Real Estate Social Media Definitions

Social media is continuing to evolve; when I started this list there were five major categories of social media tools defined for the real estate professional - today (August 17th, 2007) I added one more (micro-blogging). 

The list will likely continue to evolve, but the reason for this list is that the comment Marc Andresseen made about the Internet finally coming of age is a comment I thought about and heartily agree with - I also think social media is the underpinning of that the change to a more robust use of the Internet.

Social media is a technology that connect people-to-people, directly in ways that are meaningful.  Here is the list of social media tools I know about and or use everyday.

·         Blogging

·         Micro-Blogging

·         Podcast

·         vBlogging

·         Social Networking

·         Wikis

Are there others? Probably - let me know your list and we'll keep growing it.

• Blogging

  • A blog (short for the phrase 'weblog') is a website that consists of a series of entries arranged in reverse chronological order, often updated frequently with new information about particular topics. The information can be written by the site owner, gleaned from other Web sites or other sources, or contributed by users.

  • Generally, weblogs are devoted to one or several subjects or themes, usually of topical interest, and, in general, can be thought of as developing commentaries, individual or collective on their particular themes. A weblog may consist of the recorded ideas of an individual (a sort of diary) or be a complex collaboration open to anyone.

  • As a format and content approach for a Web site, the weblog seems popular because the viewer knows that something changes every day, there is a personal point-of-view, and, on some sites, there is an opportunity to collaborate or respond with the Web site and its participants.

  • The author of a blog is often referred to as a blogger. Many blogs syndicate their content to subscribers using RSS, a popular content distribution tool.

• Micro-Blogging

• Micro-blogging is a form of blogging that lets you write brief text updates (usually less than 200 about your life on the go and send them to friends and interested observers via text messaging, instant messaging email or the web.

• The most popular service is called Twitter, Jaiku, Tumblr and Pownce. Pownce differs by integrating micro-blogging together with file-sharing and event invitations.

• The popular social networking website's Facebook and MySpace also have a micro-blogging feature, called "status update".

• Podcasting

• Podcasting is the recording, preparation and distribution of audio files via the web and using RSS to the computers of subscribed users. These files may then be uploaded to digital music or multimedia players like the iPod. A podcast can be easily created from a digital audio file.

• The podcaster first saves the file as an MP3 and then uploads it to the Web site or a service provider. The MP3 file gets its own URL, which is inserted into an RSS XML document as an enclosure within an XML tag.

• Once a podcast has been created, it can be registered with content aggregators, such as iTunes, or Podcasting.net, VoiceIndigo or FreshPodcasts. 

• Podcasting has been likened to TiVo because it allows users to listen to their selected podcasts whenever they like, similarly to the way time-shifting lets viewers watch television programs when it suits them. Furthermore, because of the portability of the player devices, users can listen to audio files from the Internet as they go about their daily activities - for example, listening to a news blog entry while at the gym, commuting, or just walking around.

• Bloggers / Content producers are increasingly turning to podcasting as an inexpensive and user-friendly new distribution channel that has the potential to reach a large audience.

• vBlogging

  • A vBlog (or video blog) is a blog that contains video content.  Some bloggers have included video content for years and now vBlogging is becoming more common as equipment becomes cheaper and supporting software and hosting and aggregation sites become more prevalent.

  • Both Yahoo and Google feature video sections and many MP3 players, such as the hugely popular iPod, support video.

  • Anyone with access to a video-capable camera and a relatively recent computer with a high-speed connection can create a vlog and publish and distribute it online.

• Social Networking

• Social networking is the practice of expanding the number of one's business and/or social contacts by making connections through individuals.

• While social networking has gone on almost as long as societies themselves have existed, the unparalleled potential of the Internet to promote such connections is only now being fully recognized and exploited, through Web-based groups established for that purpose.

• Based on the six degrees of separation concept (the idea that any two people on the planet could make contact through a chain of no more than five intermediaries), social networking establishes interconnected Internet communities (sometimes known as personal networks) that help people make contacts that would be good for them to know, but that they would be unlikely to have met otherwise.

• Web sites dedicated to social networking include Linkedin, and Facebook. Private social media networks also exist, such as Ning.

• Upcoming are social networks / communities based on 3D platform.  These environments will mean much to real estate as they progress and advance in functionality, usability and content.  Some analyst have suggested that they will become the normal way of accessing information via the Internet.  Most prominent of these is Second Life.  

• Wiki's

  • A wiki (sometimes spelled "Wiki") is a program that allows users to collaborate in forming the content of a Web site. With a wiki, any user can edit the site content, including other users' contributions, using a regular Web browser. Basically, a wiki Web site operates on a principle of collaborative trust. The term comes from the word "wikiwiki," which means "fast" in the Hawaiian language.

  • A wiki provides a interface for making changes. At any time, contributors can conveniently view the Web page as it looks to other subscribers, before and after the changes they have made. The best known example of a wiki Web site is Wikipedia, an online dictionary building collaboration.

  • Private wikis can also be built for little or no cost.  A popular online wiki provider is PBWiki.

Technorati Tags: real Estate, social media, second Life, blogging, vblogging, social networks, ning.com, podcast, podcasting, iTunes, business, wiki, pbwiki, micro-blogging

Comments

[Tim]

Hey great information!!! I did notice that you did not include Wanna Network in your remarks about social networking. I have been a member for almost a year now and I have increased my network and have closed more deals because of my membership. Check it out, its free :)