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It’s Confirmed. It is the Next Big Thing!

Following the crash of the initial dotcom bubble in 2001 many people claimed to have created or coined the phrase Wed 2.0 as we in subsequent years the industry grappled with what would come next. By 2004 the term Web 2.0 was appearing everywhere and euphoria reined with this next phase of the Internet that included all sorts of "second generation" web developments. Information sharing became hot as did collaboration, hosted services, blogging, wikis, video-sharing and of course social-media sites.

In 2003 MySpace grabbed our imagination, followed in 2004 by Facebook and in 2005 by YouTube. They quickly emerged as the dominate players in this new social media environment. However, this new Olympic team was still missing a player or two.

Although micro-blogging and social media site Twitter only entered the trials late in 2006, it is having an even more fundamental shift than any of its predecessors. Twitter is basically a SMS (Short Messaging Service) sent to followers that have subscribed to receive them with its messages (Tweets) limited to 140 characters.

It was initially perceived as a Gen X toy, but Twitter has transcended that expectation, which many Web 2.0 technologies have not been able to do. It has become a very significant communication tool of the first decade of the 21st century. It may sound premature and even absurd to some, but there are those that are already comparing its influence to that of Morse code, the telephone, radio or television.

In barely three years the estimated number of users (no official numbers are released) is around 12 million. Compete.com ranks it as the third most used social network behind Facebook and MySpace - which means about 6million unique visitors per month - while Nielsen.com ranks it as the fastest-growing member community site (1382% in February 2009), ahead of Facebook (228%)

The American Red Cross uses Twitter: during the 2008 Mumbai attacks, when US Airways flight 1549 went down in the Hudson River and this month when NASA astronaut Mike Massimino used it onboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis.

All indications are that Twitter is the next really "big thing."

So, Realtors^® don't get left behind. Get your free Twitter account today and start learning how to "Tweet" this week. You can find and follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/swanepoel

Posted by Stefan Swanepoel on 05/13/2009 01:15 PM

Comments (69)

twitter, blogging, mirco blogging, social media, online networks, real estate trends, changes

Post is included in group: Real Estate Trends
Post is included in group: Realtors®
Post is included in group: Web 2.0
Post is included in group: Twitter
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69 Comments on It’s Confirmed. It is the Next Big Thing!

MAY

Stefan,

Twitter is only going to grow bigger!

Well said Stefan!

Mark Porter, REALTOR® CRS, e-Pro, GRI, ITI

(972) 395-9814 Mark@MarkPorter.Net www.MarkPorter.Net

1101 Morgan Lefay Ln Lewisville TX 75056

Well stated!

There is no question that Twitter is a powerful, fast way to get the word out about:

1) New listings

2) Price changes

3) Consumer related real estate news....

http://www.Twitter.com/timandjulie

Stefan, I find it interesting when Oprah anounces something all of a sudden it becomes Mainstream. I remember when she mentioned a New Book all of a sudden it became a best seller. I was watching the news a few weeks ago and there was a 30 second footage of Oprah was being educated about Twittering....and look at it today:)

And to help my fellow Rainers learn to maximize their use of Twitter, here's a free ebook called the Complete Guide to Twitter for Business: http://sn.im/twitterebook

Darn, if we had known 4 years ago that Twitter will become such a huge thing we could have named our company "Twitter" instead of "RealBird" :) But at least with the name we are not THAT far....

Stefan, According to Tech Crunch, Twitter should be up to 50 million this summer. Here is the link

http://tinyurl.com/cbmadf

Thanks for the post and the excellent information! Alexandra Seigel

Just make sure that if you jump on the Twitter bandwagon, don't simply SPAM your content there, but effectively ENGAGE in meaningful dialogue!

Rich has a good point - but keep your eye out for a book titled "Tweet & Grow Rich" coming soon to late-night TV near you! LOL

Carefully choosing who you follow & who follows you can help create a viable marketing & informational channel capable of reaching a wide audience instantaneously. Took me a while to grasp the idea, but am starting to see how it can be utilized in a powerful way.

@Endre - Oh it's been growing rapidly long before Oprah. She's just another celebrity that is is using the latest technology to connect with her audience.

@Gabe, You were close with the name RealBird. You were also first with a real estate wiki for the industry before selling that off. A real industry visionary you are!!

@Ron & Alexandra. 50 Million by this summer!!. Wow. Many years back I would have doubted big jumps like that but MySpace, FaceBook, YouTube, etc. have all shown us that numbers in the tens of millions are possible in a short period of time. Hang on, it's going to be a wild ride.

@Rich and @Kent. Great advice. Don't SPAM but provide quality content and dialogue. ENGAGE is a good recommendation. Thansk guys!

Rich said it perfectly, and another nice thing about Twitter -- sales spammers aren't able to last very long. They say "Gee, no one cares that I post about myself and my listings all day, so I don't like Twitter." GOOD!

Our industry is all about relationships. It just makes sense that if you can connect with this many people you can't help but benefit. It's just hard to know what works and doesn't work.

When you see people day in and day out, on Twitter, Facebook, etc., you naturally think of them when it's time to refer business in their area. Plus it's fun to get to know the fun side of people, not just business side. Mirela Monte wrote a post about how she gets her news from Twitter.

Sharon

Stefan, I remember when I joined in Novemeber 07, it was easier to engage folks, now I hope on in the AM and twit a little. I am enjoying my friend feed so I don't miss all the great links people post.

I think I connect with more people here and on FaceBook. Twitter has got so big sometimes it is just too noisy for me. But, I have met folks locally and connected with them that I would not have met here so that is the real benefit for me.

Twitter is a great way to meet people you would otherwise never meet, especially right in your own town. I'm already following you and you probably don't even know it! lol

While twitter is tough for people to wrap their minds around initially, believe me, it's totally worth sticking to it until you figure it out. I've gained a tremendous amount of new clients and friends from it the past year and a half and it just continues to grow! Follow me @rhukill

I love Twitter!! I heard about the tax credit down payment statement within minutes from other Tweeples that are at mid-year. @RealLivingRE

I'm on Twitter, and I think it is a good platform, but I wonder if FaceBook's new stream can overtake it. I know that I enjoy it a bit more... and there are more of my friends on FaceBook.

MAY

Welcome to the party, Stefan. Better late than never. :)

When that flight landed on the Hudson River, I saw it on Twitter before it hit the TV news - someone who saw it happen was busy Tweeting away and I happened to be on line at that moment. Soon after there was a link to photos, taken with a cell phone while it was going on.

Talk about breaking news!

I belong to Facebook and LinkedIn, but haven't taken the time to learn to use them - too many twists and turns and a feeling of "What am I supposed to be doing here?" When you live on a Satellite connection, just needing to go from page to page to figure it out is a big turn off.

Twitter is easy and fast - you can jump over and take a look at the tweets and be gone again in a minute or two. The only danger is that with so many interesting people offering links to information, you can easily get caught up with reading and realize the entire evening is gone.

Now I'm going to go follow you... You can follow me too, if you like: http://twitter.com/idahowriter

Twitter is good for instant updates on things, but not for having conversations and ongoing dialogue like Facebook, but I'll concede that it is, as you've said, the next big thing. I just hope that we can all keep up.

Well, I didn't mean to be the lone dissenter here, but I just don't get Twitter and from what I have heard, don't really care to either. I have little faith that my 'up to 140' character messages are going to suddenly bring in masses of buyers. How many actual transactions can you attribute to Twitter? With the attention span of gnats, we'll be off on the next greatest thing as soon as it comes out :)

I've been putting off the whole Facebook/twitter/myspace thing. I guess it's time to get in or get out. I'll be looking into it this weekend. It's just that I hate the initial feeling of not knowing what I'm doing....that awkward first couple days when you're ttrying to figure out how something works. I'm your typical guy..hate to ask anyone for directions. Guess I just have to suck it up and get busy. Thanks for all the posts.

I'm on Twitter, Facebook, Myspace (which I don't spend any time on anymore) and Linkedin. As far as business networking it seems to me that Linkedin has a more effective method but I'm trying to stick with the Twitter thing just because everyone's saying it's the next big thing so I guess there's something I'm missing....I'm waiting. I understand the concept it just doesn't seem that effective in reality.

I joined twitter a while ago and for me so far, it's turned into a replacement for my rss feeder. When I read blogs,I see interesting people in related fields who are far ahead of me in vision and technology. I follow them and their links for information and inspiration. On the flipside, their success and knowledge can be quite intimidating when it comes to engaging in "conversation".

It's nice to get a glimpse of their sense of humor, routines, and family lives because that's a place I feel more qualified to share- though sometimes that feels too intimate with someone you've never met. I guess that's what "engaging" is all about.

As far as generating local business, it hasn't happened yet. In my area, which is very rural- Twitter hasn't caught on much. We've been years behind most trends,there are still many people who don't even use email and dial up is all that is available.

I'll stick with it, because I enjoy the ability it gives me to stay on top of what the "NEXT big thing" is going to be. And who knows where it will lead? My first active rain referral was from an agent in Arizona!

@aPlaceOnTheLake

Too much mindless blather about mundane subjects to get me interested as of yet. I've even noticed a different type of post here on AR - short, sweet, ready for tweet. Who cares if your out grocery shopping with your husband!

Twitter is an excellent tool for agents to use when building their brand and connecting with clients. It's a great way to build relationships. I am exciting for to see more agents reaching out, using Twitter and sharing their industry expertise to help others. @RealLivingInc

@Ryan. I am following you Ryan. As you said, it is sometimes tough for people to get their minds around Twitter. One has to wonder why? It's actually very simple and merely a combination of blogging and texting.

@Sheri. I am following you too. You're right. That is one of the BIG benefits of Twitter. The speed of information distribution.

@Lane. Interesting thought. FB and Twitter are so different that I think both will enjoy big success.

@Jeff. Thanks for stoppong by but I am not late to Twitter. I know you have 6,400+ followers and I only have 4,000+ but I wrote about Twitter in my Trends Report 2-3 years ago.

This is just another post too try to encourage more Realtors to join the recent strong growth of Twitter so they may also benefit from using all the different types of Social Media available.

@Marte. I am now following you too. Thanks for the great about the Hudson plane crash.

@Joe. You still need to explore all the ways to maximize Twitter and hopefully you will find the best solution for you. It's not just about the 140 characters but like email, the fax or the phone, it is another new communication tools to use.

I am relatively new on Twitter and I like it. Great tool to get connected, to brand your business and to stay tuned. America discovered Short messaging later than Europe but just timely to come up with such a colloborative tool as Twitter.

I enjoy seeing different approached to using Twitter. Believe that Gary Vaynerchuk said that everyone can open an account on Twitter, Facebook, etc. but not everybody is great in using them, like everyone can play baseball but not everybody is a great player. Hope we'll learn all together how to play a great game on Twitter.

Stefan - I also agree with Rich. It is content that will produce the best results here on Twitter as well as any social networking sites. Keeping away from spammers will be the next big thing.

Stefan,

I still can'tr wrap my head around Twitter. Everybody tells me to try, so.....

I wrote a response so good I decided to turn it into a blog. But I am having trouble getting my mind around Twitter. I don't have the time either. I have an account, but I am not sure how to use it.

Wow, I had no idea. Yes, of course I've heard of Twitter and know that Oprah does it but I wasn't aware it was as wide spread as stated. I may just have to get signed up after all!

@Eric. Start with FB & Twitter. They are the two largest and most active social media platforms outside the real estate industry that are being used by real estate professionals.

@Meris. Use Twitter as a method to stay in regular contact with and engage you clients/customers. Furthermore use Twitter as a method to invite them to your other online platforms such as your blog, website, etc. where you have more space and opportunity to describe and explain your services.

Twitter really made it big at the SXSW music festival in Austin a few years ago. I still don't quite know how Biz Stone & Co. are going to monetize it. I find Twitter useful for periodic updates and news feeds, but find myself using it mostly on my iPhone, virtually never on a computer.

Hi Steve,

I've seen you speak a number of times and was frankly on the fence with Twitter...I think it's time I joined the party though.

thank you,

Stuart

I'm in a TWITTER about all this "social networking" thing anyway. I joined Facebook and it has been fun...takes up so much time though. Now that little blue bird--he is cute, but I'm still not sure how he would be of use to me in RE.

Love it...you can find me at @monrovian21

@Stuart. Welcome to the party.

@Sandra. Use Twitter and a way to engage and drive people to your website or blog where you can tell them more.

@Hugo. Iam now following you. Remember to follow me back.

I wish i new more about twitter..I am just gtting used to blogging

One interesting fact. My daughters ages 24 and 26 and their friends are very active on Facebook, but none are on twitter and many have not even heard of it. Yet most of my friends are on twitter although a lot rarely use it.

Stefan - I agree wholeheartedly. I have had a couple of sales from Twitter, and I have recruited two new agents to work with our company. Twitter is a valuable tool in anyone's social media arsenal.

The growth of Twitter and it's reach are just incredible to me. I don't know that it's the new morse code, but we'll see.

MAY

Thank you for the post - your comments and the responding posts have good information. We all certainly benefit by AR being inclusive of such a wide range of professionals - great bio.

Well said -- although I see a lot of REALTORS joining Twitter but fizzle out after a short while. What must be known is that to have an identity on Twitter requires a long-term and almost daily commitment to share valuable information and build online relationships by conversing and helping others.

To the narcissist agent who loved telling the world how great they are or to the agents who were not that good at developing trusting relationships prior to Twitter probably aren't going to find Twitter to be the magic pill that increases their business. Bottom line -- Twitter is just another (cool) tool that we as real estate professionals can use for building our businesses -- but like all others before it -- it requires skill, dedication and commitment. But, Buyer Beware -- lack of authenticity, sincerity or reliability is very obvious -- Can't be masked like behind a pretty picture on a postcard.

Great Post. Thanks!

Tweet may be the next thing and I did get an account a few months ago but have not been able to really get into it. I just don't have the energy for it. Too much to do.

MAY

I'm alreaady looking for the next, next big thing. Let me know.

I'd love to see research on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, etc., comparing the time it takes to actually make these social networks a CONSISTENT AND MEASUREABLE business generator vs the time it takes to do the tried and true methods of business generation.

I'm sure some people have had some type of success using networking sites and have made money. A great majority of Realtors have probably worked FSBO's or Expireds and received listings. With that said, where is the data that says networking sites are any more or less effective than keeping in contact once a month with past client?

Where is the research that says social networking sites are even statistically significant with the personal time involved?

Although I don't know this for sure, I'm willing to bet that if two agents were given a month to generate as many listings as they can with one agent calling FSBO's & Expireds and the other agent joining Twitter to generate listings, the FSBO/Expired agent will blow away the Twitter agent.

For long term business and relationships, I can set up a system that takes an hour a month to keep in contact with my clients (current and past). Social Network sites are not automatic by nature and require non-stop time and effort...and let's face it...if Realtors were capable of sticking with a system like this we wouldn't need these networking sites to begin with.

I'd also like to see research that says consumers are looking on social network sites when finding an agent. With signs, advertisement, flyers, email, relationships, competition, newsletters and a million other things, where is the research pointing to?

Besides doing real estate I also am involved in e-commerce and have signed up with a lot of 'gurus' autoresponders so I can keep up on the latest and greatest. Not a single day goes by where I'm not told that if I don't join 'so and so' I won't be successful...or if I don't spend $77 on this new information I might as well file for BK.

Years ago I was told that I needed to join Facebook. Then I was told I was crazy if I didn't join MySpace. Today, Twitter is the next 'big thing'. Well, you know what? I haven't joined any of them. In fact, I have never typed any of these into my browser to even see what they look like...and guess what? I have 68 verifiable listings, have three current buyers I'm physically showing houses to and I DON'T EVEN CARRY A CELL PHONE. Go figure that one out!!

With all this said, I'm not suggesting anyone do anything except to look at the big picture. Figure out where the consumers are and what they want then formulate a system that takes advantage of this.

If research turns out that social networking is the answer then dive head first and become the next super star. Otherwise, just use a little common sense and understand that these sites are just another one of a hundred ways to generate a client...and have not been proven statistically effective.

P.S. Stephan, don't stop with the Trends Report. Why every Realtor in America doesn't have a copy is beyone me!

Steve - Well said, well said. I often wonder myself.

MAY

I am also skipping Twitter for the next useful thing. Hearing about how someone liked a movie, or has a price change, or a plane crashed, 2 hours before I get the information via more conventional sources is not what I call progress. Who cares if I know it right now. There is a cost to that and it is mostly just keeping busy. I prefer to do what I am doing and not trying to do 5 things at once.

MAY

Hard to prioritze with multiple blogs, sites, tweeting, facing...and then, oh yes...selling real estate. Wish someone would find 6 more hours you could stay awake !

@Jason - Two new recruits from Twitter. Now thats using social media effectively. Congrats!

@Christine - no new morse code is really necessary. Just be brief. You'll get the hang of it quickly.

@Krisstina - Unfortunately real estate agents fizzle out after starting different things. Many agents have yet to learn that endurance is a very key skill to success.

@Anya - I agree. Energey - is a key ingredient to be able to endure and thus success.

@Diane - Keep me posted when you find the next "big thing." I'll be there.

@Steve - Wow. What a comment. Thanks for extensive contributions. I agree and also wish that every Realtor did have a copy of my Swanepoel TRENDS Report :-)

@Robert - Let me know if you find the "next big thing."

@Sally - Let me know if you find a way to get "6 extra hours" - I have been looking for years and haven't found it yet.

It might not be such a sure thing. There are some that disagree.

http://activerain.com/blogsview/1078534/it-s-confirmed-what-is-not-the-next-biggest-thing-

MAY

You can follow me @GladwinRealtor! Twitter is fabulous....when I have time :)

JUN

Stefan - I don't think twitter is going anywhere, but not sure of the real value of it in a business sense. Yes, it is a good way to communicate something to the masses, but if all you do is advertise, twitter will become just one giant infomercial, although one under 140 characters. I haven't yet figured out how to localize it either.

JUN

Stefan, I'm already following you on Twitter! And you're right that it's quickly gaining speed.

JUN

@Craig - Sure there are those that disagree. There are always peopel that disagree. That's life.

@Sonya - Already following you. Are you following me back?

@Troy - Twitter is definetly going somewhere. Question is can we as real estate professionals use if effectively. On that the verdict isn't out yet...but I think it is going to be yes.

@Regina - Cool. Lets tweet.

JUN

Now that we can follow people -- lets start following the history of the house so consumers can view anthing and everything about their house and community.

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