In the old days of real estate, you chose a realtor, went to their office, and they let you look through photos of listings that were currently available. Or, you knew a house was for sale because you drove by and saw the sign stuck in the front yard. You were dependent on realtors for letting you know what was going on, and they could control the flow of information. You also depended on them to tell you what nearby houses sold for, and what the house you’re interested in sold for last, and when.

These days, anyone with an internet connection can find out this information. My site of choice is Zillow, but there are multiple MLS-aggregator sites, including Redfin, Trulia, and Realtor.com. I found my realtor on Zillow after reading reviews on the site. I’ve never even been to my realtor’s office. In fact, the first time I met him was at the first house he showed us.

I was able to start my research on homes over a year before we were ready to buy. I was able to very easily get an idea of how expensive homes were in certain areas, and what kinds of homes were available without even stepping foot in one. By the time we actually were ready to look at homes, I was a very educated and savvy buyer. This helped me immensely, and it’s probably why we didn’t feel overwhelmed by the whole process, and why we were certain this was the home for us after just 3 days of looking at homes.

What does this mean for the future of realtors? You’re always going to have consumers who are not going to do this sort of extensive research. They’ll want to have the realtor do that for them. Will realtors become a sort of concierge service that consumers will pay for by the hour, rather than as a percentage of the home cost? I could certainly see the increased access to information creating more opportunities for sellers to choose the For Sale By Owner route. (Note: Sellers pay realtors as a percentage of the sale price, usually 2.5-3% to each the selling and buying agent.) In the past, it was extremely necessary to have a realtor, but now, while helpful, it’s not a necessity.

Our realtor was a gem, and I don’t know if anything would have gone as smoothly as it did without him. But then again, if we were the ones paying him 2.5% of the purchase price, maybe we’d feel differently. Who knows — by the time we’re selling this house (you know, when we’re 95, and only then because the yard work is too much) realtors could be obsolete, all because of Zillow.

Some people have private Tweets, but it’s super easy to RT private tweets and broadcast them to the whole world, while attributing that message to the original Tweeter. So what’s the point in blocking anyone or trying to control who sees your tweets? If you’re saying something that can’t be shared publicly, it’s probably better to tweet nothing at all…

Are you ready to sign up for Buffer? If so, here is the link —> buffer

Luxury Brand Vs online Retailer

http://www.luxurydaily.com/what-luxury-brands-can-learn-from-retailers-on-mobile/

Author Rachel Lamb’s article entitled “What luxury brands can learn from retailers on mobile” discussed how high-end department stores took the initiatives in mobile marketing to boost  sales of luxury goods.  I choose this article to share for three main reasons:

1. Im surprised to see how traditional retailers like Bloomingdale apply mobile marketing tactics such as QR code, an optimized mobile web site etc

2. Useful mobile apps to create a consistent and strong brand image: example the Dior App by Natalie Portman for Miss Dior

3. Creating a whole new mobile shopping experience with mobile videos

http://www.digitalbuzzblog.com/100-best-slides-from-cannes-lions-2011/

I am big visual learner, anything  picture-oriented, creative and colorful will catch my eyes and help me learn faster and more importantly stimulate my way of thinking. Having that said, I get overly excited and amazed by beautiful presentation slides or creative video ads. I am sharing this link with you because it provides you 106 best slides and points from Cannes Lion Advertising festival 2011. Got stuck in Boston like I did? Here is a short cut to the festival.

A small background about Cannes Lion Advertising Festival: Cannes Lions is where creative professionals come to debate, learn and be inspired; where the greatest industry honours are bestowed; where those pushing creative communications forward are celebrated.   http://www.canneslions.com/

My favorite slides:

#23- In 60 seconds what could happen

#44,45,46- the changing consumers /business/agency (I love before and after pictures, shoot me with the contrast!)

# 55-  Content (I love hand drawing!)

Article link: http://www.cnbc.com/id/44481201

According to author Shaun Rein, the Founder & Manager Director at China Market Research Group, many wealthy Chinese are ditching their Chinese passport for two major reasons: better education for the next generation and the health care.  Statistics shows that 27% of Chinese with more than 100 million yuan ($16miilion) in investable assets have already migrated and 47% are considering leaving China.  Often times, people would assume that the government interference over private enterprises would be the major cause that pushes the riches away. The survey which conducted by China Market Research Group, on the other hand, tells a different story.

In fact, over 90 percent who took foreign passports kept their businesses in China and remained in the country over eight months a year. That hardly sounds like businessmen fearful about limited business operations and the government. As the interview continues, the real reason came out: the riches are simply terrified by the severe pollution and the stressful life style in big cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Hongkong.

As a matter of fact, severe pollution has weighed heavily on the entire population in China (not so sure if the government cares so much). Residents in Beijing worry so much about how air pollution is affecting their daily lives and health. Just last week, December 5^th, 2011, the Beijing International Airport was shut down for hours because the smog was so thick that hundreds of planes were grounded.

The government has been focusing on economic growth for the past 50 years, we have all seen the where China is and we are all concerned about where China is going. As a Chinese citizen, I would like to see that the government take a more drastic step on optimizing environmental issues and implement a more sustainable plan. What’s the point of creating the wealth when you cant keep it with you?

Santa’s introductory message on YouTube explains how the process works: “I am broadcasting live from the North Pole…I’ve decided to take a break from making and wrapping presents to take to Twitter and YouTube this year. Oh-ho yes, social media has come to us all…so if you would like me to send a little message to your family, friends or followers, just tweet the message you’d like me to read out. My elves will spot your message and pass it on to me.”

Well, this is absolutely brilliant. Every Ad agency is marketing for the holidays right now. O2 is taking Santa and combining him with both youtube and Twitter. Videos can be shared and will most certainly go viral. This will attract children who will then tell their parents. Find him @02Santa. 02 is about to accomplish some serious branding.

Google Catalogs is an app to help customers searching and purchasing products online. Before this app was introduced, Google had created the Catalog Search in 2009 but the soon ended in the same year. The difference between Google Catalogs and Catalog Search is that the app allows people not just surfing catalogs but can actually purchase products through catalogs they find. Also, people can write down their comments on the product they bought and share it with friends.

Google Catalogs is an all inclusive interactive platform that assist customers as well as merchandisers. Companies can stop spending high budgets in printing ads. Not to mention they can change anything they want in 5 minutes, and give in time responses to customers reviews. Compare with traditional printing advertising, it’s also easier to capture customers’ attention. Wanna be a 24 hr nonstop shopaholic? Try Google Catalogs!

But a few things are slowly making me change my mind.  Firstly, I was approached by a friend to help fund a documentary she is working on through “Kickstarter”.  “Kickstarter” www.kickstarter.com is a funding platform for creative projects.  It can almost be seen as a micro funding site as no donation is too small to accept!  One of the unique factors about “Kickstarter” is that a project must reach it’s funding goal before money is exchanged – for the donor it means you are not supporting a project that has a very strong chance of never taking off the ground.  Micro-funding sites like this thrive with social media and the concept of getting a short message, repeatedly to a large number of people.

The other thing making me change my mind is Facebook.  I was recently persuaded (read: guilted ) into becoming a pie seller for an annual fundraiser called “Pie In The Sky” from a wonderful local organization called Community Servings.  I came into the selling cycle very late in the game, and had very little time on my hands to promote and harass my friends into buying pies.  I turned to Facebook to promote my pie selling activity.  To my huge surprise I not only met, but exceeded my goal by 75%!  The other surprising thing for me was the individuals who supported my efforts.  We are all “friends” with people we are not really “friends in real life” with.  Many of these acquaintances supported me – these are people I would probably not have thought to approach had I tried a more traditional fundraising approach such as a direct ask.

I’ve been trying to figure out why this worked for me when other things haven’t.  I’m not sure that I know the answer, but a some things stick out for me…

• Many non-profits, while wonderful organizations have mission statements that can be hard to explain to a stranger.  Making your mission or project a succinct, easily understood ‘elevator’ pitch is essential in the social media world.
• Have a low entry price point that is easy for all to participate in.
• Balance your pitch message with other non-fundraising messages.  You don’t want to be that person no one reads because you are always asking for money.

Now to get my boss on board…

Here is video from the mayor promising everyone’s Facebook profile who liked the Fanpage will be on the town’s board.

I am wondering how many people will actually visit there. But wait, they already did (in some ways)!