There’s been some controversy recently about the Sellsius Blog Tour USA that will roll cross country from The Big Apple to The City By The Bay during July. A quick recap for those who haven’t heard about this yet.
Sellsius is a real estate marketing company with a blog, the Sellsius Real Estate Blog. Recently they announced that they were going to travel from New York to San Francisco in an RV to promote blogging to individual real estate agents and other real estate professionals.
They included a charitable feature by encouraging individuals to contribute money, services, time, or whatever they could to a family in need.
They put it this way:
“We leave the door wide open on how and whom you want to help. If you are a professional, let us know how you can help. If you are a person in need, let us know how we can help. We’ll post the stories on Blog Tour USA.”
On the back of the RV they are selling squares to advertise “The New Faces of Real Estate”, and offering them to real estate professionals as a way to promote their businesses with visibility and a link from the Blog Tour USA site.
Now this all seemed like a fun idea to me, and one that has a good chance of combining public education about the benefits of using a professional real estate agent, with the value of using a blog to promote yourself and your business. Plus, it is a chance for me to meet the bloggers on the bus since the itinerary will include Phoenix.
Some folks, though, have taken issue with both the advertising and the charitable content. The Big Dog has taken the position that this whole project is suspect because it links charity to self-promotion. And, one of the commenters indicated that having your face on the back of the bus is tacky.
Well, perhaps I’m too trusting, but I believe something that looks like a good idea deserves to prove itself. I’ve seen plenty of trucks with real estate agent’s faces plastered on both sides, so I think my face among 50 on the bus will not be an issue. And I also do not see a problem with linking doing good to promotion; charities do this all the time with celebrity connections, and companies do it all the time to raise awareness of both their business and the causes they support.
So yes, I see the glass as half full. And when the Blog Tour USA rolls into Phoenix, I’ll be there.
And I will happily toast my glass half full with yours.
The Dog says he doesn’t advertise on his blog—yet I see he sports a Zillow tagged ad: “get free, instant home valuations”… while they last.. on his sidebar. Advertising disguised as (home)value is snake oil hucksterism and Greg is peddling it for free for Barton & Frink (it’s amazing what some blog stroking from David G can accomplish.) Is this GS’ version of charity —a free zestimate? How kind and bold of heart.
And this from a guy who once said being misled on home valuation can have dire consequences. He said everyone must stand up & anyone who remains silent is complicit in the harm. The poor hound just rolled over.
http://www.bloodhoundrealty.com/BloodhoundBlog/?p=188
And what was that Inman panel he was slated to speak on? –oh yeah Blogging for Truth. That explains the drop-out.
“For he that attempts nothing will nothing achieve…”, i.e. nothing ventured, nothing gained. Geoffrey Chaucer (1343-1400)
To me this says it all.
This can be a bit of a slippery slope. After reading a recent post about criticizing other bloggers on Active Rain, and the recent Redf*% hoopla, everyone seems a little touchy.
First, I like what Sellsius is doing in an attempt to promote blogging for real estate professionals. I was recently interviewed my one of the local newspapers in my area and the reported had absolutely no knowledge of blogging what-so-ever, even though the paper she writes for has a blog of it’s own. If this new form of personal promotion will succeed it needs to gain more public awareness. Every form of promotion helps, and the bus tour is a piece of that puzzle. Without public awareness we’re just a bunch of REALTORS spending valuable hours blogging about, and to, other REALTORS. If the advertising is to support the tour and to offer some good to a REALTOR’s local community, I’m all for it.
Second, I read Greg’s blog at least once a day. Even though I have to keep my dictionary and a Latin translation book nearby, I enjoy the content. I don’t feel I need to defend him – he does a spectacular job of doing that on his own, but I applaud his subtle form of limiting advertising he uses. (I even e-mailed him for a little advice of how he writes the code.) And, while I can’t be sure of his true intentions, I view his somewhat critical comments as a Barnum-like promotional ability to stimulate a response. After all he got the attention of Zillow, Redf*&, and lets not forget the Weinnie situation. Is this post just not more proof of that? Give credit where credit is due. It may not always be purdy, but it’s effective!
Am I standing on the fence on this one? Ya betch ya! Yet, I would like to see more universal support between the bloggers.
Christoph – first, LOVE the new look! One thing I dislike about using a feed reader is you miss the look and feel of a blog that you get when actually visiting it. But I read too many blogs regularly so I *have* to feed read or I’ll miss too much of the content…
I’ll admit I don’t quite get Greg’s opposition to the Sellsius tour. But there’s a lot about Greg I don’t get. I’ve met him, he’s a great guy and I have no question that if I was in need of help, he’d be one of the first to offer to help. I haven’t physically met Joe and Rudy, but I get the same feeling about them too.
Greg and the Sellsius boys are both incredibly innovative, and wicked smart. But they are both quite different in their approaches. In a strange way, they remind me of my two kids. My kids are wicked smart too, and obviously related (though “related” in a different way than Greg and Sellsius are related). And they fight like cats and dogs too. I suspect the bottom line is that creative, innovative and intelligent people who see things differently are prone to being “testy” with each other.
Rodney King said, “why can’t we all just get along?” Well, the truth is, Rodney King is an idiot and we can’t just all get along. Human nature doesn’t work that way. Greg and Sellsius’ feelings for each other are between them, and it doesn’t really lessen the respect I have for either. I just shake my head in wonder at some of their exchanges, much like I do with my kids exchanges…
Well said Jay and Stacy.
But consider this when you give credit to Greg–he does not allow us to comment on his posts OR on the posts of his contributors (weenie revenge?). Fine, it’s his blog & he’s the dictator—- But it is one thing to censor our comments on posts that have nothing to do with Sellsius and another to foreclose us the opportunity to rebut a post directed right at us. His readers have no idea we are blacklisted and can take our silence for acquiescence. The Latin term escapes me but in English it’s called “dirty pool”.
Read his comment policy–last time I read it there was no basis to censor our comments. And shouldn’t his contributors have a say whether we’re blacklisted from commenting on their posts? Keep that in mind the next time he speaks about transparency. A Latin speaking dog can still pee on the rug.
The guy just doesn’t practice what he preaches IMO. But he is good at backflips.
Rhonda,
Thanks for this quote. I am still working on comprehending the English language before moving on to English Literature……German Literature gave me headaches in college….
Stacey,
We share the same feelings. I too, respect Greg for his vast knowledge as a broker, knowledge about real estate and his writing skills, but I have to say it bothered me a bit that according to his words I am part of a “dumb stunt†by proxy. Self-promotion is not a bad thing! It just starts to smell if you self-promote yourself and ostracize other bloggers for doing the same thing. There is not difference between a mug-shot on the back of a bus and critical comments/blog-posts with the intent to stimulate response.
This is one reason why dogs can be annoying – but I love them anyway.
Actio recta non erit, nisi recta fuerit voluntas.
Jay,
Glad you like the new skin! I really liked the analogy you used to describe the relationship between Greg and Sellsius.
From my point of view, as a newbie, Greg and Sellsius seem to be more like parents to me….and it is always bad when parents fight in-front of their kids. Kids look up to good parents as their role models and never want to be forced to pick sides. Parents, please don’t fight in-front of your kids.
Joe,
Maybe there will be a day when the hatchet will be buried – Accipere quam facere praestat iniuriam!
Knowledge is not wisdom, nor silken words truth. To endorse his censorship would be to bury a hatchet in the back of both.
As for a dumb stunt: Greg wanted to have a contest to discredit the NCRC. The prize? A Bloodhound T-shirt or a mug.
Sorry, but he does not get my admiration. If he were my parent, I’d run away from home.