While most industry professionals have been focused on falling home values and receding portfolio offerings from lenders, a revolution called web2.0 is changing the way people communicate, shop, and network on the Internet.
Simply put, web2.0 gives voice to any user on the net. Websites like MySpace, Facebook, and YouTube are mainstream examples of this new platform. Each site grows it’s membership by allowing it’s users to publish their own content. Industry Specific web2.0 sites are growing as well. ActiveRain is a blogging and forum site for our industry. Trulia Voices, allows consumers to post questions to be answered by trade professionals. Meanwhile, independent blogs have given voice to individual real estate agents and mortgage brokers.
Gone are the days when each and every change to a web site requires a web designer, time, and all of those inevitable fees. Once a web2.0 platform is built, the proprietors and their clients can communicate as easily as sending an email.
While the opportunities are endless, so are the choices to be made in how to proceed. I’ve spent the last three years navigating through social networking sites to determine what works and what doesn’t.
My blog, lenderama.com, was the first mortgage industry blog, focused on communicating with other mortgage professionals. I took what I learned with lenderama, and built an entire network of mortgage and real estate web sites at mariah.com. My efforts have lead to recognition in Investor’s Business Daily, RIS Media, and Inside Mortgage Technology. I was one of the primary bloggers interviewed for the McGraw Hill published book, Realty Blogging. Most recently, I was named among the Top 25 Most Influential Real Estate Bloggers by Inman News.
Our industry is a pendulum. While the market has soured, that only means it will again improve. Now is the time to get a head start on placing yourself as an effective web2.0 marketer. You can do this, and I can help.
