one great big cloud (all by itself) was rolling over the bay right smack dab into the tall buildings. It looked surreal.

I've never seen anything quite like that before. As I said above, this all took place over just a few minutes while I was driving up Interstate 5 for … (16 comments)

If I were a rich man - 07/27/10 12:05 AM
If I were a rich man...
Ya ha deedle deedle, bubba bubba deedle deedle dum.
Remember those lines? I do...
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I'd build a big tall house with rooms by the dozen,
Right in the middle of the town.
A fine tin roof with real wooden floors below.
There would be one long staircase just going up,
And one even longer coming down,
And one more leading nowhere, just for show.
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A story, in comparison, far more compelling than a recession for sure...
Remember the story... When the weight of … (13 comments)

Localism 101, or is that Colloquialism 101? - 07/23/10 01:06 AM
One thing I really love about what I do is the opportunity to travel around the region and talk to real estate professionals in their community;
And there's nothing like a good social media marketing conversation to quickly peel through the colloquial layers and get right down to the local state of the onion.
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col·lo·qui·al   [kuh-loh-kwee-uhl]  –adjective
1. characteristic of or appropriate to ordinary or familiar conversation rather than formal speech or writing; informal.
2. involving or using conversation. 
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I am so jazzed when I enter into a conversation about the dynamics of a hyper-local market place. The … (9 comments)

The Narrows in Summer Fog... - 07/21/10 07:56 PM
The Narrows Bridge...

Out of the office today and headed for Gig Harbor, Washington for a day of social media marketing conversations with Amy Kalafatich at The Talon Group. A new wave of real estate professionals are discovering the necessity of having a good online presence. 
The dynamics of relationship building are essentially the same as they've always been, but where they start and how they develop has changed. So much of our conversation within a group or community takes place online now. We speak to each other in person and live over phones, yet more and more via texting … (4 comments)

Web 3.0... Here we come. - 07/20/10 05:35 PM
Seattle... "Is your head in the cloud? Are your feet on the ground?"

Driving to work this morning the tall buildings had their tops in the clouds. Ah, clouds, it got me to thinking about Google's purchase of Metaweb a few days ago.
Metaweb invented Freebase, a massive semantic database using what it calls "entities" that improve search by distinguishing between singular terms that can mean several different things. In essence (and for the lack of a better term) Web 3.0 will turn the internet into a giant searchable database and our browsers into personal search assistants.  
Instead of making separate searches … (11 comments)

A thriving vibrant downtown say's a lot about a community. - 07/18/10 04:45 PM
When the recession hit here in Renton, Washington a couple of years ago the evidence was immediate in old downtown. In less than a year it seemed every 4th or 5th door was closed and there was a For Rent sign in the window. My heart went out to these small shop merchants. I use to be one. Back in a different recession in the 70's I had a small music store, Renton Guitar Studios. I didn't make a ton of money in those days, but as a young man in his early 20's I was the proud owner of my own … (29 comments)

Music Concrete - 07/16/10 04:46 PM
Friday morning and yahoo the traffic is light. Headed north through downtown Seattle, coming up on Madison St, and headed for the Eastlake neighborhood.
I love the patchwork of grids the buildings create. It reminds me of music. When I was at Soundwork Studio on Capitol Hill, and the Center for Contemporary Music at Mills College in Oakland, California, I wrote and performed several electronic, tape, and computer music pieces based on number squares, fractals, golden section, and Fibonacci sequences. The music scores looked similar.

In the tradition of Music Concrete, I loved mixing found sound (sounds of nature and … (6 comments)

The bluest skies you've ever seen, are in Seattle... - 07/15/10 11:33 PM
The upside for working late today is the traffic is light and I make record time getting home... Heading south on Interstate 5 around 7:00 PM the sky is a wonderful shade of blue and there's ol' Miss, her Majesty, Mt Rainier in the background. I'm at the northern end of Boeing Field.

I'm cracking myself up remembering as a kid watching "Here Come the Brides" (1968 - 1970). As corny as it was, we thought it was so cool that there was actually a national TV show that was about Seattle, we hardly missed an episode.
The show was actually … (10 comments)

A freeway runs through it... - 07/15/10 09:35 PM
A freeway runs through it.
Portage Bay, Seattle...
Well maybe not literally, but it’s ironic that this neat little neighborhood is adjacent to the State’s busiest intersection, being east of Interstate 5 and north of State Route 520. Portage Bay got its name from the portage necessary to move logs from Lake Washington to Lake Union before the ship canal was built.
There are 309 single family dwellings, 10 of them are waterfront and 250 were built before 1930. The 8 icons you see on the map represent those homes that have had some kind of ownership change in the last … (2 comments)

and the wind cries Mary... - 07/14/10 08:14 PM
and the wind cries Mary…Will the wind ever remember the names it has blown in the past?

The Pacific Northwest I grew up in was a quainter place, once upon a time. I was driving into Seattle passing an old familiar landmark today, the Chinook Motel. It was a Mom & Pop place, built in 1952. As I recall there were 8, or maybe 10 units. The owners (in the early years) lived on site in their home which included the lobby. There use to be a lot of places like this in the area.
It was located in an … (7 comments)

Stop Freakin.... - 07/13/10 08:39 PM

I had a great social media marketing conversation in Spanaway this morning with some clients at Crescent Realty. We were talking about how search engines work, how to develop an online presence, and creating your own personal brand. It was a fun and lively conversation.
On the way back to the office I was replaying in my mind some of what we talked about when I came up next to the Beacon Plumbing Truck. How apropos. What a great example of what we were talking about. Beacon Plumbing is a familiar icon in the Puget Sound area. Instantly recognized and … (12 comments)

Why do 4 day work weeks seem longer? - 07/12/10 05:07 PM
It's Friday afternoon in the city (July 9, 2010). It's an absolutely beautiful day and @ 85 degrees. I'm headed out of the Eastlake neighborhood just after 5:00 PM. I mentioned it was Friday, right? City traffic is rush hour jammed so over the hill, Capitol Hill that is... 
I have it down now after five months of working in the city again. Left down the alley out of our building, up Lynn St, right on Boylston. As I approach the freeway entrance I have about 5 seconds to make up my mind, "Freeway or over the hill?" I know over … (5 comments)

Title Insurance is Cute - 07/09/10 06:18 PM

Title Insurance is Cute. We all know in the real estate industry just how fascinating title talk is, right? In episode #3, (from: A Look at the Lighter Side of Title) Tim Daniels, Chief Title Officer at The Talon Group in Bellevue, Washington and a rather unusual cast of characters, share a few insights on the subject of easements.

It's cute... enjoy.

René Fabre is well known throughout the Pacific Northwest for his innovative marketing programs. He's a sought after speaker and motivator respected for his knowledge, keen interest, and insightful approach to contemporary marketing ideas and technologies, … (6 comments)

The Peaceable Kingdom - 07/01/10 06:39 PM
The Madrona Neighborhood in Seattle, Washington has some of the area’s most beautiful views. I was heading home from the office, the freeway was jammed, so I opted for one my favorite drives down Lake Washington Boulevard. Don’t be in a hurry when you go this way. There are few stops and the traffic is usually light, but it’s mostly 25 miles an hour. But who cares?, there’s so much to look at. Just decompress, mellow out, and enjoy. Madrona got its name from area pioneer John Ayer, he also donated the land for Madrona Park.The Neighborhood’s motto is The Peaceable … (10 comments)

 
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René Fabre

Seattle, WA

More about me…

First American Title

Address: 24722 104th Ave SE, Suite 100, Kent, WA, 98030

Office Phone: (253) 850-5230

Cell Phone: (425) 749-9296

Email Me

René Fabre is a blogger, teacher, artist, and speaker living in the Pacific Northwest. His passion is the evolving social media environment and how it impacts every level of our lives.

A certified clock hour instructor, René teaches new media marketing for the First American Title Real Estate School of Washington.

He also teaches social media for entrepreneurs and small business in the continuing education department at Bellevue College.

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