MicroBlogging

February 8th, 2008 Categories: 4realz, dustin luther, microblogging, re.net, twitter

I’m one to write diatribes. I have this internal claw that directs me to carefully articulate my topics by preemptively covering all angles (and potential rebuttals) as a reader takes the time to digest my left (or right) of center opinions.

This can get, mmmm, tedious at times. I don’t like tedious but I’ve been of the mindset that if someone is going to take the time to read my stuff, I should put out my best…thus the resulting diatribe-itus.

Two ‘things’…one is a service, the other is a person…have led me to see and blog otherwise.

Twitter is a service in and of itself that consists of a user entering 4-5 line max ‘thoughts’ or ‘What I’m doing’ blurbs that may not seem significant in singular, but when read across a time period, can really give you insight into how and/or who a person is. Initially, I thought Twitter was lame, now I find myself ‘Twittering’ on a few platforms.

The person is Dustin Luther and his site 4Realz.net. Dustin needs no introduction to those familiar with the re.net (a term coined by Greg Swann, another influencer in this) space, but in case you haven’t heard of or read about him (welcome out from under the rock) he is a pioneer in and for the social networking aspects of real estate. I thoroughly enjoy 4Realz (and Dustin) because it (he) practices what I call Microblogging, a few lines or paragraphs tipping hat to whats interesting to him, which I find interesting. I read 4Realz.net every day because I know it will take me <30 seconds and lead me somewhere interesting, either in my own head or else ware in the Web.

Both ‘things’ have influenced me to the point of practicing MicroBlogging…its a refreshing alternative to the diatribe :) I encourage other bloggers to practice Microblogging as well because it allows your audience to get to know you quicker. Real estate and mortgage transactions will always have a personal relationship factor to them, regardless of technology and resulting levels of disintermediation. Although I’ve only met Dustin 3 maybe 4 times, and we’ve only exchanged cursory level handshakes and well-wishy conversations, I feel like I know Dustin far better than our personal interactions would typically dictate.

All real estate and mortgage professionals could benefit from the simple dynamic Microblogging creates…a quick interesting conversation about relevant topics.

Sphere: Related Content

This entry was posted on Friday, February 8th, 2008 at 2:35 pm and is filed under 4realz, dustin luther, microblogging, re.net, twitter. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Microblogging is… « 4realz.net said at February 8th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
[…] February 8, 2008 by Dustin …fun. […]
Jay Thompson said at February 8th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
I am a diatriber. It’s a sickness I’ve had a long time. I recall getting 500 word essay assignments in Jr. High and actually asking the teacher if it was OK if I did 1000. My Senior thesis in college was supposed to be 25 - 30 pages long. My adviser said, “Thompson, keep it under 50 pages”. It was 49.75 pages long, but I had to cheat on the margins to get it to fit.

I think 4Realz is brilliant. I’ve even (gasp!) written some very short posts on my blog thanks to Dustin’s schooling and example.

And using Twitter (which I too thought was horribly lame) has also helped me write shorter, more succinct posts.

Now I just need to work on shorter comments…
Andy Kaufman said at February 8th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
Hi Jeff,

I’m a big proponent of micro-content as well, having experienced the effects first hand as I’ve honed my style and grown along with Twitter.

I’ve made so many meaningful connections over the past year as my network keeps growing larger and stronger by connecting and communicating with each another in short, easily digestible bursts, that it’s hard to deny the benefits of this shift in online interaction.

You should join us on Twitter, I’m sure a lot of people would appreciate what you have to offer.

-Andy
http://twitter.com/andykaufman
Mike Farmer said at February 9th, 2008 at 8:39 am
I like long, comprehensive articles, and I like micro-pieces, the requirement being that they’re interesting.

Sometimes I’m in a rush and pithy nuggets are a relief and sometimes I have time to absorb a longer post that develops an idea with rich content.

Either is cool with me.
Microblogging feels… « 1031 Like-Kind Exchange Blog said at February 9th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
[…] Jump to Comments easier, more concise, and more easily digestable (like Twitter…follow […]
Link it up! A day late for good reason « 1031 Like-Kind Exchange Blog said at February 9th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
[…] yeah, I also liked Jeff Corbett’s Microblogging bit (if you couldn’t tell from my last […]
Jim Cronin said at February 9th, 2008 at 11:20 pm
4realz got me here in 1 word.

You know I am a diatribe… in fact, I’m so guilty of consciously working for the perfect, all angled post that I am a triatribe.

I have more Twitter readers at http://twitter.com/retomato then I have tweeted. Made me feel a bit guilty, so I started trying to tie a micro post on twitter to each RET diatribe.

Great post.
Derek said at February 10th, 2008 at 12:36 am
I tend to be like Jay.

Being a southerner (and you know us NC folks) I always said “why use only 5 or 6 words, when 12 or 13 will do?”

The introduction on one of the history papers I have to write and turn in at the end of semester at ECU is 2 pages long and I am using sized 9 font and it’s single spaced!