It's Good to be a Follower

Dear B-Reader,

Alas, we've reached the final chapter in our brief social networking primer.

Think back to your childhood. Your parents, teachers, and other leader-type persons berated your little child-self whenever you followed someone, didn't they. They said something like, "If Johnny jumped off a cliff, would you?" The answer in social networking is a resounding "YES!"

In online life, mimic what others do. As in real life, don't do anything stupid or morally questionable just because someone else is doing it. Copy what seems good and what seems to work for others.

But how will you know what works unless you actually observe these others? In order to interact with others and learn from their experiences, you must be a member of their social networking page. Think of it as a clique or group. Your inner teenager wants to be in the in-crowd. Here's your chance to give in and to do it.

When you find a social networking profile that you enjoy reading, Like, Follow, Follow, Connect with it (Facebook, Twitter, Blog, LinkedIn). Let that person/profile know that you are waiting to see what else they will post. Let them know you care. Don't be scared to let your true colors shine through. Just because you follow profile sites does not imply that you endorse what they have to say. Following simply indicates that you are interested in knowing what they have to say.

Let's practice now. On my Chalkaholic blog site, there is a box, the Following Box, at the top right corner with a pictorial of my followers. These are the persons who choose to publicly follow this blog. They receive notifications when there is a new posting. They can comment on my posts and comment to each other. I can see if they, too, have blogs, and then I can follow theirs. Remember, it's a community.

Now, click the Follow button. It will ask whether you'd like to follow publicly or privately. It's your choice, B-Reader. Either way is A-OK with me. We can be secret friends if you are too shy to let the online world know that you are a Chalkaholic.

P.S., If you have a blog that you'd like me to follow, B-Reader, then by all means, please let me know.

It's All About Who Knows You

Dear B-Reader,

With any marketing that you do in business, you want to address your message to the audience you are trying to reach. Try telling kindergartners your last business presentation and see how long they stay interested...tweak your message and bring it down to their level using Elmo or Dora as a mouthpiece, and bada-bing, you have captivated their attention. Same holds true online in social networking outlets. You must format your social networking messages to the audience who will be reading your postings.

Take Twitter. Twitter is intended to be short tweets (messages) of no more than 140 characters in length. These are similar to texts. Who is totally into texting these days? You bet, B-Reader, it's the teenager next door (or maybe the one living under your roof and monopolizing your cell phone plan). The audience for Twitter is the college student age and under. Make your tweets speak to this group...keep them interesting and less adult-ish in content.

Want to reach a slightly more educated audience? Try LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a professional networking website where users post their resumes online and link (network) with other professionals. As you connect (befriend) with more and more users, you increase your professional network exponentially through indirect connections. One great feature of LinkedIn is the referral capability. I can refer you to a great veterinarian through the click of a button (and of course, I'd refer you to Jeff Chalkley, DVM). So, who uses LinkedIn? Professionals, which would be anyone employed or self-employed who is over college age and below retiree age. Want to send messages to this group? Fine, but keep it professional and very business-related.

How about Facebook? These days, it appears everyone and their mama has a Facebook page. This is the most popular social networking site for women in the baby boomer generation. Take my mother for example, she is on Facebook daily, and she has reconnected with many old friends, made new friends, and keep tabs on her kids and...bonus...see photos of their latest activities. Many new grandmothers simply love the photo feature, and this is exactly what draws them into using this particular form of social networking. Want to reach this wise and nurturing group? You can if you write your posts using smart, cultured language and include pretty pictures. Seriously, a picture speaks a thousand words.

Most important to all of these social networking avenues is their original intent: to network. Don't forget that you are a part of a community. The people who follow, connect to, or fan/like you on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook (respectively) want to interact with you. Nobody enjoys a one-sided conversation. Dive in, join the chatter, and have fun with it.

Networking in Modern Style

Dear B-Reader,

This weekend I attended an inspiring conference in Cow Town (AKA Fort Worth, TX). Although the conference was for the veterinary profession (as you know, B-Reader, my better half is a vet), many of the practice management and communication continuing education meetings were right up my alley. I learned so many things that I was excited to start the week and put these new concepts into practice for my real estate business.

Dr. Jim Humphries of the Veterinary News Network presented a dynamite lecture on social networking. Summary statement: if you're in business today, and if you want to continue to be in business next year, then you MUST get on the social networking bandwagon.

Many professionals are reluctant to use social networking for business marketing, but let me tell you, my B-Reader friend, these networking sites are the best type of marketing -- word of mouth recommendations from people who know you! And free!

Check out my social networking business pages for a little inspiration (granted, I am a novice, not an expert, but if I can do it, you can do it, too!).
Twitter: www.Twitter.com/ChalkleyREALTOR
Facebook: ChalkleyREALTOR
LinkedIn: www.LinkedIn.com/in/KatherineChalkley
Blog (um, you're already here): www.KatherineChalkley.blogspot.com
Web: www.HAR.com/KatherineChalkley

The key with all of these networking sites is to have the information that you post refer back to your business website, which for me is www.HAR.com/KatherineChalkley.

Tomorrow, I will share details with you about another topic from this excellent conference. Be certain to check-in.

Heads Up Seven Up

Dear B-Reader,

Recently, I attended a hip soiree at one of my neighbor's homes. When Jeff and I walked into the kitchen, we were immediately questioned about a phenomenon that was puzzling the other guests. What was up with the water carafe? Why were the lemons floating and the limes sinking in the water? See photos below if you don't believe me...



Jeff had no response. I took one look and immediately gave my two cents (because they asked for it), "The lemons are coated with a wax to give them the luster that the grocers believe that the consumers want. Limes do not need to be as bright and beautiful as lemons in order to be purchased because they are green and green things don't traditionally have sheen, so they are not coated with this waxy film. Wax floats, and therefore, the lemons coated in wax float. Unwaxed citrus sinks." And can you believe it, B-Reader, the crowd bought it! They said it was the best explanation that they had heard all night long!

Well, I have been trained as a researcher by some of the brightest professors at Texas A&M University. The nerd in me could not just walk away from this scientific wonderment without doing my due-diligence to determine if, indeed, my hypothesis was plausible. So, what did I do? Googled it, of course!

If consensus on the internet is any indicator of the truth of this citrusy conundrum, then it is Density! The density of water is 1.00. Limes are slightly more dense than water. Lemons and H2o are roughly the same density as one another. Therefore, limes sink and lemons float in water.

I don't enjoy being proved wrong. But I will accept it this time because it brings about good memories of a lovelorn nerd, George McFly from Back to the Future (1985), "I'm George. George McFly. I'm your density. I mean...your destiny." Love ya' George.

For Rent

Dear B-Reader,

For those of you tracking my real estate career, you will be pleased to know that despite the negativity in the news regarding my industry, I am doing A-OK in my business. Thanks to some wonderfully loyal clients and a great broker office.

Although qualified buyers are harder to come by these days than in previous years, tenants are on the rise. This summer, I averaged one completed lease transaction a week. Pretty good stats in this real estate gun-shy economy. Some leases are for individually-owned properties, such as single-family homes in a residential neighborhood. Others are for apartment and condos owned by large companies. Yes, contrary to the common practice of REALTORS, I actually do apartment leasing.

This last week, I showed some excellent for lease properties, ones that I, myself, would absolutely love to live in right now. One place has guest suites for out-of-town visitors to stay on the property but not necessarily stay in your home unit. Genius idea that offers privacy for both the tenant and guests. Several exclusive inner loop properties offer 24-hour concierge service, valet service, maid service, etc. for less than the average monthly mortgage. Brilliant! If only they came with a personal chef, I would be sold!

Tune-in to my real estate fan page on facebook (ChalkleyREALTOR) for updates on the Houston real estate scene and my adventures in the for lease and for sale markets. And if you'd like specific details on a property that I allude to, don't be afraid to ask.

ET! ET! ET! Be Good!

Dear B-Reader,

True love comes around rarely in one's life. Go ahead and prepare yourself to be jealous. True love has has happened to me twice.

"What?!" is probably what you're screaming at the computer screen right now, if you are related to or know my husband, Jeff. Of course, Jeff is my original true love, my perfect match, my childhood sweetheart, my Paco. Puccini, my eight-year-old companion of the feline persuasion, is my OKB (Original Kitty Baby), my second true love, my ET.

Let's focus on the ET concept for a moment, shall we? You remember Spielberg's '80's classic film featuring the extra-terrestrial, ET, and Elliot (played by Henry Thomas)? They were connected. When ET became drunk on beer, Elliot became inebriated; when ET watched a dramatic love scene in a classic movie, Elliot acted out that scene in biology class with his elementary school crush; when ET was presumed dead, recall Elliot's heartbreaking line, "You must be dead, because I don't know how to feel. I can't feel anything anymore."

Puccini is my ET. We feel what each other feels.

* ET (1982).

Last night, Puccini showed me the most affection he has ever shown a living creature. He has been recovering from a permanent manicure (declaw), and I have been feeling under the weather and seriously stressed ever since his surgery last week. Yesterday evening, Puccini crawled up onto my lap, nestled into the blanket, and slept on me for an entire two-and-a-half hours. It was so comfortable that the two of us fell into a deep sleep. He needed this one-one relaxation and recharge time just as desperately as I. He knows me, and I know him. My true love. My ET. My Puccini.

* Chalkaholic and Puccini (2010).

Oh, and just because he's my ET does not mean that Puccini and I make any promises to "Be good." You know, ET said that line to Gertie, not Elliot, so the expectation is not that I, Kathy, be good, but rather, that someone else, perhaps you, B-Reader, be good.