The Real Deal on Real Estate Blogs

Brownstoner...you know how much we digg your stuff up here in the N. Bk and I've had a great time passing info and flicks back and forth...this is how we continue to celebrate Bk's diversity...and keep it colorful (nice feathers btw)
As for the anonymity and honest blogging...I do not feel that the two necessarily go hand in hand. I mean, look at the comments that cut-throats and cowards leave while they hide behind their anon-. Look at what Craig is going through due to the ills that come by way of of anon- posting. I do not think that level of 'honesty' carries much merit. Some feel that they 'are just being honest' when they allow whatever silly (sometimes damaging) little witticism they're currently impressing themselves with, ooze from their keyboard. Opinions are like something else we all have. Many people tend to use anonymity as a weapon, kinda like using a language that no one else in a room understands except for you and your associate, in order to screw someone out of something. However, I think that what you are doing (along with the Grunt and myself,i like to think at times) is something quite different. Where we find the others masking the facts and/or truth in lies and switch baiting, the type of honesty that you/we attempt to bring to the table is masked in art. Art is the anti-broker and can be the buffer and bridge to something positive. I attempt to do this with photography and radically different types of RE advertisement, you with progress, renovation and architectural goodies. We try to escort people 'inside' the issue. How much more truthful can you get than a good photograph? And what about a photograph of an entire situation, including yourself as just another aspect of the environment. As brokers (maybe moreso in Bk than in the city), we do not merely bridge the gap between client and a piece of property, we enable a 'situation' to occur and there's a certain amount of responsibility involved with this. It is difficult to both remain anonymous and responsible about your involvement simultaneously.

As for 'shameless self promotion,'those of us who began blogging real estate before the "blogging bubble" know how exciting it was to discover that there were very few like us during that time and the window for self promotion was there for the taking. To write or take pictures at all (for the sake of real estate)was more than most others were doing. Why? Because there is a level of transparency that unfolds in a blog that the shadiest of brokers would never go near. To lay yourself out in front of everyone and say "Here I am NY, and this is what i can do for you/show you" is hard for many, who would rather you slip their fee under the door, rather than shake your hand and check up on your situation in a month. I refuse to work with anyone I can't look in the eye (I'm sure LoftNinja would agree) and although only a portion of the people that contact me actually ever do see my eyes, it will be the most serious of the bunch that gets my time. This has nothing to do with being a 'shitty broker' or whatever else housing forum addicts want to spit. It has to do with experience and knowing how to choose your battles. Most broker bashers are bored people who don't mind wasting a stranger's time, even when they are trying to help them anyway. Its about time and money. Its about me really not being able to take and present you to this landlord who has a short fuse and even shorter attention span, if you arent serious enough to move or are just gonna ask them the same questions i already answered for you just to see if I lied. I work primarily with artists because they are the first to be ejected from a neighborhood that they created. Not all artists are serious, of course- in fact most 'artists' arent artists at all- but the serious ones have a specific need that must be fulfilled with specific space. My clients come to me because I know how to find them that space if i dont already have it and because i care. They wouldnt know that i did if i shielded myself from them completely. I only wish to remain serious about helping people out and this has required doing my own thing and so far that hasnt required me to show up to any bloggers lunch in a mask or a tu-tu. That works great for Brownstoner and the Grunt because they remain anonymous for the sake of other people-which they should. The public are at the mercy of what we show them. I have, to the best of my ability, tried to remain hidden in plain sight.

It looks like i may have written a blog post of my own here, but I think the distinction needed to be made-or at least considered. Brownstoner..the mask rocks. Its like that one brownstone on the entire street with terrific bright red windows..you just know that theres a coloring lesson going on inside. One might forever remember that entire block because of those windows. As for me, i'm more like a factory. Its hard to find a row of factories with any two looking alike....so i just paint them all red and send the picture to all of you. Lets just learn as we go shall we? Its been a long week...thanks for allowing me to ramble.

Posted by: justiNYC at March 3, 2006 9:10 PM