....& The Orgy of Free
I offer you two videos today on getting a free real estate blog and then follow up with a rant on Free Blogs, Websites, Social Networking and well anything....
Free.
Part I
Part II
The site mentioned is part of a course that we are about to launch called
Get a Cheap Real Estate Blog
David Weiss recently startled me with his discovery about Facebook, the social networking site. This led me to write a note to my teenage son who is growing up in the thick of this "net revolution". Think about it, he like millions of teeny boppers have never experienced the pleasure of opening up that vinyl record and smelling the liner notes! They have never know anything but the existence of the Internet.
This generation is growing up MySpacing, IM'ing, texting, all while also talking on their cell. We are raising a bunch of ADD's! Multitasking is certainly the death of us. I am only half way joking as I also had this talk with my kid. As I think this generation is lacking in common communicative etiquette. Anyway, this is what I wrote to him and I think it something we should all be-ware:
Know how I have told you that your information online is forever public? This might wake you up!
This is from face books terms of service ( a contract you digitally agree to prior to signing up. However, you are not 18 and the contract law I know makes that void, but that is another discussion):
By posting Member Content to any part of the Web site, you automatically grant, and you represent and warrant that you have the right to grant, to facebook an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license to use, copy, perform, display, reformat, translate, excerpt and distribute such information and content and to prepare derivative works of, or incorporate into other works, such information and content, and to grant and authorize sub licenses of the foregoing.
That means they get to sell it big boy! Thats how they make their dough. Hmmm. I wonder who they will sell it to? Schools and employers someday I wonder?
Facebook has a "pulse" feature that takes your information, and if you go to a university or college, will use that to compile statistical trends of college students. Essentially they find out about you, and use it to make a picture of the college based community on a whole. These statistics compiles data given by universities of members of Facebook.http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread291893/pg1
Oh! but this is the good part. Good for the paranoid types. Facebook is owned by the CIA! Read the above linked post.
Just putting reality into an unreal world.....There will be four to seven times more scientific innovation in the next 25 years than there was in the last quarter century. Exciting times ahead and like the old book future shock
predicted massive wealth created and massive disruption. Don't merely be a user-drone. Know the trends, know where you get your piece of that pie. And remember, nothing is for free. The price of admission to use facebook is to be datamined by Big Brother.
Wealth will go to the swift and quick adapters.
As I wrote the above this whole Facebook Beacon thing erupted.
CONFRONTED WITH GROWING RESISTANCE TO its new ad program, Facebook late Thursday said it would no longer publish information about users' online purchases without their explicit consent.
I think the reason I mention this is that too often we are chasing online instead of creating. And when we chase the next Big Thing perhaps it is easy to get swept up in hype. We don't think about the fact that someone or something offering me "candy" just might be trying to lead me somewhere.
Which is OK, as long as you are AWARE that you are being led, and you are going to pay with something. Be it your time, money, personal information or all of these and more.
Some more common themes/myths that get under my skin.
Googles "Do no Evil" - Maybe that rings true to their stockholders, but that is what Google is beholden to. Don't get me wrong, I am a true Capitalist. Maybe that is why I get that Google is a for profit entity. There is nothing wrong with that. In fact they offer an engine that we all use daily as a user and website owner. But realize the undeclared contract that you are making with them when you use their tools.They are a terrific company if you own them. And use their services on your terms not theirs. In other words again, know the price. And many times that price is OK.
Content Is King- What in the hell does that mean? Seriously. Content is King or Good Content is King? How in the world can a search engine figure out what is "good" content when we humans cannot explain it to anyone?
Do you want to know how the engines can tell if you have good content? By the links that link to you. Oh yeah. There is that Page Rank thing that everyone wants to discount.
So how will you get links? By having good content, people will link to you (see above on what is good?). Well yes theoretically. If everyone plays by the rules. But whose rules? If you think this through you will start seeing how this idealism breaks down as daring web owners look to gain advantage. Because gee whiz, people like to make a profit too. Go figure.
Experts- References Engine Employees as gospel advice. . If the word disinformation doesn't come into mind, then you must still think that your political affiliation does not lie. Thats like asking Putin if the recent Russian elections were rigged!
The Internet is a cornucopia of free information that can seriously obfuscate the truth. Go watch some of these conspiracy theory Youtube videos and pretty soon you find yourself at least considering the utter nonsense that they are spewing. (This is a fascinating journey by the way into seeing how we all can be so easily manipulated)
The More Things Change the More they Stay the Same
But I have moaned and groaned about the downside of laying ones brand on something like Active Rain, or any FREE solution. It is amazing how soon we forget. In Internet Bubble I, I mean Web 1.0, sites like Angelfire and Geocities gave out free websites. In fact they still do. However their model morphed into free sites with ads, and paid options. Google added their webpage option too. Although, I doubt theirs will stuffed with ads (maybe adsense) anytime soon. They would rather data mine behavior (if I was to guess).
Back in the the old Web days we were told to steer clear of these free subdomain websites as it drained our brand. But then came the sexy WEb 2.0 and the giveaways have grown. We get blogs, and widgets, and free advice, and goodies galore in Web 2.0.
Now having said all this, there are upsides and definitely ways to use free for your competitive advantage. But one thing for sure. I do not like placing my brand on another's brand.
