Enter from stage right NPR(That’s National Public Radio)

By Anick Jesdanun

NEW YORK - National Public Radio, already strong online with free downloads from many of its shows, is boosting its digital ambitions with Monday's introduction of social-networking features akin to Facebook.

NPR also plans to overhaul its Web site and expand the tools for sharing its programs elsewhere over the next few months. And it is working to increase the flexibility of its popular "podcasts," audio downloads that have tripled in usage over the past two years.

These digital initiatives are aimed at capturing and retaining audiences — particularly younger people who aren't habitual radio listeners but who represent the future for fundraising at NPR's member stations.

You can read the rest of the story here.

I was eager to check it out but there seems to be some sort of trouble with the registration procedure. I was unable to validate my account but it was easy to contact tech support. Maybe its overloaded with new people? I don’t know if I need to get in the importance of social networking in relation to your business model. I thought it could be an interesting site though. You can go here to check it out.

Shane O'Gorman "Buy or Sell, I'll Treat You Well!

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Eau Claire Realty, Inc.

4235 SouthTowne Dr.
Eau Claire, WI 54701
Office (715) 552-1818
Cell (715) 894-1001
Fax (715) 552-1919

Call anytime - I value your business

"Working 4 You!"

I was reading an interesting article today over at Dailytech.

Google Fights for Wireless Freedom to Closed Carriers' Chagrin

New plan would reduce providers to "dumb pipes" telecoms say.

Google over the last decade has established dominance of the personal computer-driven internet.  With the internet ecosystem expanding into the wireless and cell-phone markets in leaps and bounds, it was only natural that Google focus on the mobile side in order to gain control of new territories in its internet empire.

The first step was the official debut of its Android OS which officially launched with the release of T-Mobile's G1 smart phone last week.  While some phone companies loathed giving up proprietary control of their platform and potential ad-revenue, the allure of Google's free software and potential lucrative deals was too great, and many mobile carriers are giving in.

You can read the rest of the story here.

Basically Google wants the monopoly enjoyed by current wireless carriers to be over. It would open up the markets creating strong competition and hopefully bringing down prices. Why should we be stuck in these contracts? Why is there a contract at all? Why can’t we just buy a phone and have whatever service we want? If they don’t perform to our satisfaction we should have the right to fire them! With so many things lately going on in the market it’s pretty obvious what happens when corporations can write their own rules. I think Google is on to something here. Hopefully we see this go somewhere. Sometimes you just gotta love Google…

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www.BlogEauClaire.com

Eau Claire Realty, Inc.

Call anytime - I value your business

"Working 4 You!"

I saw this and was stunned! 

Dow slammed, posts worst-ever point decline

Blue-chip index plunges 778 points after House rejects bailout bill

NEW YORK - Wall Street ended a stunning session with a huge loss Monday, with the Dow Jones industrial average plunging 778 points — its largest point drop ever — after the failure of a House vote on the financial bailout plan.

Wall Street started tumbling as the vote was shown on television Monday afternoon, sending investors fleeing to the relative safety of credit markets, worrying that the financial system would continue to sink under the weight of failed mortgage debt.

You can read the rest here.

I hope it will rally tomorrow. Maybe the impact will give everyone something to think about. I don't mean to create a panic. I know our economy will rebound. I know it will come back once we get a fix on the problem and find a solution.

Shane O'Gorman      "Buy or Sell, I'll Treat You Well!"

Search Eau Claire Wisconsin Real Estate! www.YourChippewaValleyHome.com

Read my blog about Eau Claire Wisconsin Real Estate and Chippewa Valley Homes!
www.BlogEauClaire.com

Eau Claire Realty, Inc.

Call anytime - I value your business

"Working 4 You!"

(Not those f-bombs)

 is for phony

Everyone hates a phony. From being disingenuous in your advertising to your writing and blogging, people just don’t like a phony. You don’t have to brag about being the top salesperson. In fact, no one likes a braggart either! I like coming across as a normal, average person. I think of myself as a nice person and that’s the image I am constantly trying to project. Of course being the top salesperson probably says a lot about your abilities to sell a person’s house, but that doesn’t mean they are going to want to spend all day, driving around in your car, while you blow hot air up their *beep* 

F is for Featured

Getting your writing featured on Active Rain or just featured anywhere can seem elusive to many people. I have struggled for months, since I started here, to get some of my posts published. I just couldn’t figure out the seeming randomness of getting featured. I thought I was writing relatively good content and yet it seemed like I was being overlooked. Many of my posts seemed to garner quite a bit of attention, oftentimes I would receive 10+ comments. I was always very grateful when people stopped by and left a comment. I also try to comment on many of the posts I see every day. I really don’t know what the secret is. I think being active is the key to it all.

Then the seemingly impossible happened. I was featured on Active Rain last Friday. 

It really was a great day for me. I felt very honored being featured. I also felt great because the Minneapolis Star Tribune had called earlier in the day to interview me for a story they were doing. They called because of a single comment I had made on a blog here on Active Rain! WOW. So I wrote a post earlier today showing how an Eau Claire Wisconsin real estate agent can go beyond local and get heard nationally!

Thanks for featuring my story Active Rain!  

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Eau Claire Realty, Inc.

Call anytime - I value your business

"Working 4 You!"

Getting featured in a national newspaper!

And hopefully on Active Rain… (wink wink nudge nudge)

I got a call on my phone on Friday and I was sort of taken back because the caller ID said Star Tribune. I thought for sure it was going to be some sort of solicitation. Little did I know it was! The Minneapolis paper wanted to interview little ol’ me about a single comment I had made on this post.

I actually waited until today to say anything because I thought for sure it just wasn’t true. I just started on Active Rain less than 3 months ago. I would say I have been pretty active but up until this point I had never imagined that a small town blogger could get published nationally.

A lot of people talk about blogging and wonder what they could be writing about. It is assumed if you are in real estate that you must have to write about real estate. Nothing could be further from the truth. You never know how your writing can lead back to you, no matter what your subject is. The point is that you are getting your voice out there which naturally leads back to you. I rarely write about real estate. In fact its hard writing about the subject because it always seems like someone else has either covered that topic or just written it better than you.

So I made a little comment about netbooks and then Steve Alexander wrote an article and it featured a lowly Eau Claire Wisconsin real estate agent. You can read the article here.

So you might wonder what’s the point of all this?

*besides bragging rights*

The obvious, of course, is that you never know who might be reading your comments. If it’s a public post and Google has indexed it, then it can show up in someone’s search. I am assuming that’s how Steve found the original article. This shows how powerful the long tail can be. It also shows the seemingly impossible power of blogging!

There are a lot of different ways to advertise but I can’t think of anything more powerful than this. It also has a much nicer price tag; free!

But wait I'm not done yet!

The point of my rambling is…

So whatcha gonna do with it?

The first thing I thought of was using this as a springboard. I need to capitalize on this in a big way. So I called all 3 local area papers to see if they would carry the story. I think it’s just a neat article and why wouldn’t they want to pick it up? I know not as many in my area read a Minnesota paper so I have to get local readership.

But there is so much more to this. Now I feel great knowing the value of my writing and I can go with confidence. I can also use it to inspire others! So don’t ever think you can’t write something of value or contribute. The smallest thing can turn into something big. I just never thought a comment could be as valuable as the story.

Now that’s a story worth sharing.  

Shane O'Gorman      "Buy or Sell, I'll Treat You Well!"

Search Eau Claire Wisconsin Real Estate! www.YourChippewaValleyHome.com

Read my blog about Eau Claire Wisconsin Real Estate and Chippewa Valley Homes!
www.BlogEauClaire.com

Eau Claire Realty, Inc.

Cell (715) 894-1001

Call anytime - I value your business

"Working 4 You!"

I wrote about FSBO (For sale by owner) real estate advice recently explaining why if you are going to do a FSBO (For sale by owner) in Eau Claire Wisconsin , Altoona, or Chippewa Falls that you might want to consider doing yourself a favor and let a professional Eau Claire Wisconsin real estate agent help you.

There are a lot of things to consider when selling a house. I hear many reasons why houses do or don’t get sold in the area. Often the explanations are quite conflicting. I have heard the saying “all you guys do is stick a sign the yard.” Yet, when people sell a house on their own, oftentimes this is the extent of their marketing efforts. Why is there such a double standard? If all it takes or doesn’t take is the sign then why is it so hard to sell a house on your own if you live on a busy road and put a sign out? If this is all it takes shouldn’t anyone be able to sell their house this way?

The same holds true when it comes to the MLS. Many people are under the impression that being listed in the Eau Claire Wisconsin MLS is why houses are sold. I hear “All you guys do is charge a fee to be put in the MLS.” Well if that’s all we do and that statement is true, then charging a flat fee for MLS services should be as effective as a full service brokerage. I have seen the numbers and that simply is not true.

So what is the truth? 

It might be easy to dismiss everything I say since obviously I am biased and I am writing this as a full service Eau Claire Wisconsin real estate agent.

Consider this for a moment. If we can safely assume that it takes more than just putting a sign in the yard and we know that statistically we sell more homes than many companies in the area, if all things are equal, then any company that puts a sign in the yard and gets your house in the MLS should have an equal chance in selling your house.

But this simply is not true.

So there must be another explanation for why we sell so many houses. There must be another explanation for why we statistically sell more homes than FSBO’s do. We do a lot of things different. Homes sold with a Realtor statistically typically sell faster and get more money even after commission.

So what other factors separate a full service agency from a limited service contract? Well if the two names don’t hint at the difference let me tell you:

• We handle all the appointments for you so that requests to see your home are handled in a timely manner
• We offer open houses to see that your house is made available to the public without having to feel pressure to buy
• We personally handle the open houses so that you don’t have to
• We offer a comprehensive marketing plan that is personalized for your home. (Not just a sign and the MLS)

Flat fee services are simply that, a flat fee. After you pay the fee a sign goes up and the listing goes into the MLS. But what happens next? Well this is the fundamental difference. At this point a full service agenct really starts working. At this point the flat fee service comes to a halt. All their services are done. Yet no one has even begun to market your home. Trust me; in today’s market you need a plan!

What motivation is there to sell your home? They already got your money. Will they give it back if it doesn’t sell? From a business standpoint there would be more incentive not to have your home sell because in six months they can have you pay again!

When an offer comes in we have already spent time with you explaining how offers work and gone over different strategies to deal with the situation. An offer is typically composed of 5 pages of paperwork for the actual offer, 3 pages for the addendum, 3 pages for the lead based paint disclosure, and the 3 page condition report.

Who will be there to make sure the paperwork will be properly addressed? 

This is a legally binding document that will determine the fate of thousands of your dollars, who will you trust to see that every detail is correct? Limited service agencies let you deal with this, or for an additional fee offer help.

What about earnest money? We make the earnest money deposit form available online and in the home with all of our listings. There is no question as to which 3^rd party will be holding this money. By law an agent cannot hold the money. It must be deposited into a 3^rd party account. What plan is in place to take care of this?

The majority of buyers use an agent to find their home. Our agents use a buyer’s agency contract to ensure that their clients’ interests are fully represented throughout the transaction. Who will be representing your interests? With a limited service contract you have no agent to guide you. Under Wisconsin law a buyer’s agent is instructed to work on behalf of their client. It is against the law for them to provide advice to you. This is why we sit down and talk with anyone who wants to buy Eau Claire Wisconsin real estate so they fully understand.

These are just a few possibilities to consider when you list your Eau Claire Wisconsin home. It is my responsibility to inform the consumer before they make a decision. This is one of the biggest financial decisions you will ever make. Why wouldn’t you want a professional to help you?

As always, my advice is free.

For more great advice you can check out my Eau Claire Wisconsin real estate blog at http://www.blogeauclaire.com/

Thank you and I hope you can make an informed decision now. If you have any further questions don’t hesitate to call me anytime at 715-894-1001.

Shane O'Gorman "Buy or Sell, I'll Treat You Well!

Search Eau Claire Wisconsin Real Estate! www.YourChippewaValleyHome.com

Read my blog about Eau Claire Wisconsin Real Estate and Chippewa Valley Homes!
www.BlogEauClaire.com

Eau Claire Realty, Inc.

4235 SouthTowne Dr.
Eau Claire, WI 54701
Office (715) 552-1818
Cell (715) 894-1001
Fax (715) 552-1919

Call anytime - I value your business

"Working 4 You!"

When it comes to selling your home FSBO (for sale by owner) in Eau Claire Wisconsin, Chippewa Falls, Altoona, and the surrounding area there are many things to consider.

Do yourself a favor. Let someone else sell your house.

I just started working with some first time home buyers this week. They came to me with a lot of questions and I hope that I answered them well. I also brought up other things to consider when they make their decision. That’s my job and I like to think I do it well. I want well informed, educated buyers. This is an important financial decision and probably the most expensive decision anyone will ever make. I think it is wise to do your homework and seek a professional. I am proud to be an Eau Claire Wisconsin real estate agent and e-Pro Realtor.

After spending some time asking questions as to the type of house they were looking for I put together a comprehensive list of homes that would suit them. I let them pick out which homes they liked the best and suggested we go see a few as soon as possible. Even if a buyer is not quite ready to make a decision I think the decision making process starts early. The longer we have to work with the more informed of a decision it will be. I am not one to take buying a house lightly. 

They picked out 3 houses to see Friday night. We have an automated system that lets us book which houses we would like to see. It sends an email alerting the agent and their office as to what time we would like to see the house and how long we think we will stay. 2 of the houses were listed with an agent and the third was an exclusive agency listing with a FSBO company. So 2 of the houses had a team of professionals ready to set up the appointment while the 3^rd was the do it yourself type. I don’t like calling people late at night and so I had decided early morning should be enough time to see the houses. A motivated seller will have the house available because a motivated agent has stressed the importance of having the house ready to show at all times.

Within moments of me booking the showings a team had set in motion what it took to make sure that I could bring in my buyers. In this market if someone has a set of buyers you want to do everything you can to ensure that they get a chance to see your listing. It is of upmost importance. You never know if they are in town for a few days to decide, this happens all the time.

If you ain't ready then you may have missed the boat! 

So what happened with the FSBO listing? I called the owner at 8:15am which is as soon as it was feasible for me to make the appointment. I was immediately assailed with half a dozen reasons why we weren’t getting in that day. I explained that they were pre-qualified first time home buyers and this home suited their tastes. I was told “I’ll get back to you.” I was out of the office all day and waited for the phone to ring. I knew I would be out of town and wouldn’t be able to follow up more than that. I received text messages saying the other 2 appointments went through. I waited and waited but no one called me for the 3^rd.

So we go out and see the two houses because I can’t show the 3^rd. I explained the situation as best I could and said maybe we could get in later. But the 2^nd house they saw was great. It was perfect according to them and it might be what they decide upon. I will suggest we take a look at a few more before deciding. I think that would be prudent.

So what’s the point of all this?

Do yourself a favor. Unless you are the person who has unlimited time and resources to sell your house, you probably aren’t going to sell it like the professionals do. You can’t work full time and field phone calls all day long for showings. If you aren’t the person who can motivate themselves to light a fire under them each and every single day, then leave it to someone who will light that fire for you! We are motivated by many factors but the most important thing is we are motivated.

As always, my advice is free.

You can email me or call 715-894-1001.

Search Eau Claire Wisconsin Real Estate! www.YourChippewaValleyHome.com

Read my blog about Eau Claire Wisconsin Real Estate and Chippewa Valley Homes!
www.BlogEauClaire.com

Eau Claire Realty, Inc.

4235 SouthTowne Dr.
Eau Claire, WI 54701
Office (715) 552-1818
Cell (715) 894-1001
Fax (715) 552-1919

Call anytime - I value your business

"Working 4 You!"

I came across this recent article.

You've got mail, again: Tips for e-mail overload

E-mails that pour into office inboxes leave workers feeling bogged down

By Hillary Rhodes

Remember when "You've got mail" alerts were thrilling?

The e-mails that now pour into office inboxes and spill onto BlackBerry devices have left some workers feeling so bogged down with online messages that they can find little time to do anything else.

You can read the rest here.

Here are some tips from the article:

Productivity gurus have also created a cottage industry out of e-mail overload. Here's the best of their advice:

1) Don't check e-mail in the morning. Experts say you should take care of an important task first thing before checking e-mail, so that you don't use it as an excuse for postponing more pressing obligations.

2) Check it in batches, rather than fluidly throughout the day. Some experts suggest checking it twice a day. Others, up to five times. But the important thing is efficiency.

"You wouldn't do a new load of laundry every time you have a dirty pair of socks," says Timothy Ferriss, author of "The 4-Hour Workweek."

3) Minimize exchanges. "Learn to propose, instead of asking questions," Ferriss says. Instead of asking what time a person can meet for lunch, just jump right in and propose a few times. You can use "if, then" language, for example, "If you can't meet at 11, how about 12?"

4) Unsubscribe to lists or newsletters you don't read. Experts say that if you notice you're not actively reading a newsletter or other e-mail subscription service, it's time to unsubscribe.

5) Stop sending e-mail. Sending less e-mail means receiving less e-mail, and sending shorter e-mails will garner shorter responses.

"This does not mean that you should write elliptically or bypass standard grammar, capitalization, and punctuation," says Merlin Mann on his productivity blog 43 Folders. "Just that your well-written message can and should be as concise as possible."

6) Take it to zero. In an extreme case, some experts suggest wiping the Inbox completely away, and starting fresh. You can always send your contacts an e-mail telling them what you've done, and to resend any truly important messages.

7) Set precedents from above. If you're a boss, you might think again about sending an e-mail late at night on a Saturday or other non-work times unless it's truly urgent. Even if you don't intend for your employee to respond right away, you are still sending the message that work e-mail is not just for work hours, which can contribute to overload.

8) Use other forms of communication. E-mail has earned a solid place in the office, but in some cases it's not the most appropriate form of communication.

What do you think? Does email slow you down? I find it just the opposite. I can deal with 12 clients in the time it would take me to deal with one. Does it take away from your busy day or get you free to get your work done?

Search Eau Claire Wisconsin Real Estate! www.YourChippewaValleyHome.com

Read my blog about Eau Claire Wisconsin Real Estate and Chippewa Valley Homes!
www.BlogEauClaire.com

Eau Claire Realty, Inc.

4235 SouthTowne Dr.
Eau Claire, WI 54701
Office (715) 552-1818
Cell (715) 894-1001
Fax (715) 552-1919

Call anytime - I value your business

"Working 4 You!"

For those of you new to blogging or using online forums or just being online in general, being faceless can often bring out the devil in everyone. I saw this recent article and immediately thought about the blogging community as a whole.

Anonymity opens up split personality zone

Faceless communication online or over phone often turns nice people nasty

By Diane Mapes

MSNBC contributor

updated 7:50 a.m. CT, Wed., Sept. 24, 2008

One minute, they’re nice, normal people. The next, they’re frothing at the mouse.

“It’s mind-boggling the things people will say and even the things I will say,” says Catherine McIntyre, a 38-year-old medical billing specialist from Houston. “People who’d never say something horrible in real life will do it again and again and again online. It’s like the behavior of crowds, or those mass beatings where no one gets blamed because everyone’s at fault.”

Sheri Pineda, a 59-year-old customer service representative at the Daily Breeze in Torrance, Calif., encounters the same bad behavior in the after-hours messages left by her newspaper’s subscribers.

You can read the rest of the article here. 

What effect does this have on you? Do you find it easier to say something because you are indirectly talking to them? If they have a face does it make it seem more intimidating to speak your mind or less so? How does the AR forum compare to faceless forums where you only see the words people leave behind? Do you sometimes find it easier to speak your mind when you can see who is saying what? Or is it just like being stuck in traffic and looking someone right in the eye and giving them the bird?!

Search Eau Claire Wisconsin Real Estate! www.YourChippewaValleyHome.com

Read my blog about Eau Claire Wisconsin Real Estate and Chippewa Valley Homes!
www.BlogEauClaire.com

Eau Claire Realty, Inc.

4235 SouthTowne Dr.
Eau Claire, WI 54701
Office (715) 552-1818
Cell (715) 894-1001
Fax (715) 552-1919

Call anytime - I value your business

"Working 4 You!"

Looking to list your Eau Claire Wisconsin home and get it sold? Check out my Eau Claire Wisconsin real estate website at www.YourChippewaValleyHome.com.

Selling your house in today’s market isn’t impossible. Sure it can take time and no one knows for sure if a potential buyer will come along or not. But there are things agents can do to try to reach out to customers.

If you are reading this you can see the potential for new ways to be reaching out to people in our community. Sticking a sign in the yard and waiting for people to call is not the answer; it is only a small part of a complete marketing package. That is why a FSBO (for sale by owner) is so difficult to achieve these days. Even if you pay to have your listing put in the MLS there is no guarantee that it will be sold. Again this is only part of the picture.

If you want an agent who is using the latest technology to get homes sold you know who to call. You can see the results for yourself. There are new, effective ways to market homes in our area, but few agents are using every tool available. Many are simply not aware of what is out there. That’s why I spend time to learn about new technologies. I read and write about them every day.

 Call me today 715-894-1001 and I will set up a personalized appointment and talk about unique marketing ideas for your home.

Search Eau Claire Wisconsin Real Estate! www.YourChippewaValleyHome.com

Read my blog about Eau Claire Wisconsin Real Estate and Chippewa Valley Homes!
www.BlogEauClaire.com

Eau Claire Realty, Inc.

4235 SouthTowne Dr.
Eau Claire, WI 54701
Office (715) 552-1818
Cell (715) 894-1001
Fax (715) 552-1919

Call anytime - I value your business

"Working 4 You!"