Archive for the 'Random' Category
Happy New Year!
December 31st, 2007 Categories: Mortgage News, Random, Real Estate News, Real Estate Technology, Social Networking
Happy New Year to all who take the time to read my (bitchy, thx Todd) rantings.
One of my resolutions is to reconfigure TheXBroker.com into a place that tears into the laws of unconventionality, enlightening, provoking, teaching, providing for and preparing real estate and mortgage professionals for business in 2008 and beyond…I’ve taken the Holidaze to ponder some ideas and formulate a grand plan, it should be interesting to say the least.
Look for a face lift in the coming weeks…
Sphere: Related Content| Comments
Vulture Crapitalists Suck
December 22nd, 2007 Categories: Random, Social Networking
During my recent travels through some of our nations airports, I happened upon an article in one of my favorite print magazines (Wired, I believe confirmed) about a blogsite called The Funded. The article and site, about the travails of entrepreneurs during their experiences with Venture Capitalists, resonated with me for a few reasons:
1) The blogauthor of the site (Ted) was anonymous (real name Adeo Ressi). The XBroker was anonymous for awhile, until the professional community outcry became too loud to ignore.
2) The site outs the often misunderstood underpinning of a little understood industry, Venture Capitalism. The XBroker sought (seeks) to do the same for the mortgage (and real estate) industries.
3) Mr. Ressi is using aspects of nouveau social media to create a forum that evens the playing field for aspiring (and/or seasoned) players in the respective market.
Both sets of ‘industry’s’ are reputed for their gross molestation of potential and current clients. You know it’s coming, at least you should, yet one resigns to dealing with these necessary evils due to lack of apparent alternatives.
Moral of the post: Don’t take shit from no one. Seek to understand and the truth will set you free.
Kudos to Adeo Ressi, the world needs more of his ilk…
Sphere: Related Content| Comments
XBROKER RESIGNS FROM REALESPACE
December 21st, 2007 Categories: Mortgage News, Random, Real Estate Technology, Realespace
On Wednesday, December 19, 2007, I officially resigned as President of RealEspace.
Looking to the future, I plan to focus my efforts on XBroker initiatives and continue fueling the transparent mortgage and real estate revolution.
Sphere: Related Content| Comments
I Blog, Therefore I Am?
December 4th, 2007 Categories: Random
I blog, therefore I am? (Rhetorical question)
After the dizzying experience of clearing out my Google Reader, I’ve come to the conclusion that 90% of blog posts suck. Too many blogauthors write just to write, taking us down the boring path of traditional journalism, writing about whats been written about.
If you’re re-reporting whats in the newspaper et al, spare me the noise.
Don’t blog just to blog. I’m looking for an angle, a real novel opinion…not re-digested fodder about what I can read in the Wall Street Journal or USA Today.
What makes a good blogauthor? One who writes the posts that others post about, and link too. What makes a great blogauthor? One who writes the posts that others post about, but don’t link too. In either case, a good blogger inspires, actually provokes thought rather than instills beliefs, and moves other people into action.
Blog when you are moved to do so, not just to ‘improve your SEO’.
Blog with conviction, not political correctness.
Blog like you don’t give a damn what that other idiot thinks.
Blog like no one is going to read you.
Blog what you want to blog about, not what you think others will like to read.
Bloging must maintain a rawness that ought never be tainted by the laws of conventional wisdom.
Blog because you care about the conversation, not traffic results.
Blog under these conditions, and You Shall Be…
Sphere: Related Content| Comments
Put Identity Thieves on Ice by Freezing Your Credit
October 9th, 2007 Categories: Random
Credit Freezing looks to be a very simple, yet very effective counter-measure to identity thieves. Freezing effectively denies any permission to access to a consumers credit report, new lines of credit cannot be opened and existing information is placed behind a firewall. When a consumer decides they want to apply for new credit a ‘thaw period’ may be requested and access to their bureaus is restored.
Freezing your credit will not prevent further damage if an identity theft is in progress nor would it prevent someone from fraudulently using existing credit cards and the such.
Watchdog groups are making a heavy push toward mandating the three credit repositories, Experian, Trans Union, and Equifax offer consumers an easy, timely, and inexpensive ability to ‘Freeze’ access their credit profiles. Apparently the process is less than fluid, so a little massaging seems in order.
A less than perfect process to freeze and thaw makes sense, from the credit repository side of the equation. They make a whole bunch of cash by selling their ‘credit monitoring’ services. No need to monitor what no one can access. At between $5 and $12 per freeze or thaw, depending on what state you live in, it’s inexcusably cheap considering that the monthly cost of monitoring ones credit costs north of $20 per month, and does little more than notify you of fraudulent activities quicker…alas the damage has already been done.
This strategy makes a great deal of sense, the ability to turn on and off access to your credit file is a stout preventative measure that should be seriously considered by everyone…especially husbands with a wife who sees the 10% discount on an overpriced something-or-other, just for opening a store credit card, as a sound personal financial decision…
Sphere: Related Content| Comments
