There's an interesting quiet revolution going on around the Active Rain network. A simple notification showed up on my e-mail server. I had totally forgotten about the fact that I'd signed up for this website....probably after reading a recommendation to do so.
After a few submission, I gave up. It seemed my efforts had dropped into a fathomless dark hole. I was the only one it seemed digging my stuff...embarrassing. It was worse than being ignored...this was the ultimate snub...the fate accorded to articles deemed utterly irrelevant. If you haven't figured it out...I'm talking about digg.
Recently, I started getting e-mail notifications...sometimes several a day... from bloggers here at Active Rain who for whatever inexplicable reasons were re-connecting with digg. I did a search Active Rain to see what was going on...it was as though this long forgotten networking forum was experiencing a Resurrection. At this point the miracle of the resurrection seems limited to bloggers simply refreshing their digg profiles, poking around to see who else is there, dropping a few shout outs and perhaps becoming a fan or friend to another member.
Most of the folks are not doing a lot with their profiles probably for the same reason I dropped out after initially registering mine. We're all a little sqeemish about being ignored! But...we may be missing a unique opportunity here. Roberta Murphy's post about driving traffic to Active Rain is well worth reading. So are these:
Need Help from Everyone at Active Rain by Ken Smith
Digg.com by Maureen Francis
Did you know that there's even a New Digg-LIKE service for real estate professionals?
If you're perplexed by all the DIGGING going on...read Elizabeth Chris Griffin's article and the comment thread about feeling as though she was suddenly being digged to death!
I just completed a search to see what was popular on the topic real estate on digg. With the Exception of an article on "Real Estate in Dubai" which had over 1400 diggs, most other blog posts on real estate looked a little lonely and forlorn...1-2 diggs. And...the guy who wrote the fascinating article on Dubai is NOT even a real estate agent. It seems like we may be missing a huge opportunity to get our own stories out! What do you think? Do you Digg?
Other Digg Notable Mentions about Real Estate
New Commercial Real Estate Web 2.0 Start-up - 11 diggs
Article by RIS Media on Launch of Zolve.com - 2 diggs - I found this low number surprising as RIS is a major Internet media outlet. Digg obviously has different rules about what is considered popular and worth reading. But the fact remains, this medium is shaping the context of the conversation about a number of topics...real estate included.
After going through page after page of real estate related digg submissions...there were more than 500 in all with 1,2 or 3 diggs...it became depressing. I'm wondering, why aren't real estate professionals supporting ourselves on this forum, yet we continue to submit articles. It seems to me that we've chosen to allow other people to tell our story on a forum which has tremendous amplification potential.
The photo in this post is from my experimentation with a new photoshop program. It's unfinished. Is this what we're doing by submitting hundreds of articles to digg without supporting other real estate writers...particularly bloggers who we know write good stuff from Active Rain? To me it feels like we're posting an unfinished picture...not entirely committed to what it will take to be truly relevant in a Web 2.0 world. Hey, I'd digg your thoughts...
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69 Comments on What's Worse than Being Digged to Death....
There are so many things to do. I have to blog, digg, read, comment, work on my SEO... and maybe I should find some time to market and sell a few houses...
I know, I need to hire an agent to work for me so I can get everything else done.
Lola -thanks so much for such intelligent and beautifully articulated post and responses. I did not do Digg, because I was not sure if real estate can be real popular in peoples minds. Nobody ever lines up to take pictures of famous agents. To us real estate is fascinating, to the public at large it can be just a necessary evil.
If your idea is for AR people to digg, as a way to increase traffic to the authors post, may be that is possible. Why real estate people spend time on things that don't improve their business. They may be experimenting, or don't know or want to measure results. I am now very seriously reviewing my AR time. I know I will continue to learn -your post is the best example. As to improved business - I am evaluating my blog and what it has and has not done for me and, of course, looking for ways to do better.
Lola,
Thanks, I will have to go back and review this. I too just looked it over but I see I might have to do some research.
Thanks again
Lola, thanks for commenting on my recent AR post and thanks for the Digg piece above. Forgot all about them.
G
The whole Digg phenomena is about understanding the culture of the group (just like on AR).
There is a whole list of Digg "Elitists" who keep many quality stories from ever getting to the top, or who quietly promote stories with spectacular results. I've had a few stories bumped onto the first page of Digg and resulted in many thousands of visitors.
The effect of getting a story on top of Digg is not very beneficial to most real estate professionals. It does produce a high value link for SEO if done correctly, but overall the net effect is rather poor ROI.
The RISMedia article is a good example- no one on Digg really knows who RISMedia is. Worse yet, even if they did, the aspect of RISMedia being a major news provider in the real estate world may actually cause distress in the Digg community (it is very counter culture)
~Barry
Lola -- How are things in the LP!? I had never heard of Digg and now I have even more on my plate! Thanks alot! LOL
www.gmacpn.com/shagee
Hi Diane A, Thanks for your comment. Mary McNight's opinion about SEO is one that I respect. That's interesting that you saw such a huge increase in traffic after she digged a post that you wrote.
Donna...Totally understand the time thing. Personally, I am only interested in things that maximize the utilization of my time. Thanks for stopping to read and comment.
Scott....Thanks for your comment.
Hi Ed, Thanks for stopping by. Increasing traffic is one of the reasons why blogging can be so effective. If you're never seen on the Internet, your efforts are inconsequential. If a service like digg does actually improve traffic, it could be valuable to become more familiar with it. On the surface, it seems to make sense to me too.
Lane...LOL...It might be nice to even get someone to write a blog post from time to time! :) Thanks for stopping by. I'd agree that the job of an agent seems to increasing by leaps and bounds...
Hi Shane, Thanks for stopping by. It's interesting stuff...
Geno, Appreciate your comment. Thanks.
Barry, THANK YOU for some very helpful insights about digg.com. If what you said is going on, these participants are actually faciltating the slow destruction of a very valuable piece of "online real estate"...now how ironic is that! The only way this works in the end is if the system is transparent.
"Digg on the dark side" is a real threat to the future of a network like this. That's why companies like Google are so relentless in their pursuit to make sure that those who game the system don't get the upper hand. They get it...the future of their business is on the line. I don't have personal experience with digg, but if what you say is true, it will be interesting to see if the network continues to thrive.
Hi James, Thanks for stopping by. Thanks for sharing your experience. Would really be interested in hearing more about how this has worked for you.
Jim & Maria...Appreciate your comment. Thanks.
Hi John, Appreciate your stopping by to read and comment. Haven't tried digging anything lately...but from looking at the results from other submitted articles, it didn't seem to be working very well for real estate professionals so far.
Hi Faina, Thanks for your thoughtful comment. The process of evaluation is ongoing and is a necessary aspect of remaining healthy professionally and personally.
Good to have you back...
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