Ok, so I am the first to admit, I am the neophyte, or “David” in this nebulous area know as the REnet Blogsphere. I have been at this for under a year and the “Goliath” as represented by Bloodhound Blog, has been at it far longer, has way more visitors/readers, and is a serious “Cash Cow” for it’s originators.
That being said, here goes…I apologize in advance for making you jump from post to post to follow along, but in an effort to keep this post from getting waaaaayyyy too long, I felt it flowed best…
It all began with this post….
http://sandiegohomeblog.com/2008/04/10/redfin-wants-you-to-feel-special/by Kris Berg, a well respected Realtor out of San Diego…
It prompted this response…
http://blog.redfin.com/sandiego/2008/04/barbie_takes_a_bite_again.html by Carol Hian, a contributing Blogger and reresentative of Redfin Real Estate. Note the retraction inserted after the fact by Redfin’s CEO, Glenn Kelman. He also commented on the blog post within minutes of it’s being posted, as you will see in the MANY comments at the end of the post.
It not only led to her dismissal…
But it ignited a firestorm of Blog responses, one from me!
Here are a couple of others….
http://www.phoenixrealestateguy.com/the-most-asinine-real-estate-blog-post-ever/913
http://realestatezebra.com/wanna-know-how-you-can-do-irrevocable-damage-to-your-brand-and-your-reputation, there were many more, but these are 2 examples from some pretty good Bloggers.
Ok, so Redfin, through Glenn Kelmen issues an apology, they write a retraction, and dismiss the Blogger, Ms. Hian. End of story, right??? wrong!
Along comes “Goliath”…
(Blood Hound Blog, affectionately called BHB in the Blogsphere) with this post by Barry Cunningham…http://www.bloodhoundrealty.com/BloodhoundBlog/?p=3011…ok, this guy is an excellent writer, articulate, and quite witty, there I said it! Now bring your attention to the end of Barry’s post where he “affectionately” refers to Kris Berg (remember, she started all this) as a “Google Pandering Ho”!!???
Now after talking to some others in the space, who have been around a while, I have come to understand that BHB and Barry have become the “Goliath” they have through the “Hearstonian” tradition of “yellow journalism/bloggalism”.
It does however, raise some questions…1) Is it ok to gain popularity and ultimately financial success through a practice of “Bashing” or “Trashing” in the tradition of The National Enquirer for instance? 2) What does it say of us in the Real Estate space, or us as a people in general when we casually accept the term “HO” as a playful expression of friendliness? 3) What are we really doing in the Blogsphere, or better yet at BHB, when we stop providing information as a service to Realtors, Consumers, and Vendors and become the National Enquirer of Real Estate Blogs?
Do I know what I am opening myself up for here? Yup! Just thought it needed to be discussed.
The word “HO” just didn’t sit well with me. I have a daughter, and no matter how cute and friendly someone thought they were being, if they called her that I would be angry! period!
Hope this stimulates some good discussions amongst you all.
The Coach
I am not a real estate agent, as most commenters here appear to be. I’m just a soon to be homeowner interested in real estate in San Diego.
But I do find this post not only childish, but insulting.
“Everyone ends up with a bad taste, longing for a barf bag and mouthwash.”
You’re right. That describes me to a T after reading this drivel.
I am considering using Redfin as my agency, but I wouldn’t ever consider using Ms. Hian as my agent.
“Biting back” at Ms. Berg is one thing, but you bit back at everyone that contributed to that food drive. How is that appropriate?”
Every comment was of the same ilk, except one, from Glenn Kelman President & CEO of Redfin, he wrote…
Glenn Kelman said:
This post makes me physically ill. It is not consistent with how those of us at Redfin who have met Kris Berg feel about her or her charitable activity. Kris is a wonderful human being and a credit to our profession.
We have a clear policy that the contractors who contribute local posts about the real estate market should focus only on the real estate market, not on competitors. We are clear with everyone with whom we work that Redfin works as a partner with other real estate brokers, not as an antagonist.
Had we known that Ms. Hian felt this way about Realtors, we would not have commissioned her to write for Redfin at all.
As much as we would like to, we cannot take the post down because it would be sneaky to do so. But we will take steps to ensure something like this never happens again.
I apologize on behalf of Redfin for this post, both to Kris Berg and to the real estate profession.
Regards, Glenn”
Kudos to Glenn, not only for his quick response in defense of Kris & Steve, but also for his eloquently stated apology. I am now a Glenn Kelman fan!
Be careful with this medium Bloggers, we should all be proud of what we do, not embarrassed by it.
The Coach