To make the concept of “Web 2.0″ simple, we came up with the following:

The first generation of the Internet net offered one way communication. You got on line, found the information you needed and that was it. Now, the second generation; or Web 2.0, offers two way communication. Blogs offer readers the opportunity to communicate with others, social networks create communities, and Wikis allow readers and users to edit and add content to the site. The first generation of the Internet gave you the tools to talk to your clients, now you can talk with them.

We could not have said it any better than Business Week, “Social Media Will Change Your Business. Look past the yakkers, hobbyists, and political mobs. Your customers and rivals are figuring blogs out. Our advice: Catch up…or catch you later”

We know, most of you don’t have time to read a blog let alone manage one. We understand, but that does cause an issue for today’s business. Why? You ask. There are some 9 million blogs out there, Yes, there were 9 million, but how many of them were active? Probably only a fraction. In early 2008, says Technorati Chairman David Sifry, the search company indexes 112 million blogs, with 120,000 new ones popping up each day. But only 11% of these blogs, he says, have posted within the past two months. That means the active universe is closer to 13 million blogs. Kevin Burton, CEO of FeedBlog, argues that the number should be lower, from 2 million to 4 million blogs. with 40,000 new ones popping up each day. Some discuss poetry, others constitutional law. And, yes, many are plain silly. “Mommy tells me it may rain today. Oh Yucky Dee Doo,” reads only one April Posting. Let’s assume that 99.9% are equally off point. What we didn’t see in early 2005 was the advent of the spam blog. These blogs, produced automatically, are designed to show up in search results and to attract Google advertisements known as AdSense. Sifry estimates that fully 99% of the blog posts reaching search engines are spam. So what? That leaves some 40 new ones every day that could be talking about your business, engaging your employees, or leaking those merger discussions you thought were hush-hush.

The point here, is your customers are on line and they are blogging. This is not the only weapon in your on line or social media arsenal but it is a great place to start. Never done any writing before? No problem. Don’t know where to start? No problem. Want to know how to get your sites viewed by more potential customers. Crooked Tree Press.

According to a survey by California based staffing firm Accountemps, Keeping employees up to speed may be the best way to boost their moods during hard times.  The survey polled 150 senior executives from the nations 1,000 largest companies, and nearly half of all respondents said that better company-wide communication is the best remedy for low morale.  Thirty-three said a lack of open, honest communication in the workplace had the most negative effect on workers’ attitudes.

A study published in BMJ, a British medical journal, indicates that people to which you are connected have a lot to do with your happiness. The research is the latest investigation into how our social connections-neighbors, friends, family, co-workers, fellow congregants at church and other associates-affect us. The premise is that we live in a social environment that shapes what we do and how we think and feel. The primary finding of the study indicates that people who are surrounded by happy people are more likely to be happy themselves.

Go Green! It is a term we hear constantly in the media and on the streets. It is a responsibility of which to be proud!
In today’s society we are hearing more and more about the affect of our actions on the earth and that we must take action now in order to save the earth for future generations.

As research has shown we have a small window to make a difference and we need to act now. We live in a society that does not look into the future, we live in the present. This is a known fact. So, if we are a society that does indeed in live the present, then we need to challenge ourselves to begin looking into the future, if not for us but for our children and our children’s children.

By just making a few changes in our life style we can each make a difference and if each one of us just choose one or two things to help the global warming problem can you imagine what a difference we can make together? HUGE! So, take a few minutes to visit the following links to see how you and your family can begin the process of Going Green.

By teaching the children of today, they will develop compassion to make it a priority to keep our earth safe for future generations.

Interesting fact:

Virtual Assistants are going green everyday! How do we do this?

* We do not pollute our air with carbon monoxide
* Spend less money on gas
* Save trees by using electronic files as opposed to paper files
* Use artificial lighting
* Use recycled materials
* Travel is not expected

The next step you can take in your effort to go green is to go virtual as well!

There is no doubt that the real estate industry is one of, if not the toughest profession. Not only are there a lot of licensed agents out there, they are motivated. So, when competition is thick, how do you differentiate yourself from the others? One of the easiest, although sometimes overwhelming phases of your marketing strategy is your on line presence. The great thing about your on line marketing campaign is that it works for you 24/7. While you are out showing property, performing a listing presentation, or even sleeping; your on line efforts are at work.

A critical part of your web effort that some agents tend to forget, is that you have to stay on top of it. This is not something you just throw together and then forget about. It is critical that you update your profiles and add new content to your sites, blogs, and on line communities. For example, what do you think when you go to a blog that has not been updated in a couple of weeks? Where did they go? Are they still in the business? You already know how important it is to stay in front of your clients and prospects with e-mail and mailings; it is just as important to do so on line.

A great tool that many blog services offer to assist you with this task is that of post dating your blog entries. Take some time to write a few articles in one sitting, but schedule them to post at a later date. Do this once a week and you have a great pipe line of articles created. Another great tool for Twitter is called tweetlater. Much like post dating you blog posts, tweetlater allows you to post date your tweet updates. Going out of town? Just want to stay ahead of things? These are two great tools to help you. Stay tuned for more helpful hints from Agent Nation.

So you started a blog, now what? How do you get and retain readers? How do people even find your blog? You will hear a lot about search engine optimization, or SEO, as you get more involved. For those of you not familiar with the term, SEO is the act of taking steps to make your blog or site search engine friendly. We are going to give you some SEO tips, but first off, keep in mind as you write your blog posts, you have two audiences. Your first audience should be your readers and your second audience is the search engines. Like losing the forest for the trees, it is important to remember that if you focus too much on SEO you will miss the point of blogging, which is to provide your readers with information, to network, and create community.

Simple SEO Tips:

~Be specific in your blog topics and page titles. You will rank higher on search engines with “Red Brink House on Mulberry Street” than you will with Anytown Real Estate.

~When loading images, make sure you have named them and are not using the standard camera assigned identification.

~When writing your articles, use key words more often than the word “it”, to improve your ranking opportunity.

Marketing your blog is as important as search engine optimization and does not have to be time consuming. Consider your blog as one more item in your branding toolkit. Prospecting in this business is an on-going effort. Consider your blog one of your tools in your long term investment. Much like your pipeline of prospects, to maintain readers and enjoy return visitors to your blog, you need to offer an incentive. Provide your readers with information that they need. Create a niche market, just like you did when you first got into real estate. You are already a pro at networking, take those skills on line to increase the radius of your circle of influence.