Friday, July 17, 2009

Walter Cronkite - An Original Media Mensch

Walter Cronkite was the north star. He pointed the way with his humble, passionate intelligent reporting. He was my first real reporter and anchorman who I watched and listened to each night.

A true reporter from the Tiffany network. Something out of the world. He brought emotion and level-headedness to each broadcast.

Whether he was in the war zone in Vietnam or covering the launch of a spacecraft, he was the person of true authenticity and truth. We believed what he said, no spin zones allowed with Walter providing the news.

We gathered around the television for the good and the bad. The assassinations of JFK, RFK and MLK all required a time for reflection and Walter Cronkite was able to hold up the mirror to allow the country to reflect. He was a leader who put his ego aside for the focus on the story. He knew a good story and he told it straight.

He is a true American Treasure and a Universal treasure as well. We take a moment to close our eyes and breathe in that truth and allegiance that he brought to his audience. Walter you and your style will be missed.

"And that's the way it is"

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Social Media for Realtors

Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to present social media concepts at a technology open house for the Charlotte, NC realtors. Over 200 realtors attended this full day program taught by a team of instructors on topics such as twitter, facebook, and tools such as use of video and digital photography.

My morning sessions included a panel on social media and a class on LinkedIn for Realtors. Both sessions had standing room only. The morning panel was of interest as three of our panelists discussed the main social media tools and how we use them. Part of the discuss came down to "style" and "personal preference" on areas such as privacy and how much time in the day should one devote to social media. Other questions centered around the creative ways we use social media to engage in "conversation" My panelists included realtors Lori Bee and it moderated by Lexie Longstreet.

My individual morning session was held in the technology room with standing room only for a LinkedIn class. We discuss the history of LinkedIn including how the early days when I was part of a group of early adopters who would converse regularly with the founders. Some of the discussion included how to set up your profile for key word searches, the power of your "friend's friends. We also discussed the basics such as setting up your "elevator pitch". Showing how LinkedIn is the new resume and how clients may come to you because you worked together or went to school together in the past.

The afternoon session was about branding yourself on Facebook and LinkedIn. We started with the class writing down 3 concepts of how they are personally branded. The discussion moved to integrating of twitter and our blogs. The class explored the differences between LinkedIn and Facebook and how to use them together to make a powerful marketing and referal system. Our discussion also showed how systems like facebook learn about you and your interests, so how you are engaging is how the system will figure out how to attract others to you.

The day wrapped up and we received such positive feedback from the attendees that this was one of the best educations days that the Charlotte Area Realtors had ever offerred.

I want to thank Karyn Lindsey and her team at the Board of Charlotte Realtors for putting on such a successful program. With 9,000 realtors in Charlotte, looks like we have a few thousand more who can benefit from this topic..

For follow up for other realtors, here are some classes and training available:
1) One of One Coaching (single session or quarterly)
2) On site discussion, breakfast or lunch and learn
3) Public speaking at a realtor event
4) Brainstorming sessions for real estate firms - We lead a discussion on how to utilize social media for your firm.
5) Branding yourself with LinkedIn and Facebook. This can be held as an in-house session or you can sponsor this event for your clients.

For more information you can contact: Andrew Kaplan, ewarriorbizdev@gmail.com or at 704-293-2151.