Ben's Blog

NAR wades into ethics of blog comment moderation

Wed, 20 May 2009 01:59:09 -0500

Hey Realtors: If someone posts a comment to your blog that disparages another Realtor, what do you do? Delete it? Edit it? Ignore it?

Under amedned and new Standards of Practice in NAR's Code of Ethics approved by the Board of Directors last week, Realtors will be obligated to delete or issue a clarification when a commenter makes a false or misleading statement as soon as the publishing Realtor learns that the statement is false or misleading. This has opened up a proverbial can o' worms with many unanswered questions, such as:

How does this affect Section 230 which protects Internet publishers from liability for comments posted by third parties?
Who has the burden of proof for proving that a statement is false or misleading?
What qualifies as a "clarification"?

There's a healthy debate on the matter over at VARbuzz, where this story broke. Have a look and chime in!

Redfin in plain English

Thu, 03 Jan 2008 09:57:20 -0600

Lee LeFever puts out the popular In Plain English series of videos. This one about Redfin should really get the RE.net talking.

50 attend NAR-convened bloggercon

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 09:28:17 -0600

The room reserved for NAR's bloggercon couldn't contain everyone who attended. Real Estate bloggers from virtually every corner of the country converged on the NAR Blogger's Lounge for a social hour that brought them together with NAR staff, who comprised about half the attendees. The attendees were pouring out into the hall.

There were more handshakes and blogging tips exchanged than business cards, so I am struggling to come up with an attendee list, but to the best of my knowledge, here are the RE.net bloggers who attended:

If you were there and I missed you, please leave a comment and I'll add you to the list.

As I expected, there were no volunteer leaders of NAR at the bloggercon (to the best of my knowledge, please correct me if I'm wrong). In defense of the high-level volunteers, there was an important reception for the who's who of NAR leaders going on at the same time. Mark Lesswing, CTO of NAR was the highest ranking staff at the meeting. More than one attendee echoed my concerns that the meetup yesterday shouldn't be viewed as an end in itself, and that REALTOR bloggers should take additional steps to engage NAR. I'll go out on a limb and say that was a consensus of bloggers in attendance.

As I mentioned in my previous post, the CRT and REALTOR.org teams should get all the credit for putting this together. CRT and REALTOR.org staff are on your side, RE.net bloggers. These are the staff REALTOR bloggers should be working with to navigate NAR.

I learned from CRT's Keith Garner that the Blogger's Lounge is actually a response to a blogger relations debacle at NAR's 2005 annual meeting. Coincidentally, I covered that story on my primary blog before I even dreamed about working for VAR. Small world.

Live from Las Vegas

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 17:32:15 -0600

Hello from Las Vegas, Nevada where umpteen thousand REALTORS are converging on sin city for NAR's annual conference & expo. Today, the only real things going on are meetings for state REALTOR association staff like me, governance meetings for NAR leaders, and the NAR bloggercon.

There is some discussion in the RE.net about what today's bloggercon really means in the scope of NAR's acceptance of social media, and blogging specifically. In the real estate blogging universe you have a few major players that may stand to gain or lose a bunch of users depending on NAR's blogging stance. First, you have ActiveRain, with nearly 60,000 bloggers. Then you have REALTOR.com's own blogging platform. And finally, there are REALTORS using services like TypePad, Wordpress, Blogger and all the other major blogging platforms.

There have been rumors about NAR imposing a blogging code of conduct for its members. The nastiest rumors suggest that NAR would impose strict rules that would let REALTORS blog only on REALTOR.com. My sources tell me that rumors about NAR developing extensive blog rules are unfounded, for the time being, anyway.

One of my members, Jim Duncan suggests that NAR hosting a bloggercon is some kind of olive branch being extended to real estate bloggers. My opinion: I don't see it that way. Despite NAR involvement in acquiring a location and booze for the bloggercon, I don't interpret this event as a serious gesture of blogger engagement. It seems to be a pet project of CRT and REALTOR.org staff, not something of substantive importance to the broader NAR leadership. Seems that REALTOR.org staff and CRT are out ahead of the NAR leadership on this front.

So, while I'm sure that everyone in attendance at today's bloggercon will be thankful for the opportunity, I can't imagine any of the bloggers will be satisfied with this meetup as an end result. I'll update this blog after the bloggercon. Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised by a visit from an NAR leadership appearance carrying a meaningful message of blogger engagement from the association.

Do you backchannel?

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 14:43:04 -0600

Based on a previous successful experiment, I'm setting up something the mobile phone afficionados will find tres cool.

I've organized an interactive text messaging backchannel for NAR's upcoming convention through TxtMob.

TxtMob is essentially an SMS listserve. Everyone who signs up will be able to text each other with updates on sessions that rock, locations of exhibitors with the best give-aways, where the best food is at the receptions, and perhaps details on where and when to organize a flash mob. If you're not attending the convention, the backchannel will be a really cool way to experience it without actually being there. Once the convention begins, I will leave the backchannel unmoderated unless the number of text messages gets overwhelming.

Here are instructions for joining the backchannel. Disclaimer: I will warn you that TxtMob is far from the most user friendly website on the Internet, but to my knowledge, it's the only free service of its kind. You get what you pay for, right? So here's how you opt in...

Go to TxtMob and set up an account.
Once you've signed up, you'll have the option to join a group. Under private groups, Select NAR07, then scroll all the way to the bottom and click submit.
Drop me an email (bkmcae at gmail) to let me know your TxtMob username and I'll approve your group membership.
Once approved, you can send your text messages to nar07@txtmob.com or through TxtMob's online messaging interface. I plan to leave the list moderated until a day or two before the convention starts, but I'm willing to open it up sooner if subscribers prefer.

Buyer beware:

Some phones don't allow you to send SMS to an e-mail address. If your phone only allows you to send SMS to a phone number or short code, you will only be able to receive updates on the backchannel.
Do not attempt to send text messages through your phone's email client. It won't work. You must send your texts via SMS.
Also, unlike Twitter and some other texting services, TxtMob does NOT append your username to the texts you send. Please sign your texts!

The Butterfly Effect

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 21:30:07 -0600

I'm feeling very fortunate to be traveling to Las Vegas next week to attend the NAR annual convention. I'm going to be bold and predict the highlight of the conference for me right now. It'll be the BloggerCon [facebook login required].

Since starting my primary blog over three years ago, I've actually organized four meet-ups for bloggers (three for an association I belong to, and one for the association I work for). In August 2007 I convened the third annual Association BloggerCon at the annual convention of ASAE & The Center for Association Leadership (that's the association for people who work for associations, folks). While at that convention, I met Hilary Marsh, Managing Director of REALTOR.org. She attended the Association BloggerCon and we had lunch. We talked about how we could work together to advance each others' goals and initiatives.

After convening the first ever Virginia Real Estate BloggerCon last month, a prolific blogger and VAR member, Daniel Rothamel, expressed interest in setting one up for NAR. As Daniel and I discussed how to make this possible, I thought of Hilary at NAR and suggested that he coordinate with her. Fast forward a few weeks, and we're all set with a time, date, location and -- as I understand it -- tasty beverages.

I hesitate to take any credit NAR's decision to host a BloggerCon. Clearly, Daniel did the heavy lifting of making it happen.

But have you heard of the butterfly effect? Basically, small things can have a huge impact.

So at the same time that I'm reluctant to take any credit whatsoever for next week's blogger meetup, I can't imagine NAR agreeing to host a BloggerCon without me having set up the one in Virginia. Daniel would not have known to call upon Hilary for help. And Hilary would not have known how cool a REALTOR blogger gathering could be if not for the Association Bloggercon.

I hope you'll drop by the NAR BloggerCon next week, too. I think you just might find it to be the best event of the entire convention.

Hello world!

Sun, 04 Nov 2007 13:35:13 -0600

Not exactly the most appropriate title for my first blog post here at Active Rain. My best guess is that this is the sixth or seventh blog I've either started or contributed to.

I'm the Director of Communications & New Media at the Virginia Association of REALTORS. I've been working for associations of all kinds for coming up on ten years now, but have only been in the REALTOR family for about two months. The CEO at VAR invited me to join his staff after seeing the stuff I was writing about on my primary blog and doing at the Virginia Society of CPAs. I was encouraged (and invited) to blog on Active Rain by Frank Llosa of Frankly Realty in the Washington DC area. After sitting on the invitation for a few weeks I've finally joined the Active Rain conversation.

What am I going to write about here on Active Rain?

I'm not quite sure yet. I'd like your feedback on what you'd like to hear from a REALTOR association exec. Clearly, with only two months on the job, I don't know jack about real estate, compared to the average Active Rainer. As a career association executive, I bring a wealth of experiences from across multiple trades and professions, a lens through which I can interpret the effectiveness of REALTOR associations. As a social media evangelist, I can provide perspective on how REALTOR associations are using social media. I can also provide insights into the world of REALTOR associations -- a peek behind the curtain. For a small sample of what I've been up to in my first +/- 60 days on the job, check out www.VAR2007.com, a blog I put together for VAR's annual convention.

Some other things I'm proud of from my first few months on the job.

Setting up a VAR group on facebook.
Setting up a VAR group on LinkedIn.
Convening the first ever Virginia Real Estate BloggerCon, which through the Butterfly Effect, spawned NAR's BloggerCon.
Birthing 20 or more new bloggers (most of them right here on Active Rain) at a Social Media Lab, held in conjunction with our Conference & Expo.

These are pretty elementary things. The only reason I mention them is to demonstrate that I have caught the cluetrain.

I realize there is some hatred toward the REALTOR associations. Please, take it easy on me. I'm new here. I can assure you that REALTOR association employees like me are just like you: hard-working people with good intentions trying to do it right.