REBlogworld - So, you think you can blog?

So, you are a blogger? Or, maybe, like many of us, you would like to try to become a better blogger? Either way, there is an amazing opportunity (see excuse to go) coming soon to Las Vegas. It is called…? Blogworld and New Media Expo.  For the real estate and mortgage industries, a “must attend” Friday conference will be REBlogworld on September 19th. REBlogworld is followed on the 20th and 21st by Blogworld and New Media Expo. Check out “The first and only industry-wide tradeshow, conference, and media event dedicated to promoting the dynamic industry of blogging and new media” this is some serious information overload for many of us that “think” we can blog. Hear and learn from industry experts on topics such as “Blog Publishing Software, Designers and Communities, Podcasting, Internet TV & Radio Services, Equipment and Networks, Social Media Technology and Communities, Badges, Widgets and Plug-ins, Computer Hardware, Software and Peripherals, RSS Services, Advertising Networks, Affiliate Programs, Mobile Blogging and Vlogging Technology and Devices, Broadband, Wi-Fi and ISP’s and much more…” A schedule of events will make you want to figure out how to be in more than one place at a time!

My friends, Jason Berman and Todd Carpenter are adding their expertise to help us all become better bloggers. If you have never met these guys, I can promise you that your trip to Vegas would be more than complete just by getting to know them. Speaking at REBlogworld is a “who’s who” of some of our industries top social media guru’s. Take a look at the information on the web sites and on the REBlogworld Blog. This will be one weekend where you might not want everything to “stay in Vegas.” The knowledge you gain from this trip promises to be worth bringing home with you. However, like I said, I know some of these guys and believe me… It won’t be all work and no play! :-)

TypepPad Explained - Part 2 of many

So you took the leap…whipped out the Credit Card and signed up.  CONGRATULATIONS!  Now what!!??!!!

Now the fun begins…  :-)

First things first…lets look at how to navigate the TypePad Menu System.  Here is the homepage you get once you log in.

There are several different things going on here…at the top you have what I’ll call your “Account Menu” because this controls things across many different Weblogs (because you can create more than one.)

The Home page is where you can select from the different weblog manage.  As you can see, I have two here…”Rob Gibbs, CRS, GRI - Finding Homes, Building Relationships” and “Bleeding Edge Tech”

There is also usually new info from TypePad located on this page…like the iPhone App announcement (above) and the ability to search the knowledge base and the latest from the TypePad company blog.

So, sticking with the “Account Menu” the next thing is the “Weblogs” tab.  This looks pretty much the same as the home page with a couple of IMPORTANT Exceptions…

There are two important buttons on this page…the first is the “Create New Weblog” button in the green header.  USE THIS WITH RESTRAINT!  ;-)  The other is a nifty little tool in the blue box - “Set Up QuickPost Bookmarklet.”  This puts a little app in your right click menu for any webpage you come across to post to any of your weblogs quickly.  We’ll get more in depth into the QuickPost function in another post.

Next is the Photo Albums Tab.  This is just what you think it is…a place to keep your photo albums. We’ll explore how you can use this to showcase homes and do other cool stuff in later posts.

Next is the TypeList tab.  This one is especially useful for adding blogrolls or non-standard widgets to the sidebar without having to edit HTML in Advanced Templates Mode (again…more on that later).  You can see I have 2 here…the Google Reader Widget and the My Favorite Sites Blogroll.

Finally, one of the most important tabs is the Control Panel tab.  This controls many of the features across all your blogs.  You will immediately notice a secondary tab set on this page (in light blue).  One of the first things you should do is complete your Profile.  We’ll start with some of the Control Panel Features in the next post.

See you next time!

Rob

Agents have a thirst for Blogging

Yesterday, I attended a blogging class at SEVRAR taught by Rob Gibbs. Rob did a great job answering a ton of questions and by providing a nice lay out of relevant information. The class was very well attended and gave a nice over view blogging. Some of the items of discussion were.

Blogging - What is it?

Blogging Platforms - Word Press, Blogger, TypePad, Active Rain and others.

Customization - Explaining a few of the endless ways to customize your blog.

Widgets - resources to find and add to your blog.

Content - Yep, content is king. Who are you speaking to?

Social Networking - Briefly touched on a couple of these.

How to use a blog in your business. The class was asked to think of and discuss ways to use blogs.

I really enjoyed Rob’s style of teaching. He is a nice guy with a real passion for blogging. On a break, I mentioned this blog and invited him to check out OUR group. :-)

I believe most of the people in the class were new to blogging and I could tell the amount of interest was sky high. Blogging is still something very “new” to many of us. Classes like this and groups like ours will certainly help many agents get a grasp on this effective way to reach an audience.