Today in the Columbus Dispatch... an article about City Center the downtown Columbus mall that the city wrestled away from the company that was mismanaging the mall a year ago.

When I moved to Central Ohio in 1990 I loved City Center.  I lived in northwest Columbus just inside 270 and tried Northland and Westland and for me the only place to shop in Columbus was City Center.... I am not much of a mall shopper anymore... I was at Macy's at Polaris last night but did not make it out into the mall from the department store.  

In May I went downtown for the Real Living Convention (Momentum 2008)  for an oversold continuing education class the first day, paid for valet parking and spent the morning roaming around downtown Columbus killing time. I did a little shopping in the museum shop at the Statehouse.  I bought some things at a CVS.  I thought it was odd that Real Living would invite people from all over the US to a conference in a downtown with no shopping but they pulled it off. 

I go downtown for Red, White and Boom, usually First Night Columbus (I skipped it in 2007) and a few other events. I occasionally go to COSI... I go to the Short North occasionally for a Gallery Hop.  I showed homes in the German Village area earlier this year.  I live and work on the far north-side of Columbus, Worthington, Polaris, Westerville.... north outer-belt.

I walked through the mall a couple of times in 2007.  There is a list in the Columbus Dispatch article of who the remaining tenants are.  Fast food, a Dollar Store....

There is housing in Downtown Columbus now... and there's more housing in urban areas contiguous to downtown than there has been in decades. It's just ironic that there is no shopping to speak of in downtown Columbus.  There will be something at City Center in the future... The Columbus Dipatch article says:

"A major factor in the mall's decline was the opening of several suburban retail developments. Georgetown Co., the developer of the most successful of these -- Easton Town Center -- has been brought in on the City Center revamp."

Gee whiz I hope not.. but why did I feel a strong urge to go out and steal a cartoonish image of a magnet to illustrate this post?

In "Is your blog a lawsuit magnet?" on Inman News (link below) Marcie Geffner wrote:

"Have you discussed your blog with your broker and agreed on guidelines and policies?"

Nope...

Not yet.

Would an open conversation on my ActiveRain blog be an OK place to start? Better late than never... Geffener's article made me yearn for guidance... (as well as a great image of a magnet.)

Hellooo...out there Real Living and Real Living HER:

What are the company policies and guidelines when it comes to blogging?  What about other social media?

"Just do it" ??? It being blog.

Who would you discuss it (blogging or social media)  with at your office?  Your manager?  Or would you contact someone higher up?  I thought about asking my manager about blogging when I started blogging on my RealTown blog in 2005 but I was not even sure I could explain what blogging is... or "why blog?" to Tom waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back then.  Or now.

I invited Tom Holcombe (my manager ) to ActiveRain in August 2006.  I will admit I invited Tom for the points. I wanted points, so I invited a couple of hundred people... a bunch joined relatively quickly.

At a presentation in the summer of 2007 about 360 Degree marketing we (Real Living HER)  were told to join ActiveRain by Marc Davison.  I believe Davison made the same presentation in some of the other Real Living markets.  If you joined because of Marc Davison's endorsement raise your hand (leave a comment.)

At Momentum 2008 we were told to join ActiveRain  Join ActiveRain   .... if you are with Real Living and  joined ActiveRain because of the presentation at Momentum 2008 raise your hand... (leave a comment)

This morning on Real Living News... on our Real Living Business center it says: 

"Tips for Writing an Effective and Legal Blog"   

The Real Living Business Center gives some valid points and then says....

"For more information on how to avoid blogging lawsuits, click here."  The "Click here" link is Marcie Geffner's article on Inman. Not finding fault with Real Living but what a vicious circle...

Do you believe more real estate agents would blog if they had parameters of what to say and not say? Real Living agents,  What did you think of the advice on Real Living today? I have a strong urge to cut and paste it here but... that would not be right.

This post was inspired by:

Robert Lockard's blog post  Bloggers beware! Copyright battle might be coming

Chris Dreyer's post about my new " Outside" blog being featured on Inman:

Inside Out? Inside Inman is Marueen's Outside blog Inside Active Rain

Image credit that is a "ferromagnetic material magnetic domains being magnetized" I think... the diagram is from JA.Davidson at en.wikipedia.  According to Wikipedia... it is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License so I am OK as long as I atttribute it to JA Davidson.... I think.  I don't really understand licensing... but hope I have all my ducks in a row.

boo hoo... I got removed from a group. I got an email from ActiveRain that said:

"Your post 'Real Living - Just Say NO to comment spam' has been removed from the group 'RealLiving' by an administrator/moderator. You should either review the guidelines for the group or contact this person if you have any questions."

Wait I removed the 'Real Living - Just Say NO to comment spam' post from the Real Living Group myself... I am the moderator / administrator / founder.... or one of the moderators of the Real Living group. I rewrote it and was having trouble with the editing, so I deleted it and reposted it.

I had read that we get emails when posts are removed from ActiveRain groups recently. I had never seen one before. That should help groups. Or kill off groups, depending on how people take the emails. I have banned a bunch of "bozos" from a couple of groups because they just did not get it...kept posting stuff that did not meet the group guidelines, over and over. Mostly in the 'My other blog is...' group and the now defunct because of mischief 'Welcome' group.

I got an email from an agent (not with Real Living) recently apologizing for posting things to the Real Living Group:

"I'm so sorry that I didn't realize Real Living was a brokerage and not an HGTV like group.

Hopefully, you can forgive me! I know I read an awesome post once and thought I just loved the topic and misread the group for what it wasn't.

Happy Monday!"

Gracious of her huh?

Forgive her? Of course!

She is not the first to not understand that Real Living is a real estate brand, like RE/MAX, Prudential, Coldwell Banker. Being mistaken for a maqazine, lifestyle brand is not the worst thing in the world. The Real Living Group's Guideline says:

"Real Living is a brokerage. A group for those associated with Real Living and their friends. Do not post listings or ads to the group UNLESS you are a Real Living Realtor. This group is not strictly Real Living HER, Central Ohio... This group is Real Living brokerages across the US. If you are affiliated with another real estate brokerage please don't post to the group, unless it has something to do with Real Living. Thanks"

This morning there were two posts about another brokerage posted to the Real Living group. From someone from Columbus Ohio (Real Living is based in Columbus Ohio.)

Neal Bloom recently changed the guidelines for the Almost Anything Goes group.

The Ethics and the Realtor Group Monika McGillicuddy founded has this guideline:

" Anything to do with the REALTOR Code of Ethics...Questions on Behavior...The Enforcement Process...Lets talk the Code..."

A recent post to the Ethics and the Realtor group says:

****Please do not add your listing posts, market reports, political and religious post, self promotion type posts as they will be removed from the group.****

I like groups for reading ActiveRain, or the groups that are moderated anyway. I can read by topic using groups.

Do you pay attention to group guidelines?

From Kraft Foods ...Kraft Foods owns the Kool-Aid Man who has his own website:

"NAME: KOOL-AID Man
HEIGHT: 8' tall and 5' wide
FUN FACT: I have 3 ice cubes in my head"

Is there a rule in real estate blogging about not pitching your company? What if your job is pitching your company?

Real Estate Brand - RE/MAX

Ken Tracy of RE/MAX - Naperville wrote a post on ActiveRain about Re/Max... Why RE/MAX?  

a comment:

"Easy Ken... that RE/MAX kool-aid is dangerous. You've broken the biggest blog rule by pitching yourself and your company. RE/MAX is just one way of doing business."

Well of course RE/MAX is just one way of doing business, Ken's choice and he's writing about it on his ActiveRain blog..."the  biggest blog rule" is against pitching yourself and your company?  Huh?  Do you feel there is a rule against blogging about your brand or company? 

Is being loyal to a real estate brand akin to standing in line to drink poisoned Kool-Aid? Re/Max, Coldwell Banker, Keller Williams, Exit, GMAC, ERA, Prudential, Century 21... IMHO one of the cool things about social media is that we mix with those from other brokerages.  Yeah we do that at the board for committees...too, kinda sorta.

Real Estate Brand - Exit Realty

An agent from my market, who is with Exit Realty posted an entry on her ActiveRain blog, Valerie McMichael wrote about Exit Realty

The first comment was:

"No offense Valerie, but is this real estate or Am Way"  I believe he must have meant "Amway."

Next comment....

"Your 30 second commercial is up.  This is not what AR is about."

A Keller William's agent understood something in Valerie's post to be Valerie referring to Keller-Williams so commented with a link to something he wrote, whatever he linked to has been deleted.

Brand wars?  It was Valerie's third and last post on ActiveRain.

Real Estate Brand - Real Living

The brokerage I work for, Real Living HER is part of Real Living, recently Chris Svec,  "the Vice President of New Market Development for Real Living, Inc"  joined ActiveRain.  Chris sells Real Living Franchises.  Don't want to buy a franchise or be recruited?  Run past Chris's blog... run quick. Or maybe Chris will start posting jokes and recipes on ActiveRain to win friends and influence people, only time will tell.

Last week Chris Svec had an agent with an indepependent broker camping out on his blog. edit He is with a national brand ??? I must have had him confused with someone else.  A funny comment on Brad Whiteman's blog (a Real Living Franchisee's blog) ABOUT Chris Svec says:  

"WOW, so the companies that were doing some of these things before HER/Real were not really the first one's? 

I am on a fact finding mission for half-truth's and lies out of the Real Living camp after reading some of Chris Svec's slanderous comments and witnessing his attempt to encourage real estate broker price fixing, even though he himself is not licensed and probably unaware of what he is and is not allowed to say when representing his employer...even though he thinks a disclaimer gets him off the hook.

I see that I do not have to look far for what I am looking for...it just took three or four clicks to find more.

Al Gore just called me.  He said he didn't actually invent the Internet, but that Real Living did.  (sarcasm, of course, since I do not practice lying...this little thing unheard thing called "code of ethics" that I adhere to.) "

Psst...  I believe Chris Svec is licensed in Ohio.  Wow... what did Real Living ever do to him?

I went looking for Chris encouraging "price fixing" or Chris slandering anyone or another brand and I can't find it...    If you read his blog assuming Chris Svec is not going to write about Real Living, you will be disappointed.  In fact you may become a raving, ranting lunatic if you continue to read Chris's blog if you have something against people blogging about their brand, or against Real Living.  Above is from Brad Whiteman's Who's First Real Living which is all about Real Living.

I was at the Real Living convention this week, Momentum 2008 but I must have missed the Kool-Aid.

In his keynote address at Momentum 2008 today Stefan Swanepoel told Real Living agents and brokers "Join ActiveRain"

The dynamic blogging duo of Chris Svec and Scott Hoyt shared some of Momentum 2008, so far. Scott Hoyt of Real Living Partners from Cary North Carolina, is visiting Columbus. Chris Svec is Vice President of New Market Development for Real Living, Inc, and does real estate franchising and agent recruiting.

Scott and Chris have photos and videos of Momentum 2008 on their ActiveRain blog entries that include:

Great Morning in Columbus

Time for Registration!

Harley on why he's excited about Momentum 08

Merchandise At Momentum

Momentum 2008

Stefan Swanepole at Momentum

Harley Kicks It Off!

Momentum: First hour.

Real Living CEO Speaks At Momentum - Video

Dan Riley - More Momentum Video Dan Riley is from Real Living Realty One, in Cleveland Ohio.

Catchin Up With A-Mag - Video Andrew Magliochetti is the owner of Real Living Helios in Chicago

... and that was just Thursday!

Real You Incorporated 

I had an opportunity to read a book written by a female entrepreneur and Columbusite that is just now hitting the book stores. 'Real You Incorporated' by Kaira Sturdivant-Rouda was published by John Wiley & Son's Inc.

Kaira is the President of Real Living, a real estate brokerage. Real Living is based in Columbus Ohio but has offices across the country. Since the formation of Real Living from three family owned Ohio companies, there has been a decidedly feminine focus toward the brand created. Disclaimer? Disclosure?  I am a real estate agent with Real Living HER, the Central Ohio (Columbus area) region of Real Living. The letters H.E.R. in the Central Ohio brokerage's name are Kaira's father-in-law's.. Harley E. Rouda Sr. and her husband's Harley  Rouda Jr's initials...

A  brand that is really about you

The book 'Real You Incorporated' is written to women, about women and subtitled '8  Essentials for Women Entrepenuers.'  The 'Real You Incorporated' website says " Women make up 51% of the US population, but make 85% of all purchasing decisions - making American Women the largest national economy on Earth" USA Today. Men who want to participate in business with the largest national economy on Earth might be interested too.. 

Kaira weaves the story of the creation of Real Living, her personal history as a business woman and the stories of sixteen other business women into 'Real You Incorporated' while giving instructions on building your own, real, unique brand.

The history of how the Rouda family and two other Ohio families merged their businesses and developed Real Living, the new real estate brokerage from the 50 +/- year old real estate companies, is a big part of the book.  Real Living, the real estate company is "not your father's Oldsmobile...  

One of the sixteen business women featured in Real You Incorporated is Tripti Kasal, a real estate broker and owner of Real Living Infinity, in Chicago.    Tripti Kasal on ActiveRain Real Estate Network 

Real You Incorporated is not all real estate. Other women entrepenuers featured in 'Real You Incorporated' include a Columbus woman restaurant owner, the owner of a Columbus company that manufactures ice cream, women who work in public relations, a pilates and yoga instructor, who owns her business, a woman in the world of fashion, a jewelery cleaner manufacturer and more.  The businesses are diverse.  Some are Central Ohio business women and some are not.  All are inspiring and share how they got where they are.

I found  Twitter from someone's recommendation on ActiveRain. 

I am not sure whose.  I kind of remember it as Jeff Turner...

I never understood Twitter but I have been a member since March. I update it every few weeks whether I need to or not. That shows I am not using Twitter right.  I just noticed you can say if you are at home, at work... somehow that bothers me but then again I am paranoid.

Marc Davison of  1000watt Consulting spoke at our company (Real Living HER)  meeting yesterday.  Davison recommended Twitter. His explanation made Twitter a bit clearer than it had been.  

None of my friends Twitter.  Most of my friends don't blog, many don't check their email with any frequency, I don't see them Twittering soon. I don't know if any of my clients Twitter.

When I recently commented on Jeff Turner's March entry about Twitter asking if he was still twittering he responded yes and:

"I can see apps being built on it's API to allow more effective group communication."

Like real estate teams?  Real Estate companies? 

I got an email from Twitter Tuesday that someone is "following me."  The name kinda sorta sounds familiar. I assumed it was someone from ActiveRain but it is someone in Columbus.  I'll be checking to see if he is someone from my company... actually I think he may be a friend of a friend.  Do we follow friends of friends until our friends become members of Twitter so we can follow them?

I have Twitter on my Discover Columbus blogin the side bar.  I used to have Twitter on ActiveRain in the sidebar but I removed it.

After the Real Living HER marketing presentation where they (Marc Davison or Alex Wright Green our marketing guru... I am sure Alex has another title, a real title.... ) mentioned Twitter, Linked In, MySpace and ActiveRain (among other social media the good, the bad and the ugly) I am trying to get profiles in place on each.  I joined, I accept friends, I even have a couple of followers  but I am not active on much of any of it really, except ActiveRain. I don't remember anyone mentioning Facebook  (or MySpace) during the company meeting Tuesday but Alex from marketing "friended"  me yesterday... or asked me to be friends.   

I "poked" Patty Abass, a co-worker yesterday.  Poking is Facebook.  Facebooks on the front cover of Newsweek August 27, 2007 edition. Journalist Steven Levy has a big Facebook article including a sub article "Is it OK to Poke You?" about Facebook ettiquette.   Patty poked me, I'm just poking back.  But maybe I poked Patty first.  I don't remember....

Personally I like Facebook better than MySpace. I don't get Twitter and I admit I am paranoid about having followers. 

I got an email from someone via ActiveRain last week asking for info from MLS about homes on a particular street.  Not homes for sale.  History. I wrote back "Do I know you?"  I have not heard back from the anonymous person.  The email was not really asking if I would pull the info, it was instructing me to pull the info and how detailed the anonymous person wanted the information from two to three years ago.  I felt the email was written as an assignment rather than a request. More importantly the information requested is not public information, I felt like the request was an invasion of someone's privacy.  I just could not tell whose privacy. A homeowners? A buyers?  A sellers?  A listing agents?  A selling agents?  I could not tell why someone would anonymously request that information from astranger via the Internet.  A stranger who has nothing to do with any of the information requested.  

Real estate agents, what would you have done?

I have worked with buyers who found me from my blog.  You know nothing about them but they know you. 

Back to social media, Twitter, Facebook...  I worry about all this what if I get confused and Poke someone on Twitter and follow someone on Facebook? 

When people ask me about Twitter I am going to start saying  "I can see apps being built on it's API to allow more effective group communication."  hopefully that will stop them dead in their tracks. I don't know if I am comfortable with some of Web 2.0 but then again I am paranoid.

There's a Real Living 'For Sale' sign is in a music video. 

On our company intranet it says: "Real Living has hit the country music circuit! A Real Living yard sign can be seen in the new Montgomery Gentry music video for their song "What Do You Think About That?" The yard sign is shown a few times within the first minute of the video. " 

Montgomery Gentry "What Do You Think About That" (full length video) is on CMT.com Click on the song title to play the video... you may have to watch a commercial first, once I got a Chevrolet commercial, but usually I get a commercial for Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.  Once or twice I got away with seeing the video without watching a commercial!

Must be new, I can't find a YouTube of the video.  I like music videos.  I especially like music videos when they tell a story.

This video tells a story but I don't get it.  The song is about gossip?  People talking about people?  People caring about what people think about them?  Or not caring?  There is a neighborhood, there's a house with a Real Living sign, there is a couple who bought the house? There's a moving truck.  Moving in? The motor cycle (a "Vengeance Banshee"?), the drag race? They lost me. 

It's a Real Living sign but I am not sure which market or what franchise. I saw the logo.

BlogTour USA was in Columbus on Friday.  Joe and Rudy talked to a group of some "blog curious" Central Ohio people... mostly real estate agents, many affiliated with Real Living HER.

I was not there for Candace's question during Joe and Rudy's question and answer period.  I was sequestered in a work room doing a "live blog."  My boss wanted me to write a blog entry  in front of the group gathered in Columbus for BlogTour USA but I get so nervous... I could not have typed in front of all those people...

Later in a bar... (Amano's Worthington... I just drank water... really.)  Joe and Tom Holcombe (my boss) said Candace Foreman had a question about doing a blog and putting it on her website. Candace Foreman is an agent with Real Living HER's Powell Office. I met Candace at BlogTour USA Friday.  Candace is an ActiveRain member!

As I understood it Candace wants to promote her Real Living website and have a blog show up on that  website. 

I thought Candace (and other Real Living agents) could put a blog on their Real Living website  in a couple of ways....

1. Links on a general website page like I do on the Blogs - Real Estate page of my website. I've had this up for a few months on my Real Living website. It's OK.

2.  As a link page... I don't like the way link pages work on Real Living websites personally.. but that may be the easiest way to do it. Here's an example of a link page to a website...I linked to my WordPress.org blog ColumbusBestBlog.com on my Real Living website.  

WOW ColumbusBestBlog actually looks pretty good there, thanks Candace.. I never would have tried it if not for your question on Friday.  OK maybe it does not look good... but it works.

Sunday Cheryl Johnson wrote a blog titled: I Frame, You Frame, We All Frame ..It's Members Only but I am going to quote the html instruction Cheryl shared. I can't resist.  Cheryl wrote...

Copy and paste this code into your blog post:

<p align="center"><iframe src="http://www.activerain.com" height="450" width="450" scrolling="yes"></iframe></p>

Cheryl's html would put ActiveRain on your blog or website in an iframe.  I don't know html... I just monkey see, moneky do this stuff. 

Following Cheryl's directions I put my ActiveRain blog on my Real Living HER website, look.

The html code I am using on my Real Living Website to put my ActiveRain blog on is:

<p align="center"><iframe src="http://www.activerain.com/blogs/columbusOh" height="600" width="600" scrolling="yes"></iframe></p>

Replace the http://www.activerain.com/blogs/columbusOh  with your blog's url...  You have to kind of play with it.  I tried going wider but then my personal photo on AR showed in addition to the photo of me on my Real Living website.  One photo of me on my screen at a time is more than enough....  thanks.

Real Living agents for additional help call the Real Living help desk, that is what they are there for.

Do you work in the real estate industry but are  not an ActiveRain Member? - Join  ...that way you can read all of Cheryl Johnson's hands on "how to's" ...  thanks for all you've shared with us on ActiveRain Cheryl. 

The BlogTour USA bus stopped here in Columbus. NOW. 

Joe and Rudy of BlogTour USA and Sellsius Real Estate Blog  are here! 

The BlogTour USA guys slept in Goodale Park last night!

It is here in the parking lot of Real Living HER Worthington... after visiting our downtown corporate office.   Oooops.   We probably should have told them the address huh?

Gray skies but no rain yet...  

Elaine Reese did a great presentation about blogging that is outside for bloggers and non bloggers to watch.

Who is here to greet BlogTour USA?   

Sondra Johnson of ColumbusRealEstateVoice.com

Jonathan of  DCS-Media.com    (a non real estate blogger)

Toby Boyce of  Sadie's Take on Delaware Ohio  and Sadie!!! 

Joe Peffer of Columbus Real Estate  and Elaine Reese of Reeses Pieces of Real Estate

Me of Columbus Best Blog  of course...

We're still hoping to see more bloggers and we can add photos in the comments. 

If you work in the real estate industry and are not an ActiveRain Member -   Join

Anyone I missed?   

Limited Time Offer! YOU may comment spam!

Experienced bloggers reading this... here's a one time only opportunity to comment spam! For the unfamiliar with blogging among us, if you comment would you in your comment tell us who you are, where you are,  What you are (a real estate agent, a loan officer, a web designer, an innocent bystander)  and give us a link to your outside blog if you have one.   We can show those reading this how to find your ActiveRain info and blog from the link if you are signed in on ActiveRain.  Of course we can show them how to find who you are, what you are, where you are... from the link... but humor us this one time only please and comment spam us.