Albeit a month late to the show, there was a huge to do about something between two popular real estate forums. Yes, although real estate blogs are the shizzle at the moment, people still participate in forums. The issue deals with a breach of security (hacking) and reputation management. I stumbled upon the story on Greg Boser’s blog. The origin can be found on The Pro Real Estate Network. The rebuttal can be found on Real Estate Webmasters.
I guess having a different password for each site is important. Duh…
Was any real estate blogger aware of this spat?
I’d heard bits and pieces of it. But I don’t participate on either form, and to be honest, I don’t really care about either one. REW contains a wealth of info but I’ve never felt like I “fit” there. I’ve poked into PREN and that’s about the extent of it. Morgan and his company have a great rep amongst some people I trust completely.
That said, it felt (to me) that Morgan’s apology was half-hearted and only issued because they got caught with their hand in the cookie jar. His comment after his apology that contains the words, “it sucks having to issue an apology I really have no love for those guys over at that forum - they are constantly bashing myself and my company” just sorta cements my feelings.
But the bottom line is “forum wars” are as big a waste of time as “blog wars” - and equally silly. How it’s being handled (or not) on both sides is an interesting look at “reputation management” — something any agent and/or blogger should be interested in.
I had not heard about it. I haven’t been involved as much with forums since I’ve started blogging. Just don’t have the time for it. Forums have always had the problem of mob mentality moreso than individual blogging, and I find that blogging keeps me just as well, if not better informed, than belonging to forums.
Before blogging, forums were imperative. Now all I need is to blog and have a subscription to Inman News. Inman’s emails are invaluable to me in keeping up with any and every topic involving my business. Between Inman and the top Real Estate blogs, I don’t really see the value in joining and getting emersed in the pettiness of competing forums.
I was a whole lot more interested in the guy that got fired over a YouTube on his Blog, than in this silly mess. I will say the guy who did the posing and deleting clearly should have been fired. The fact that they did not fire him does not sit well with me. Stealing someone’s identity is no petty issue.
Not sure why the word emails in my comment up there turned into a “commercial” for Bluetie. Please know that I did not personally cause that to happen, and I think it’s cheesey to make it appear as if I did.
I see a similar thing happened when Jay used the workd blogger.
Joe and Rudy I think that is pretty crappy. I won’t pull a Nixon over it, but if I didn’t know and like you guys so much I’d say that using user comments to autmatically generate link spam is about one of the creepiest things I’ve ever seen on a blog.
I gotta agree with ARDELL. The “Content Link” thing is kinda weird. Not to mention incredibly annoying.
I know it is your blog to do with as you see fit. But it is my comment (granted, on your blog — but you get what I mean. I think).
<<>>
But enough of that. ARDELL brings up a good point about the “mob mentality” that’s pervasive in a lot of forums. It’s been a problem since way back in the BBS and Compuserve days (he says, dating himself horribly).
I did read about it, but I don’t know the players. Being the victim of a mcnasty incident once myself, I don’t take much stock in online fights. Anyone can say anything without proof to back it up, who am I to judge?
ARDELL’s comment of mob mentality in forums is dead on. I prefer to think of many forums as “bobble head people”, who agree with whatever is being said, without regard to the source.
hi guys!
the words you saw that were double underlined were part of the kontera text ad system. we were testing it out. kontera automatically selects the the words - we had nothing to do with it. since you were so kind with your feedback, i removed the script completely
peace out kontera. we had it up for 7 days - it generated 4,405 impressions, 74 clicks = a 1.68% click thru ratio = $5.70 for revenue. better than adsense by the way, which we mostly got rid of except for one banner - which we are still testing.
the culture in forums surely is different. i wonder if that’s why active rain removed their forum feature.
honestly, i did not get too much into the scuffle between these two forums. not enough time in the day for me to devote that type of energy to something so negative. sorry if i wasted your time by bringing your attention to it.
the part that did matter to me was how the situation was handled. reputation means everything. doing the right thing speaks volumes about a person and a company. not sure how the fallout will affect both companies.
…..as the blog turns…..
I figured you were just trying out something new. You know me. In my brain out my mouth. No harm intended.
“sorry if i wasted your time by bringing your attention to it.”
Not one bit of wasted time Rudy! (interesting CTR data, thanks!)
I’m like ARDELL, I just say what I’m thinking…
“reputation means everything”
100% agreed!