Mouth 2 Mouth

If there are any Eugene, Oregon area Rainers that would like to get together and talk about real estate and ActiveRain please feel free to give me a call.  I'm visiting for the week.  You can reach me at 206-406-6849.

Thank you,

Here are the Apprentice posts for week 6 of Project Blogger. Check out Joel Burslem's Coaches Corner at The Real Estate Connect Conference Blog.

Please don't forget to cast your Vote for Week 6 here.

To follow the competition see:

• The Project Blogger Group.
• Project Blogger links. courtesy of Cheryl Johnson
• Project Blogger Weekly Rankings
• ActiveRain Tags for Project Blogger
  

5/20 Richard Meier's first building in Miami
5/19 Whose voice is it anyway?
5/19 Marketing that persuades, sways, induces or influences?
5/17 Bienes Raíces en Miami
5/17 Miamism Our New Site
5/15 Perfectionist - to be or not to be
5/15 Surfside, Florida
5/14 MLS information - is it current?

5/20 The Soaked Streets of South Beach
5/20 South Beach: So cool even the buildings need sunglasses?
5/20 Rainers first local gathering in Miami (members)
5/18 Don’t want to close on your Miami pre-construction condo?

Apprentice:Julie Ferenzi
Coach:Jeff Turner Real Estate Shows
Blogs: Living In Plainfield Julie's Blog

5/20 When you're too stubborn to listen...
5/20 Do you have an event planned in Plainfield, IL?
5/17 Plainfield Spring Fest | Downtown Plainfield, May 19th and 20th
5/17 Plainfield Residents Pull Together to Search for One of our Own.
5/15 Does your "VOICE" have anything to do with the clients you attract?!
5/15 Jeff Turner Please FORGIVE me?!

5/19 Spire: Denver's newest high-rise lofts
5/16 Project Progress

Apprentice:Theresa Lussier
Coach:Greg Swann, BloodHoundBlog
Blogs: TheBrickRanch.com, Loose Screws

5/20 What I learn at Huber Heights bingo
5/18 I will greet this day with love in my heart (members)
5/17 Can Tech Town save Dayton? Do you care?
5/14 How not to sell your Huber Heights property

Apprentice: Jackie Colson Miller
Coach:Jim Cronin, The Real Est ate Tomato
Blogs: RealEstateSizzle, The Real Estate Sizzle

5/16 South Tampa Housing Market Update…Don’t Kill the Messenger
5/16 Foreign Investors…The U.S. is a Top Choice
5/15 My Top Google Search Last Week…Property Tax Reform
5/14 Are You Focused on Your Client or Focused on Yourself?
5/14 How To Be A Good Neighbor on Howard Avenue in South Tampa

Apprentice: London Whitted
Coach: Pat Kitano, Transparent Real Estate
Blogs: The Future of Commercial Real Estate

5/19 Mitigating Risk in a low Return Investment
5/17 Office Space for the Small Business
5/14 Pigs Get Fat Hogs Get Slaughtered
5/14 The Age Old Question Buy vs Lease

Thank you Inman News for co-sponsoring this contest! Please check out their Bloggers Connect Conference where the winners of Project Blogger will be announced.

I'd like thank Galen for the time he put in this week.  I'd say for those of you that wanted Simon, you've come closest so far with Galen's input. Which I'd say ads up to some pretty thoughtful suggestions.

To introduce you to Galen here is a little background on him.

Galen Ward is the co-founder of ShackPrices.com, a Washington state real estate search website with an innovative map-based search interface. Galen created ShackPrices.com in 2006 with partner Doug Cole with the belief that home buyers need context when they're looking for a home. At ShackPrices you can learn about the surrounding area, the nearby shops, the character of the neighborhood and the style, size and price of a "shack." As a member of the Northwest MLS, ShackPrices lets people search through over 40,000 Washington State homes for sale.

Galen was one of the first co-bloggers to join Rain City Guide and blogs from time to time on the ShackBlog. Galen understands that any criticism he gives other bloggers could easily and accurately be applied to him.

Week 5 Judging is here.

Here are the Apprentice posts for week 5 of Project Blogger.  Check out Joel Burslem's Coach's Corner at The Real Estate Connect Conference Blog. 

Please don't forget to cast your Vote for Week 5 here.

To follow the competition see:

• The Project Blogger Group.
• Project Blogger links. courtesy of Cheryl Johnson
• Project Blogger Weekly Rankings
• ActiveRain Tags for Project Blogger
  

Apprentice: Tisza Major-Posner
Coach:Drew Meyers, Zillow
Blogs: Route66iving.com, Tisza's Blog

5/13 And I Shall Wear White Roses…
5/12 When Did It Become OK... A Non-Real Estate Rant 
5/12 "Stepping" Into Parenthood... A Mother's Day Gift
5/11 Biting The Hand That Blogs...
5/11 When Did It Become OK... A Non-Real Estate Rant 
5/11 All Roads Lead To Claremont.
5/10 Doing It Nice And Slow... 
5/10 Voting For Week Four of Project Blogger Made Easy...
5/10 Talking Trash About Claremont…
5/08 Putting It Out In The Open And Putting It All On The Line...
5/07 The Claremont Farmer’s Market A Beautiful Place To Be!

Apprentice: Kelly Kilpatrick
Coach:Joel Burslem, Future of Real Estate Marketing
Blogs: Kelly's Creed, Rancho Santa Margarita Lifestyles

5/13 Happy Mother’s Day Rancho Santa Margarita!
5/12 “Mom I’m Bored! There’s Nothing to Do!”
5/11 Rancho Santa Margarita’s Chassey Bennett Brings Down the House
5/10 Project Blogger - An insider's perspective (members)
5/10 Attention RSM Residents! The 2/5 Marines Need Our Help!
5/08 New Orange County Local News Broadcast Announced
5/07 Project Blogger - Kelly Kilpatrick's Week 4 Summary (members)
5/07 Rancho Santa Margarita Walking Trails - Part One

Apprentice: Kevin Tomlinson
Coach:Ardell DellaLoggia,Searching Seattle Blog
Blogs: Miami Beach Real Estate SouthBeach Real Estate Blog 

5/13 Surprise! Miami Beach Condo Prices on the Rise
5/13 Buying A Miami Beach Condo? Things you should know! 
5/13 Newest Addition to Luxury Miami Beach Real Estate
5/13 Week 5: Project Blogger-It's A Blog! (members)

5/11 Spring Clean ~ Home Maintenance
5/11 Colorado Pass ~ Reserve NOW.
5/09 Denver Real Estate Market Quickie (Apr. 07)
5/07 Flat Jonathan Does Denver

Apprentice:Mary Pope-Handy
Coach:Frances Flynn Thorsen theRealtyGram
Blogs: LiveInLosGatos.com, Silicon Valley Real Estate Commentary

5/13 Los Gatos in Art
5/12 Odd Sighting: Oil in Los Gatos
5/11 Bits of Los Gatos News
5/10 A walk back through time in Los Gatos...with "Something Extra" 
5/10 Active Rain Blog Idea (members) 
5/10 Project Blogger: Blog Format Improvements to Live in Los Gatos (members) 
5/10 Los Gatos History Walk
5/09 More Ghosts in Los Gatos
5/08 Free Wireless in Los Gatos
5/08 Pollen Problems? Go to the Beach
5/07 Los Gatos Real Estate Sales Numbers for April
5/07 Slideshow of Belgatos Park 

Apprentice: Jackie Colson Miller
Coach:Jim Cronin, The Real Estate Tomato
Blogs: RealEstateSizzle, The Real Estate Sizzle

5/11 Hurricane Preparedness….Part 3
5/10 Hurricane Preparedness…Part 2
5/09 Andrea Opens the 2007 Hurricane Season A Little Too Early!
5/07 Give Your Clients Great Service…With a Services Directory
5/07  Got Junk…One Phone Call Takes it Away

Apprentice:Theresa Lussier
Coach:Greg Swann, BloodHoundBlog
Blogs: TheBrickRanch.com, Loose Screws

5/13 How much is that doggie in the window? (members)
5/12  The Cat’s Meow: Mothers and Monroe and martinis…oh my!
5/11 He's no Simon Cowell, but I got great advice... (members)
5/11 Mother’s Day in Dayton
5/10 Everything you wanted to know about WordPress can be Googled. (members)
5/09 Real Estate Blogging Rules I Love to Break (and you can too!)
5/08 A new contributor at theBrickRanch: The Cat.
5/07 TheBrickRanch's "Grade" is improving, in spite of the blogger  (members)

 
 
 
Thank you Inman News for co-sponsoring this contest! Please check out their Bloggers Connect Conference where the winners of Project Blogger will be announced.

Wow, this was was incredibly tough.  I know that's cliché, but really it's true here.  I had a tough time sorting out how to order the winners.  The week seamed much weaker for some, while other teams have kept it consistent.  I've seen at couple teams pull away from their strengths. It' is important to stay on top with what we're good at.

I apologize again for the delay on week 3. But Without further delay here are the results for week 4.   

Vote for Week 4 here. 

1. Mary Pope-Handy
2. Jackie Colson Miller
3. Theresa Lussier
4. Kelly Kilpatrick
5. Tisza Major-Posner
   

5/6 In Defense of Less
5/5 Money Well Spent: the Home Inspection
5/4 Celebrate the Huber Heights brick ranch.
5/4 What week is it? PB update (members)
5/3 The burning question on everyone’s mind: What’s an RSS Reader?
5/2 At last. A Huber Heights City School website worth looking at.
5/1 Just Because It Made Me Laugh
5/1 Frozen in the Project Blogoshpere (members)

TheBrickRanch.com is looking pretty good these days in terms of the over-all layout but there are some critiques I have to offer.

The image at the top of the blog is very large and takes up a lot of screen real estate.  I'm not sure how relevant it is either, unless she's trying to make a reference to her coach's blog.  I like that idea but really I'm not seeing that tied into The Brick Ranch very well.  An image has got be relevant.

Through Theresa's blog I can sign up an associated blog.  This is an interesting approach.  I'm not sure how well this will be received by consumers but it's an attempt at something that I haven't seen elsewhere in the competition.

She's also launched a "show us your house" offer to viewers to her site.  It's a call for readers to show her their digs.  A great concept again who knows how well it would play out, but it's an interesting approach.

Reading Theresa's portrayal of 4578 Powell Road was interesting for me, because she took a home that I'd normally think was uninteresting and made it appealing. 

Theresa offers interesting thoughts and opinions while keeping relevant to real estate.  Over all she's got a good bit of local posts in the mix however she's somewhat lacking on keywords.  While i don't think people should write for keywords, when they are relevant, I'd use them.

Everything occurs in a place.  That place is relevant and interesting to the story.  In “Money Well Spent” where did the inspection occur.  This would add to the keywords and add to the story.

Overall I think Theresa is doing well, but taking the advice offered by her critic Frozen in the Project Blogoshpere, I'd say there's more to Theresa that could come through in her writing.

Apprentice: Jackie Colson Miller
Coach:Jim Cronin, The Real Estate Tomato
Blogs: RealEstateSizzle,The Real Estate Sizzle

5/2 Florida Property Tax Reform…Dead…For Now! 
5/2 Tampa is Named in List of Hottest Job Markets
5/1 How to Juggle Your Real Estate Career, Your Kids and Your Personal Life
4/30 Encroachments…Getting a Little Too Close to Your Neighbor?
4/30 Florida Realtors…Contact Your Representative About Our Property Tax Reform
4/30 Best Question Winner This Week
4/30 Project Blogger...A Little Organization Please! Jonathan???

I opened up The Real Estate Sizzle and found that Firefox in OSX set my CPU 74% usage.  When I blocked the images the browser's CPU usage went down to 14% so there's something going on there.  Using OSX on Firefox I may not be the targeted demographic but I don't think a blog should do that to a reader.

“The 'Burning Issues In Real Estate...Tampa, Florida & Around The World.” “Where is Jackie Now?”  The blog introduces us to Jackie as an International Specialist, however I'm not clear on what that is.  Perhaps her target audience would already be aware.  I'm just not clear on how the international ties in.

Don't get me wrong.  I loved reading about Jackie's travels.  But if she's going to have an international theme throughout the blog it might better serve her if it's going to be better defined and explained.

Her contact info is right there on blog this is good.  While she talks about herself and her travels she also talks about local timely and topical issues this week this is very good for grounding her in a market.

I thought the Ask Jackie a Question link and The Question winner of the week were great ideas to get readers to interact with her.

Apprentice:Mary Pope-Handy
Coach:Frances Flynn Thorsen theRealtyGram
Blogs: LiveInLosGatos.com, Silicon Valley Real Estate Commentary

5/6 First Subdivision in Los Gatos
5/6 Peregrine Falcons NestCam
5/5 Parks and Poison Oak
5/5 Strategizing Topic Order
5/4 Blogging About Los Gatos, Continued
5/4 Especially Open
5/4 Slideshow of Beglatos Park in Los Gatos
5/3 CineCats Film Festival
5/3 Learning in the Rain
5/2 Blogging About Los Gatos 
5/2 Main Street Bridge
5/1 Free Los Gatos Music Series Begins June 2nd
4/30 Market Conditions


Living in Los Gatos is doing great with Mary's contact info right there at the top of the page.

Mary's posts are good for talking about the town First Subdivision in Los Gatos is a great post for example.

Over-all Mary's posts are great.  There's one important element that I feel is missing, and maybe this is just me, but I'm not sure I'm getting a strong sense of who she is through her posts.  More work in that department could help her a lot.

Apprentice: Kelly Kilpatrick
Coach:Joel Burslem, Future of Real Estate Marketing
Blogs: Kelly's Creed, Rancho Santa Margarita Lifestyles

5/6 What To Expect When You Move to Rancho Santa Margarita 
5/6 Rancho Santa Margarita Beach Club Lagoon Now Open!
5/5 Cinco de Mayo at Santa Margarita Water District
5/4 RSM Students Celebrate Anaheim Ducks 2-1 Victory with Wild Wing
5/3 RSM - May 3rd is National Day of Prayer
5/2 Fiesta de Agua - Santa Margarita Water District’s Water Awareness Day
5/1 Celinda’s Mexican Deli - RSM’s Most Authentic Mexican Food
4/30 More Troubles for 241 Toll Road Proponents

Rancho Santa Margarita Lifestyles is looking good.  "Everything you need to know about RSM" is a bold but defining statement outlining the vision for the blog.  It was a very good choice of words.  Some criticisms? 

Where's her number?  I have no way of contacting Kelly outside of her contact form, this isn't the most user friendly approach. 

At the top of each post there are a lot of tags, and then again at the bottom.  I don't believe this number of tags helps her cause in terms of outreach and it really clutters the space in the blog.  I believe it's better to refine and define your tags so the accurately target the ideas in a post.

I loved Celinda’s Mexican Deli. I loved this post because it was so much about Kelly, so much about the town, it covered something interesting, and taught me that just because a  place has no one in it doesn't mean it's not good.  The story then continues to her relationship with the place.
 

5/1 The lovely Lola.
5/1 Lola in Denver ~ LoHi hot spot.

There's a lot of good things about "Live In Denver."  The graphics are clean and the colors flow well.  It's easy to contact her as her information is readily available.  Her one post for this week was good but really one post for a week of this competition isn't enough.

Rick & Ines's Blog is one of those that makes it easier to get a hold of the blogger.  Of course, being on ActiveRain, they don't have the customization available to add images colors and fonts to their blog style.  

Stiltsville is a great post but I think a blog of this nature requires the author to cite their sources.  I think that Ines also would have benefited greatly from talking about her trip and the history of the area.  She starts out this way but then we don't see that.  Anytime you can let someone get to know you through your posts you are better off.

She did a better job of this in Best Closing Gift Ever great celebrating her interactions with clients was a great idea.

The Future of Commercial Real Estate looks fine as a blog.  But London's info is only available via a link.  I think it's better if it's shown more readily.  London Writes really well, I just wish he'd write more.  Also on the blog page there are links that go nowhere referencing commercial real estate from different regions.  Having a "broken" blog like that is not a good idea.

It looks like Kevin settled in behind the pack and drafted off of the leaders this week, I hope to see him use this reprieve from blogging to get fully rested and come out strong next week. (Being a west coaster that was my best attempt at Nascar style commentary.)

Apprentice:Julie Ferenzi
Coach:Jeff Turner Real Estate Shows
Blogs: Living In Plainfield Julie's Blog

5/6 More pictures please! (members)
5/4 Featured Neighborhood of the Week: Whisper Glen by Phoenix Developers 
5/4 The Cicada’s are Coming!
5/3 How would you react? (members)
5/2 Plainfield Alert: Missing Plainfield Woman, 37 year old Lisa Stebic, mother of 2
5/1 First Time Home Buyers | What to Know 

Living In Plainfield looks great.  But again, where's the contact info?  In Julies blog I've got to use a contact form.  I loved "broadcast your community event" and "community links and phone numbers."  They are great ways to try and encourage community involvement and interaction in your blog.  I'd like to see if this idea plays out.

Julies best post this week in my eyes was "The Cicada’s are Coming!"  I did feel however that a some of her posts got to sound a little bit like a sales pitch.  That's a bit of a turn off.  Kelly will want to adjust her post a little bit to reflect more of her interests.

Apprentice: Tisza Major-Posner
Coach:Drew Meyers, Zillow
Blogs: Route66iving.com, Tisza's Blog

5/6 You Know Your Blog Is Working When...
5/5 Choosing The Right Realtor & Why You Really Need One
5/5 Week Four, Realizations, Revelations and a Requiem...
5/4 Gazumping My White Elephant Because You Don't Like The Jalousie...
5/3 An Ordinary Day?
5/2 Active Claremont Get Involved! 
5/2 Ready... Aim...
5/1 Nothing Really Happens In Claremont…
5/1 A Month of Sundays...

Something must be working with Route66living. Tisza was recoginzed for her blog by one of her city council members.  

The photos at the top of the blog (well the car) threw me for a second, but put all together it makes sense and I like it.  It ties in with the Route66 theme and getting to Claremont really well.  I love the map that's included too, it' gives a good context to those less familiar with the road.

Choosing The Right Realtor ® comes off strongly as a sales pitch and gets away from Tisza's writing quite a bit.  Isn't the word Realtor® she'd want to add an (R) or ®.  I can't imagine it having any interest for me as  reader, unless perhaps it came up from reader conversation.

I tried out the "find my homes value link" on the right side of the page and it was interesting.  It yielded 0$ for one property that should have been around 1.2 and a value that was just fine for another property.  The problem i have is that it takes up a lot of space, it's not clear that i'm not just going to have to submit my email and info i don't want to bother with, and it blended in with the links for me.  I think she can keep it but it could work/look a little differently.  Ultimately a link to the tool on her website might serve her better. 

Tisza's divided herself up between her AR blog and her Route66 blog in a negative way, I feel.  Essentially, i think that Tisza disappeared from Route66 and left a sales pitch in her place.  Taken all together, she's got a good energy going that would really attract readers.  Tisza please bring Tisza back to everything you do.

Madison had one interesting post on Laura Bush's visit to Malibu. The weekend news post should have included Madison's opinions and reflections , not just links.  I don't know how to get a hold of Madison from the blog and there wasn't enough content this week for judging.

 
 
 
Thank you Inman News for co-sponsoring this contest! Please check out their Bloggers Connect Conference where the winners of Project Blogger will be announced.

OK well don't hand out cash but...The ActiveRain Real Estate Network is a place to share your knowledge and experiences.  Members will find they benefit most from being a participating contributor.

There is a great article here on BusinessWeek.com by Kerry Miller.  Kerry writes "the most successful businesses are ones that know how to give."  For this network "giving" is sharing and generally contributing.  Kerry's tips really help explain the concept of giving.  But she also goes into more depth on creating your on-line presence. I encourage many of you to check it out, especially if you're looking to improve the quality of the connections you make on The ActiveRain Real Estate Network.

The most effective approach in this world of marketing is in asking ourselves what we have to offer, and using the answer to craft our own identity in this on-line space.  We craft that identity through our contributions to the community.  By giving and sharing with our colleagues and with prospects we'll see a growth in our professional lives.

What do I have to Offer?
That question is a fairly easy question to answer.  You have so much to offer in your own experiences and perspectives.  You don't ever have to worry about being "good enough" either because what's most important is that you are authentic and true to who you are (avoid the sales pitch).  The more quality sharing you do the more chances you'll have to develop quality connections that will help you grow in your career.   

The quality of your interactions, and ways you look at developing relationships here make a significant difference in the levels of success that you are able to reach here.  Approaching your on-line presence in the spirit of sharing will help you attract the connections you're looking to make.

Please check out Kerry's article here.

Related Posts: 

• The Gift of Rain
• Are You Making Rain Today?

At the close of week 4 for Project Blogger and here are the posts.  Some contestants are ramping up while others seem to have lost their stride.

If you'd like to check out The Coach's Corner please see The Real Estate Connect Conference Blog. 

Vote for Week 4 here. 

To follow the competition see:

• The Project Blogger Group.
• Project Blogger links. courtesy of Cheryl Johnson
• Project Blogger Weekly Rankings
• ActiveRain Tags for Project Blogger
  

Notice: I apologize that week 3 judging is still delayed.

5/6 In Defense of Less
5/5 Money Well Spent: the Home Inspection
5/4Celebrate the Huber Heights brick ranch.
5/4 What week is it? PB update (members)
5/3 The burning question on everyone’s mind: What’s an RSS Reader?
5/2 At last. A Huber Heights City School website worth looking at.
5/1 Just Because It Made Me Laugh
5/1 Frozen in the Project Blogoshpere (members)

Apprentice: Jackie Colson Miller
Coach:Jim Cronin, The Real Estate Tomato
Blogs: RealEstateSizzle,The Real Estate Sizzle

5/2 Florida Property Tax Reform…Dead…For Now! 
5/2 Tampa is Named in List of Hottest Job Markets
5/1 How to Juggle Your Real Estate Career, Your Kids and Your Personal Life
4/30 Encroachments…Getting a Little Too Close to Your Neighbor?
4/30 Florida Realtors…Contact Your Representative About Our Property Tax Reform
4/30 Best Question Winner This Week
4/30 Project Blogger...A Little Organization Please! Jonathan???

Apprentice:Mary Pope-Handy
Coach:Frances Flynn Thorsen theRealtyGram
Blogs: LiveInLosGatos.com, Silicon Valley Real Estate Commentary

5/6 First Subdivision in Los Gatos
5/6 Peregrine Falcons NestCam
5/5 Parks and Poison Oak
5/5 Strategizing Topic Order
5/4 Blogging About Los Gatos, Continued
5/4 Especially Open
5/4 Slideshow of Beglatos Park in Los Gatos
5/3 CineCats Film Festival
5/3 Learning in the Rain
5/2 Blogging About Los Gatos 
5/2 Main Street Bridge
5/1 Free Los Gatos Music Series Begins June 2nd
4/30 Market Conditions 

Apprentice: Kelly Kilpatrick
Coach:Joel Burslem, Future of Real Estate Marketing
Blogs: Kelly's Creed, Rancho Santa Margarita Lifestyles

5/6 What To Expect When You Move to Rancho Santa Margarita 
5/6 Rancho Santa Margarita Beach Club Lagoon Now Open!
5/5 Cinco de Mayo at Santa Margarita Water District
5/4 RSM Students Celebrate Anaheim Ducks 2-1 Victory with Wild Wing
5/3 RSM - May 3rd is National Day of Prayer
5/2 Fiesta de Agua - Santa Margarita Water District’s Water Awareness Day
5/1 Celinda’s Mexican Deli - RSM’s Most Authentic Mexican Food
4/30 More Troubles for 241 Toll Road Proponents

5/1 The lovely Lola.
5/1 Lola in Denver ~ LoHi hot spot.

Apprentice:Julie Ferenzi
Coach:Jeff Turner Real Estate Shows
Blogs: Living In Plainfield Julie's Blog

5/6 More pictures please! (members)
5/4 Featured Neighborhood of the Week: Whisper Glen by Phoenix Developers 
5/4 The Cicada’s are Coming!
5/3 How would you react? (members)
5/2 Plainfield Alert: Missing Plainfield Woman, 37 year old Lisa Stebic, mother of 2
5/1First Time Home Buyers | What to Know 

Apprentice: Tisza Major-Posner
Coach:Drew Meyers, Zillow
Blogs: Route66iving.com, Tisza's Blog

5/6 You Know Your Blog Is Working When...
5/5 Choosing The Right Realtor & Why You Really Need One
5/5 Week Four, Realizations, Revelations and a Requiem...
5/4 Gazumping My White Elephant Because You Don't Like The Jalousie...
5/3 An Ordinary Day?
5/2 Active Claremont Get Involved! 
5/2 Ready... Aim...
5/1 Nothing Really Happens In Claremont…
5/1 A Month of Sundays...

 
 
 
Thank you Inman News for co-sponsoring this contest! Please check out their Bloggers Connect Conference where the winners of Project Blogger will be announced.

At the close of week three for Project Blogger and here are the posts.

Jonathan Washburn was the judge for Week 2, and the results are in. 

If you'd like to check out The Coach's Corner please see this Inman post by Joel Burslem 

For another way to follow the competition please see Cheryl Johnson's Project Blogger links. 

Vote for week 3 posts here. Closing May 4th.

Vote for week 2 posts here. Closing May 3rd.

Vote for week 1 posts here. Closing May 3rd. (The poll is on the left side of the page.)

Check out the  Project Blogger Weekly Rankings

For more on this competition you can see ActiveRain Tags for Project Blogger, or check out the Project Blogger Group.
Thank you.  

Notice: The judging for week 3 is going to be some-what delayed as we select a judge for the week. 

4/28 Bloggin At The Beach - The Full Post
4/28 Blogging At The Beach... Live, & Real Time At SellsisusRealEstate Party!
4/28 Don’t Look And It WILL Hurt…
4/27 Rally 'Round The Swag, Boys... Rally 'Round The Swag...
4/26 Wrapping Up What's Going Down...
4/25 One "Cat"tastrophe After Another...
4/24 Happy Birthday To You, Happy Birthday Little Contest...
4/24  Claremont Happily Goes To The Dogs…
4/23 Signs of the Times?
4/23 10 Ways NOT to Buy a Home  

4/29 Rancho Santa Margarita Homeowners: Don’t Take That Cash Before You Read This Post!
4/28 PDQ Moving & Storage - Don’t Make A Move Without Them!
4/27 RSM - Hockey Fans Looking For Another Anaheim Ducks Win! 
4/27 Rancho Santa Margarita - A Guide to Politics and Politicians
4/25 Top 10 Birthday Party Ideas For Rancho Santa Margarita Kids 
4/25 Project Blogger Homework - Recommendations from the Elusive Joel Burslem
4/24 Tijeras Creek - RSM’s Top-Notch Public Golf Course
4/23 California Tesoro @ Rancho Santa Margarita
4/23 Rancho Santa Margarita Parkway - Your Measure M Tax Funds At Work

Apprentice: Michael and Barbara Daly
Coach:Joe Ferrara and Rudy Bacharty, Sellsius Blog
Blogs: Hamptons Real Estate Blog  

4/29 Suit- Prudential Douglas Elliman agent commission scam
4/29 Ralphampton Rises on Main Street 
4/29 All that’s “Old” is New again - “Old Trees” Southampton back on the market 
4/29 Hamptons Development / Preservation -The Race is On
4/28 Sellsius Has Arrived - The Coolest Guys Launch The Coolest Site!
4/25 1st Quarter Manhattan Report
4/25 Preliminary Report - Hamptons Home Prices Rise at Slowest Pace in 4 Years
4/24 Child Development Center of the Hamptons 

4/28 Green does not have to mean unfashionable and scruffy
4/28 Miami's HOT LIST
4/27 Miami - safe or unsafe
4/25 Architecture and Real Estate - how do these 2 work together
4/24 Blog Formats - Part II  

Apprentice:Julie Ferenzi
Coach:Jeff Turner Real Estate Shows
Blogs: Living In Plainfield Julie's Blog

4/27 National Bone Marrow Registry Drive in Memory of Trevor Kott 
4/27 Plainfield Pool Passes Now on Sale: Pool opens June 2nd
4/27 Plainfield District #202: 2007-2008 Calendar
4/26 Service AND a Smile?! At Chili’s in Shorewood, IL… YOU BET! 
4/25 I am still so "GREEN"! (members)

Apprentice:Theresa Lussier
Coach:Greg Swann, BloodHoundBlog
Blogs: TheBrickRanch.com, Loose Screws

4/29 Calling All Flat Daddies
4/27 Stop Worrying and Love the Bombers
4/24 The Huber Heights Alternative to 15 million Canadians
4/23 PB&J: Week Two revisited

Thank you Inman News for co-sponsoring this contest! Please check out their Bloggers Connect Conference where the winners of Project Blogger will be announced.

I am reposting this because some of the posts I saw this week, and some of of the comments that followed.

As a real estate professional you are held to a high standard.  You must be aware of these regulations.  It is your responsibility.

I AM NOT A LAWYER and I am not qualified to dispense legal advice.  Please consult a lawyer and your broker for clarification on these issues.

Both local and national regulations exist to provide a mechanism for governments to discourage and prosecute anti-competitive trade practices.  In the US the essential statute covering competitive trade practices is The Sherman Antitrust Act passed by congress in 1890.

Any discussions between brokers and sales persons of competing firms, planned, agreed upon, explicit, or implicit, regarding pricing or production can result in an investigation and serious penalties. 

In addition, talking about a competitor in a derogatory matter that establishes a formal or implicit boycott ('don't do business with them,' 'nobody will do business with them.') of that organization would be a violation of these rules.

Never discuss commissions you are charging, with other agents  or brokers outside of your brokerage.  Never discuss a competitor with anyone outside your firm in a derogatory manner that could be considered a boycott.

On Your ActiveRain Blog Directed At Professionals:

• Do not discuss agree or imply anything regarding commissions, rates, fees charged or paid, formally or informally.
• Do not discuss imply or agree to anything regarding a boycott of a competitor.
  

There are a lot of other rules surrounding this.  Please refresh your knowledge on commissions, and antitrust laws.

Clarification:

• Dusty wanted to know about brokers setting rates for their agents.  Within your office these rules don't apply.  It is only when you are discussing these things with a member of a competing firm that these rules set in.  That does not mean within X Brand Real Estate.  That means at one office under one broker.
• These same rules can apply to any industry, however real estate home sales has a watch on it, the government actually sends out testers as a method of monitoring and enforcement. 
  
• The reason for this is?  Some have found that real estate commission rates differ in their when compared to other competitive markets.  Price fluctuation and stability is questioned by many economists when looking at real estate home sales.
• Is it OK to complain or vent about another vendor?  Yes, to a point.  I'm not a lawyer however and can't advise on the finer details except to say that when you are talking about one of your competitors do not say anything about whether or not you or anyone else would do business with them.  
• Nima the point you bring up is an interesting one because being a mortgage loan officer, you're not a competitor with a lead broker.  Any "agreement between competitors to not do business with a particular third party" would be considered a group boycott.
• On the question of advertising prices.  According to realtor.org, you can unilaterally set and advertise commission rates, as well as respond to the advertise rates set by others.
• "The law does not preclude a competitor who establishes its commission rate unilaterally and without agreement with other companies from advertising that commission rate. The law also allows that competitor to engage in competitive advertising, in which the company explicitly compares its stated commission rate to the rates publicly promoted or advertised by other firms, provided that the advertising was truthful and not misleading. In fact, the policy underlying antitrust laws — promotion of vigorous and healthy competition — would tend to favor and encourage such comparative advertising since it helps consumers easily compare and contrast prices offered by various companies." 2006 realtor.org

• State Of Arkansas Treatment
• Realtor.org quiz (thank you Maureen McCabe)
• Realtor.org Field Guide to Antitrust.

Michael Roberts I appreciate your example.  I think it shows clearly that these are serious issues with serious consequences.  Please take them seriously.  Review your real estate education and stay in compliance.

These are some great comments everyone, I appreciate them. If you've got more to add please do so.

At the close of week two for Project Blogger we've seen a significant increase in content from our contestants.  If last week was tough to judge then this week is going to be really tough.  I want to thank Cheryl Johnson for making my life a little easier with Project Blogger links. 

Be sure to vote for the previous weeks post's on The Project Blogger Group.  The poll is on the left side of the page. 

Vote for this weeks (week 2) posts here. 

For more on this competition you can see ActiveRain Tags for Project Blogger, or check out the Project Blogger Group.

Thank you.