Ask An Ambassador: You Are What You Publish

Hello Bill (and Liz too) - I have said it before and will likely repeat more than once (perhaps before the day ends) life is interesting where certain messages seem quite apparent to me but they remain mysterious (if not unknown) to others I encounter.  The advice in your post today is yet another example.  A good wake-up call or a reminder for those who may hit the snooze button.  

Hi Bill,
I totally agree. We are told not to be judgmental. However, I admit to being "judgmental" when it comes to what people publish. It influences whether I want to interact with them or not. Perhaps "influence" IS a better word but "judgmental" fits too.

Even commenting here on AR, we leave an impression on who we are and what we stand for. If we have a strong opinion about something, do we really want to broadcast it and portray a certain image?  It's always good to think twice before we press that "publish" button.  IMHO

Great points. I stopped promoting myself as an expert on HDFC co-op's because these are the toughest, most time consuming types of sales I could work on- and in most cases for less money than market rate unit co-op's or condos. HDFC's are income restricted co-op sales- though honestly a large portion of the buyers are receiving huge gifts from their parents- and the buyers are early in their careers so they still fit within the income restriction. A large portion of these buildings are dealing with management political in-fighting (i.e. do we allow family gifting, can we sublet these apartments, etc)- and a large portion of these buildings will reject 50% or more of the buyers - which happens after the buyer has invested a ton of time on the purchaser board package (which is far more intrusive than what a bank will request from a buyer). We have a bunch of unusual residential financial/legal structures that aren't common elsewhere- so there are a lot of ways I can blog and provide expertise without wasting my time. 

One must be careful and balance one's ethics against one's public remarks. I do not use FB for real estate. Also I restrict the sharing of what I post to friends only.

The brokerage has a FB page and that works for me. 

Yes indeed. Sometimes what we say is smart, and what we choose not to say is wisest of all.

Liz and Bill Spear, first and foremost, is that your cat and did you take the pic :-)

Second, While we have a company Facebook page, and it's helpful, I'm very careful about what I post. The Interweb lives forever.

Third, I am thankful for living in a place where we can choose how we want to spend our time, and with whom. 

Liz and Bill Spear - Here's what I like best about this post:

PPSS Repeat. Choose posts wisely. Posts can attract or repel. Continue or discontinue - choose wisely. Focus on community. Track results. First impressions matter. 

In sum, risk reduction and ethics are top priority. What you do, say, and how you behave or portray yourself can make or break you and your wallet. 

 

I thought it was the story about Lily the Cat.  I was wrong.  Have a good day.

Sam Shueh

Good morning Bill,

You are so right what we publish goes a long way toward determining if we have significant success with our blogging. I've found one must be careful and balance one's ethics against one's public remarks. 

I've considered writing about several new neighborhoods. As I look back, that kind of post resulted in the most inquiries in the past. So thanks for re-directing my focus on posts that work.

I'm with you Bill, cats and dogs get attention.  People love their animals, as I do mine so I blog the condos and homes that will accept them.  Some issues are just not for blogging, in my opinion.   

You got my attention upon seeing those beautiful cat eyes!

My take from your blog is the importance of finding blog subjects that attract the attention of the clients we seek.

Also ... "some things are better off not said" publicly.

Liz & Bill,

A valid post, to be shared in what appears to be, today’s increasingly polarized society. 

I always attempt to “balance” my comments or blog posts, so as to share valuable information while at the same time minimize comments which may appear to criticize or offend varying segments of the readership. It can be a difficult task to share a valuable “teaching moment” without singling out or identifying acts of blind ignorance or conceited stupidity. Those of us who have been at it for a while, have experienced numerous examples of that which I speak. 

There’s an “old” saying here in Dixie, “if you can’t say something nice about another, don’t say nuthin”! Southerner’s with “walkin ‘round sense” recognize that silence tells you all you need to know about another individual and his or her character. 
One aspect of sharing information or experience’s for the purpose of providing  a teaching moment, don’t over  “sanitize” the story to a point where the importance of certain details are minimized or eliminated. 

It takes effort and practice to author an article or post whereby you get your point(s) across without alienating a large portion of the readership. 

I’ll leave with this quote authored by, 

Coach Paul W. “Bear” Bryant

”Show class, have pride and display character. If you do, winning takes care of itself.”

You are so true an di want to thank you that i found your posts so many years ago with such great advise. The one topic about foreclosures helps and haunts me. I list and sell foreclsoures in both boom times and recessions. Many asset managers actually found me on AR. But s have many people losing their home calling me for help that i can just not give as they are out of state. I could say a massive amount of calls some of which were NH related that i did help. My future posts will have to have a disclosure. 

Authenticity is my thing and the thing that kind of sets apart The good interactions from the great ones