SOCIAL MEDIA IS ABOUT COMMUNICATION AND INTERACTION

Yesterday, I ran into two examples where real estate professionals placed obstacles in the way of customers, colleagues and/or readers who attempted to use the social networks to contact the members.  It appears that these agents didn't recognize the simple fact that social networks such as ActiveRain, LinkedIn, and Facebook are based on communication and interaction.  When you place obstacles that impair interaction, you limit communication and defeat the power of social networks - namely, networking.

SOCIAL MEDIA STUMBLING BLOCKS AND BAD NETIQUETTE

Here are four recent examples:

• Blocking Comments:  On ActiveRain, I read two very well written posts on real estate marketing and goal setting by two separate authors.  When I went to post comments to these posts, I discovered that the authors of the posts had disabled the ability of ActiveRain members to post comments on their blog posts.  Now, I understand that there may be limited occasions where comments may need to be restricted or deleted.  For example, on political or other highly charged issues, you may want to make a statement and restrict comments.  However, these posts were real estate related.  It limited the ability of these author's colleagues to say "good thought provoking post", to ask a follow-up question, or, in one case, to say "congratulations on your new position."
• Requiring E-Mail Address to Send Invitations:  Similarly, on LinkedIn, I ran across two members of ActiveRain who had their privacy settings on LinkedIn to either prohibit requests for connections or require the input of the person's e-mail address.  To add to the problem, one of the members e-mail address on their website didn't match the required e-mail address to be entered on LinkedIn.
• Overly Strict Invitation Acceptance Policy:  In addition to these examples, I sent a request to connect to a real estate agent with whom I had a sale in 2008.  It was one of the real estate agent's two sales in 2008.  I received an abrupt reply saying "Do I know you?"  Now, it seems that the person could have simply clicked on my LinkedIn profile and saw my prior employer, our property brochures (where her client purchased), etc.
• Whitelist or Approved List E-Mail Filter:  In addition to these examples, one ActiveRain member had a spam filter on their incoming e-mail that required e-mail senders to subscribe to the person's whitelist.  Unfortunately, after receiving a request to be placed on the person's whitelist, there was no response.  After calling the ActiveRain member to make a referral, I received a "sorry about that reply."

WHY... WHY... WHINE

I don't really understand why real estate professionals limit their access to their customers, colleagues and/or readers.  There may be compelling reasons why you block comments on ActiveRain, restrict invitations on LinkedIn, don't accept invitation on LinkedIn or Facebook, or require e-mail sender to be on your approved list.  However, it is burdensome and restricts communication thereby impairing the value and utility of social networks - namely, the ability to network.

ALTERNATIVES TO BLOCK OR MANAGE SPAM

In the age of spam, it is understandable that someone might want to limit access.  Here are some suggested approaches:

• Report Spam to ISPs and Social Networks- ActiveRain is very responsive and actively takes steps to block spam when notified.  Similarly, if you report spam to your ISP, reputable ISPs will restrict or block the account after a substantial number of reports.
• Use Separate E-mail Addresses for Social Networks - Set up a free Gmail  or Yahoo e-mail address to receive social network related notifications.
• Use Outlook to Block Spam - Outlook allows you to place sender's e-mail address on blocked list that places the e-mail in your junk e-mail folder or even deletes the unwanted e-mails.
• Mask your E-Mail Address - Use image, captcha or other web based service to mask your e-mail address from view by spam-bots and scrappers.  Here are a few services:
  • Spam Proof eMail Generator (uses images)
  • MailHide ReCaptcha (uses captcha)
  • Kontactr (uses form that hides e-mail address)
  • ReachBy (uses form that hides e-mail address)
  • Contactify (uses form that hides e-mail address)
• Use Temporary or Disposable E-Mail Addresses - Use temporary or disposable e-mail addresses that forward to your main e-mail address.  When you receive spam, simply cancel address.  Here are a few services:
  • Spam Motel (disposable)
  • Spamgourmet (automatically cancels after 3 forwarded messages)
  • MintEmail (automatically expires after set time period)
  • BugMeNot (disposable login data)

However, the simplest solution to the perceived issues that may motivate a person to block comments or restrict invitation may just be hitting the delete button or declining an invitation.

If you block comments or restrict who can send invitations or communicate with you, I would be curious to know what the though process is behind these actions.  I always like to learn and see if I am missing something.  Any insight as to the "why" would be appreciated.

Interested in using technology to market and sell homes?  Need a speaker for an upcoming sales meeting or other event?  Contact Ryan Shaughnessy at PREA Signature Realty at 314-971-4381 or send an e-mail to Ryan@PREASignatureRealty.com.  Or, in the alternative, visit the Tech Toolbox for useful technology links.