Posts Tagged ‘Owen Greaves’
If You Had To Choose One, Which Would It Be?
Do find yourself sitting at the computer for hours on end chatting, writing, posting, researching and or just surfing the NET? It has occurred to me that I spend roughly 10 – 12 hours a day here online, I like to believe I’m actually getting something done or helping someone with whatever challenge they might be having. What is it that makes me want to be here for you hour after hour. I mean, there are so many things I could be doing but no, I sit here and indulge in my passion. Is this smart or am I missing something?
I spend most of my time on my Blog, then I spend considerable time in Twitter Search, Twitter itself, FriendFeed and it’s Search, FaceBook has been getting more of my time lately with it’s efforts to be more like FriendFeed. If I had to choose one over the other, I would have to say Twitter is the most appealing for me because it’s as Real-Time as you can get. So that got me to wondering, just because a Social Media Network has 50 million or 300 million user accounts doesn’t really mean it’s the favorite or the best does it? You see I’m addicted to Real-Time, therefore I’m online looking for information of value, most of it is more than 24 hours old, but the juicy stuff is current as seconds ago. I use Google Reader to track RSS Subscriptions but Twitter is faster to me, and I get information as it happens for the most part there.
So, if you could only pick one Social Media Network, which one would you pick? As much as it pains me I would have to pick Twitter as of this writing, FriendFeed has been my choice but for effectiveness and real-time information Twitter is it for me today.
I want to hear from you, leave your answer in the comments area below please.
What’s your favorite Social Media Network & why?
For The Love of The Game
For many business is a game, the game has rules that attempt to make it a level playing field. The Internet is changing this game, the rules are being broken and the players are blowing big business away. Don’t kid yourself though, big business is catching on and they are making in roads where early adopters roamed untouched.
The best part of this game, anyone can participate, but it’s not for the weak of heart and get rich quick schemers. If you come to play, be prepared to work hard, study hard, listen hard and search hard. You will need every ounce of passion & desire, all the smarts and energy you can muster up. Why? Because this game only tolerates those willing to pay the price, period. The game never ends, it’s 24/7 and it can last your entire life, do you have what it takes? Billy Chapel lasted 20 years and finished with his head held high, he paid the price, he had nothing left to leave on the field. Is that you? Are you willing to stay and carve out your place in the game?
One thing this game requires, a place you would call home base, a place where you go from and return to, the place where you build community and trust. I would highly recommend that you invest your time there, why, because everything on the Internet keeps changing and you could be left out in the cold. Your Blog or website only changes when you want it too, you don’t have control over the Internet and it’s content, so you best invest at home. If you want to survive and play at a high level you need to start at home, that’s rule #1 in the game.
If you don’t love the game you play hard, you won’t see it through, you won’t dig deep and work for your dreams. You have to do it for the love of the game.
Riding Out The Storm, We All Have a Story To Tell
We all want things to happen quickly, we all want them to happen without too much effort, and we all don’t want to wait. I think we would all being lying if we didn’t think this now and then, it’s human nature, we want what we want and we want the thing to happen easily. I’m generalizing of course, but I would have to be foolish to believe everyone has the same motives and thinks exactly the same way as me.
We all have our stuff, our baggage so to speak, we justify our situation and have enough excuses to choke a horse as to why nothings changed. I’m guilty of this, well, I used to be guilty of this. What I love about people the most, is the stories, the hardships they had to work through and overcome, what they learned through those hardships. Most of all, I’ve learned that everyone has something to offer, it’s up to you to decide what value they have on that offering.
I have the privilege of speaking to 500 people this weekend, I’ll be sharing about what I do and what I’ve learned on my journey. My story is not that different from yours, but it is my story, may it encourage you and may you learn from it.
I’ve been on the Internet for many years now, I’ve had websites but never a Blog. Blog’s remind me of Bulletin Board Systems (BBS), they were communities of people learning from each other and sharing what was happening in their life at the time. These systems were the Social Media Networks of the day. I even ran my own BBS for a short while, but found the allure of the Internet to be overwhelming. I’m a technology man, I learned how to use computers when I was in Radio back in the early 80’s, I had learn how to program and use automation systems. You can see my background on the About Owen Page here on my Blog.
I started Blogging about two years ago, I started with another Blog before this one and then started all over with WordPress in a self-hosted environment. I also run a small but modest webhosting company called Billyhost.com for my clients, I wanted to provide the service so my client’s didn’t have to worry about it, it is a value-added service.
I still work crazy long days to make Billyhost.com & my Blog happen, I often wonder if it’s worth all the effort, not from a monetary stand point but from the perspective of, am I helping someone, am I making difference, do I bring value? Don’t get me wrong, I do want to derive revenue through all that I do here online but it’s not my primary focus, helping others is the goal. I have the gift of helps, and I figured this Blog was the perfect way I could help others, answer questions, provide information that may be useful, and most of all encourage and give hope to those feeling alone in the storm. I try to make myself available to any and all but let’s be honest that’s not realistic, there are only so many hours in a day. On this journey I’ve come to learn that I’m not alone, the good news is there is a way to get through the storm.
My story, my storm. Eight years ago at 43 years of age I suffered a heart attack (March 4th, 2001), I discovered all that I was working for, all that I was trying to accomplish, was for me and me alone. I’ll state upfront, don’t do that, it’s wrong and you won’t have the life you want to have in the long run. Life took on a different meaning for me after that episode, my wife & kids became my focus, people close to me seem to have more value and I just couldn’t stop thinking about those less fortunate than me, those struggling to get through the storm. I am also a Diabetic, I have hearing aids, and I wear Progressive lenses. I’m falling apart at the seams and I’m only 51 years of age! I’ll be 52 November 27th, 2009 : )
Two weeks after my heart attack I was out playing road hockey with the neighborhood kids, 2 hours a day for two weeks before I had to return to my job. I lost 20 pounds! I wasn’t going to let this heart attack beat me, if I was gonna die, it was going to be on my terms (sort of). If you want to succeed you have to think that way, after all, the option of death was not an option at all, so I was gonna make my life count, make it matter. As you can see I’m still with you and it’s October 2009.
Fourteen months ago I found myself unemployed, now I’ve always made money on the side fixing computers and doing consulting but not as a primary source of income. I started Blogging back then because I wanted to take what I knew and what I was doing offline to the web for ease of access, for me and for my customers. I have been doing Social Media for many, many years through different channels, but not like today, we have so many new options and tools at our finger tips. I would have loved to have the networks we have today back in the beginning of my Internet journey.
The problem of being unemployed is only a small part of my storm, you see a year ago I discovered I had a hernia and had to have surgery. I was booked for surgery in October, November, December 2008 and finally January 14th, 2009 I went under the knife. I was out of commission for 6 weeks recovering, by then I had already been established on Social Media Networks like Twitter & FaceBook. Then in July (the 5th,2009) I broke my shoulder, I was doing warp speed down the soccer field chasing a younger fella on a break away, I clipped his back foot and what should have been a tuck & roll was a SPLAT! I shattered the Clavicle at the joint of the shoulder. I was fortunate in the fact that the shoulder wasn’t dislocated or the shattered bones out of position, so I just had to wear an immobilizer for 4 weeks.
After the 4 weeks was up I figured I could get back to normal, wrong, the shoulder wasn’t healing, on October 20th, 2009 I finally got the clearance to resume normal activities, I can do whatever I want.
During the past 14 months I’ve applied and interviewed for many, many, many jobs only to be denied time and time again. My wife works but doesn’t earn a great deal and we can’t live on it, we own a home (well the bank does) and two cars (paid for). My only source of income was the existing clients and what I make here online, it’s not enough so don’t think life is a bed of roses. The challenge with having the surgery and the broken shoulder was I couldn’t do any kind of physical work, that wasn’t good for my self-talk and mental health. If I did land a job it couldn’t be physical work.
I didn’t let that stop me, I wasn’t going to let the health issues beat me, sound familiar? I recognize I can’t overcome all health related issues but I have been able to so far, your situation will be different. During the past 14 months I have spent 8 – 10 hours a day on the Internet, I have been writing and spending time helping others on Social Media Networks. I have been invited to speak at local events, get more consulting opportunities and me & my Blog are considered a resource to help understand Social Media & I.T. Strategic Planning.
I’m still in the storm but it seems to be subsiding, I am learning from it and I’m building all through it. Progress is being made, and I’m really excited about the ambiguity before me. You should be too. Learn to embrace it, embrace the storm because storms always end, they never last forever and you almost always become a better person because of them. The wisdom you acquire is priceless and you will be presented with opportunities to help someone else going through a storm. As I mentioned earlier, the storm is the loneliest place for a person going through it, that’s because it’s for you and only you, and only you can learn from it.
No matter what the storm, no matter what you want from life, you will pay a price, you will learn to overcome and persevere and you will at times always feel alone. Chris Brogan talks about this in his video called Overnight Success, if you want it bad enough you will certainly pay a price. The good news is, you have freedom of choice, you get to choose. You don’t however, get to decide when you will be at the place you want to be, success always requires time, lots of time, and you will always need the help other people to help you get there….always. You will go through a storm, maybe many storms before you can win, I can’t wait to hear your story, how you suffered and overcame, and how you helped others be better off because you lived.
We all have to ride out the storm and we all have a story to tell….what’s yours?
If I Was In Real Estate Today
If I was in Real Estate Today, the very first thing I would do is identify my PURPOSE, the why I think I should be using Social Media Networks. This would appear obvious but it can be misleading, if you don’t believe Social Media will increase revenue, help build a stronger market share and develop community around your brand, your right, the strategy will be an exercise in futility. If you do, get to work and build a plan.
Get started by doing the following:
- List requirements needed to implement strategy
- Key Result Areas – What are they
- Discern objectives
- Identify Key Success Factors
- List Core Competencies
- Complete a S.W.O.T. Analysis, a plan needs to be well thought out.
Once you’ve completed the above get the following action items flushed out and then make it happen.
- Setup accounts on multiple Social Media Networks and get active, participate, get involved in the communities…then….listen to what is being said, what is happening and where it’s being said. Never stop listening, never stop having a presence in these communities. People come back to things and places that are useful to them. Especially if you can help them.
- Use all SM Networks like Twitter, FriendFeed, YouTube, Viddler, Tumblr, FaceBook, StumbleUpon, Digg, Del.icio.us, Technorati, MySpace, LinkedIn, Seesmic, UStream.tv, and BlogTalkRadio. There are many more.
- Blogging is a must, convert or add a Blog to an existing website, this is where you build community and give customers a place to go and something to do.
- Take advantage of video, do LIVE open house events streamed via UStream.tv or one of the other web broadcasting services. Record those events and archive them, build a library, make them available to anyone to view at their leisure. These video’s can also be training or teaching prospects on what questions to ask, how to and so on.
- Do a live web radio show, field questions on a live video show that has Twitter embedded so it’s real-time.
- Do video interviews, record testimonials…etc.
- Sponsor or Host a major Social Media Event, these events charge for attendance and should not only cover expenses but should realize a profit. Bring in people who are actually doing or using Social Media at a high level, not just lip service.
- Hire or contract a Community Management Officer or a Social Media Director.
- Get Educated on Social Media, attend major conferences and get around those who are high profile in Social Media, and read books for more insight.
I’m just scratching the surface of your plan, but make sure you actually have a plan before jumping into the Social Media mayhem.
This doesn’t have to be difficult, it doesn’t have to be hard, but one thing you do, is work if you wish to realize the results you want from your efforts. It will take time, money and above all else, EFFORT! Whether you are a Broker or an agent, it makes no difference, build a plan, work the plan. But hey, you already know that, but do you know the technology and how to implement it? Do you know how to prepare? Are you willing to pay the price?
In this business, success is not measured by fitting in, it’s by standing out. (Mad Men)
Scoble's Web 2010 – Owen's Web 2012
I truly enjoy Robert’s perspective on Technology and Social Media, not too mention he is fun to follow on FriendFeed & Twitter too. Robert is very helpful if you approach him the right way, I find him to be respectful, approachable, a solid resource and entertaining. 🙂 In May of this year (2009) Robert Scoble posted an article on his Blog called Exploring The 2010 Web, he covers a number of points on what the 2010 Web is and or is going to be.
Here are the Attributes he listed for us,
Web 2010
1.) It’s Real-Time
2.) It’s Mobile
3.) It’s decentralized
4.) Pages now built out of pre-made blocks.
5.) It’s Social
6.) It’s Smart
7.) Hybrid Infrastructure
I linked to his article above so you can read his definitions in more detail.
Now I agree with Robert’s list for the most part with some additions, I know he knows what I’m adding is coming and he probably will be one of the first (early adopter’s) to play with the new toys. This is not an exhaustive list but you’ll get the picture of our where we are headed.
Here are my additions and I like to call,
Web 2012
1.) In 2012 you will be able to buy off the shelf a computer (device) that can compute faster than the human brain.
2.) Virtual Reality is where we will spend our leisure time
3.) We will not use keyboards, voice recognition will be our method of instructing our device’s what to do
4.) Tower’s will cease production
5.) Laptop production will be vastly reduced
6.) Wireless devices will be integrated into eye care (Glasses and Contact Lenses)
7.) iPHONE’S & BlackBerry type devices will also be greatly reduced in size
When it’s all said and done, you merge these two lists and you have considerable change ahead of us. We are entering an era where Nanotechnology and Virtual Reality will make exponential strides in development and growth, unlike anything we have ever seen. How we communicate will continue to change, communities will continue to grow as we the people take back big business.
I wonder what else might take place in the next 2 – 5 years?