An RE.net taxonomy: Identifying types of real estate weblogs
By: Greg Swann,
Phoenix Real Estate,
Post Archive,
RSS FeedPosted: Thursday, June 14th, 2007, 12:28 am MST
Category: Blogging,Marketing,Real Estate,Weblogging 101
This is a first strike at a taxonomy of real estate weblogs. Taxonomy is the science of categorizing things. Of course, not everything can be neatly categorized, but the elucidation of categories can focus the mind, helping us to understand where certain weblogs might fit, which are hybrids of two or more categories, and which can only be described by the creation of new categories.
Again: This is a first strike. I may not have created enough categories, or I may have created some in error. I may have certain weblogs — offered here as examples — miscatalogued. If you think I’ve got something wrong, say so. If we can whip this into a decent shape, I may built it as a separate page, something we can lay by for an enterprising newspaper reporter — or the nonesuch, whichever comes along first.
In any case, here’s my first swing at the ball:
- Real Estate Industry, real estate industry focus for professionals, BloodhoundBlog
- National Interest, real estate focus for consumers, The Real Estate Webloggers, About Home Buying & Selling Real Estate
- Local Interest, local real estate focus for consumers, The San Diego Home Blog, Brokers First Realty, The Phoenix Real Estate Guy
- Hyperlocal Interest, hyperlocal real estate focus for consumers, McCormick Ranch Real Estate & Homes
- Neighborhood, hyperlocal focus, not real estate oriented, RealCrozetVA
- Architecture/Decor, elaboration of design for consumers
- Real Estate Aficionado, homes, decor and construction for consumers, SocketSite.com
- Home Remodeling/Refurbishing/Restoration, homes improvement how-to for consumers
- Staging, home staging for consumers or professionals, Home Staging Rants & Ravings
- Appraisal, home appraisals for other appraisers, Appraisal Scoop
- Title, title and escrow for professionals
- Home Inspection, home inspection for consumers or professionals, Homewerx Home Inspection Blog
- Vendor, vendors appealing to professionals, Ubertor Real Estate Blog
- Weblogging Vendor, weblogging vendors appealing to professionals, The Real Estate Tomato
- Corporate, corporate PR for consumers and professionals, ShackBlog, Zillow Blog
- Investor, real estate investing advice and discussion, BawldGuy Talking, Real Estate Investing for Real Blog
- Loan Officer, mortgage lenders appealing to consumers, America’s Most Opinionated Mortgage Broker, The Mortgage Reports Blog, Blown Mortgage
- Mortgage Industry, mortgage industry news for consumers or professionals, Mortgage Matters
- Technology, real estate technology news for professionals, The Future of Real Estate Marketing
- Marketing, real estate marketing news for professionals, Real Estate Marketing Blog
- Commercial Real Estate, multi-family and commercial properties for professionals and investors, Future of Commercial Real Estate
- Legal Issues/Real Estate Attorneys, lawyers writing on real estate issues for consumers or professionals, Real Estate and Construction Law Blog
- Metablog, weblogging about real estate weblogging, Carnival of Real Estate Blog
- Megablog, multi-user real estate weblogging portal, ActiveRain Real Estate Network
- Hyperlocal Megablog, multi-user real estate weblogging portal focused on consumers, Localism: Local Real Estate Information
- Personal Observations, Reflections by individual consumers on buying, selling, remodeling, flipping, etc.
- Mainstream Media Real Etate Weblogs, consumer information, insider news from media outlets, BusinessWeek Hot Property, Inman New Blog, Lansner on Real Estate
- Bubble Blogger, the world will end in a cataclysm of unrelenting misspellings
- Entertainment, the lighter side of real estate
Nothing is quite that neat, of course. BloodhoundBlog is an Industry weblog, to be sure, but we also combine elements from the Investor, Loan Officer, Mortgage Industry, Technology and Marketing headings. Many Local Interest real estate weblogs also feature Industry content. Anyway, let me know what should be added, cut, shuffled, renamed, etc. This could be interesting…
Further notice: 1. I added RealCrozetVA as an example of a neighborhood weblog. If you have suggestions for other blank spaces, say so. 2. I added four new categories: Commercial, Metablog, Megablog and Hyperlocal Megablog. 3. Added Personal Observations category. 4. Added Home Remodeling/Refurbishing/Restoration category. 5. Added Mianstream Media Weblogs. 6. Added Legal Issues/Real Estate Attorneys.
Technorati Tags: blogging, real estate, real estate marketing
Related posts:23 comments
23 Comments so far
Greg
Great Start. I printed this off and put it in my look at every week folder. I will be interested to see the comments that come out of it.
Category = RE Disasters
For example: http://bubbletracking.blogspot.com/
I’m sure Realtor Wives should be a category that reads something like this:
*The Other Side of Real Estate as viewed by the spouse(s) of Realtors and other industry leaders from the back seat of the car, usually with a smart alec or nagging tone.
Hi Greg,
Thanks for including us. I appreciate it.
Sincerely,
Steve
Nice jab at those that failed the spelling tests. 100 other misspelled words at http://www.yourdictionary.com/library/misspelled.html.
It would be interesting to know in what category the blog authors would put themselves. Sometimes, the readers’ perceptions are different from the bloggers’ intent.
How about a category for Commercial Real Estate Blogs?
London Whittedand Pat Kitanoare working on an interesting commercial real estate blog project.
What are your thoughts on why there aren’t more blogs focusing on commercial real estate?
[...] Greg Swann has an interesting post over at BloodHoundBlog titled “An RE.net taxonomy: Identifying types of real estate weblogs.” Take a look and see what category your real estate blog falls under! Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...]
Hey, Greg, you have broken my heart. I write blogs and pump out three articles every week on About.com’s Home Buying & Selling, yet I do not see my site listed under National for Consumers. How about adding homebuying.about.com? Far as I know, I don’t misspell anything.
Elizabeth, I debated not giving examples, because I know people would feel slighted, or would simply want the link. Anyway, you’re in. Neatness and spelling do count.
Greg, you’re off to a great start. You’ve got several of my favorites listed. If I were you I’d bump Joel Burslem’s Future of Real Estate Marketing to ‘Marketing’ and put Loren Nason’s Future of Real Estate Technology in the ‘Technology’ section. Just my 2 cents.
Whew. Thanks, Greg. All is right with the world now. Well, back to my spinning hamster wheel.
I was thinking of starting a blog about my search for a home now that I’m (almost) ready to begin the process in earnest. Where do you think that my hypothetical new endeavor might fall in your taxonomy?
> I was thinking of starting a blog about my search for a home now that I’m (almost) ready to begin the process in earnest. Where do you think that my hypothetical new endeavor might fall in your taxonomy?
A category of your own, Personal Observations.
Our strategy here in Boston, after much deliberation on the how to build an “insanely great hyperlocal blog,” ultimately resulted in a two pronged approach to achieving this aboce stated goal.
First, we looked at our target audience–and soon realized that there were in fact, not one, but two (2) distinct hyperlocal audiences that we were interested in attracting–each having their own specific needs.
The first audience we hoped to align our content and purpose with was those residents of Boston who were NOT in the process of buying or selling real estate, or even thinking about it. They just lived here. So we set out to build a neighborhood blog that addressed the needs of the community of Boston.
This blog is called Dahubbub.com.
In it you will not find much about buying or selling real estate, but you will find quality content on neighborhood news, histories, education, parks and recreation, lifestyle, arts and entertainment–all distributed on a neighborhood by neighborhood basis. For this site our aim was to build relationships, because as any good Realtor knows, real estate is a relationship business. We do NO selling of our services on this blog, rather we consider it more of an outreach program, or–if you wish–a long term lead incubation program.
The second audience we hope to attract is that subset of Boston residents who are in the process of buying or selling, or who thinking about buying or selling real estate within the neighborhoods of Boston. So we set out to create a blog that addresses this groups special needs.
This blog we called REhubbub.com
In this blog you WILL find specific, quality and fresh daily content on real estate related activities on a neighborhood by neighborhood basis. Visitors to this site will find detailed information on topics like market conditions and trends, unique homes, area amenities, curb appeal, zoning, financing, schools, local associations, etc.–and of course topics about home buying and home selling.
So, there you have it. Will this strategy work? Only time will tell. Both blogs were launched in mid-may, so it’s far to early to say if we chose the right strategy. Perhaps some of you here might let us know if you think we’re on the right track. And, please, feel free to visit one or both of our unique blogs and post a comment
http://www.dahubbub.com
http://wwww.rehubbub.com
If you need a blog on Home Inspections, check out http://www.HomeInspectionBlog.com
Hi Greg, Thanks for adding my Home Inspection Blog to your list. By the way, you have a great blog!
Great start! Since day 1 I’ve pondered what appears to be the complete absence of title/escrow blogs…
Another category that seems like it would be ripe for the picking would be Legal Issues/RE Attorneys. This one is the closest I’ve found, but it’s almost to “legalish” to read:
http://www.realestateandconstructionlawblog.com/
Where would you put Catherine Reagor’s “blog”?
> Where would you put Catherine Reagor’s “blog”?
That’s just too easy…
It’s a point, though. Lansner is the real deal, and so is Inman Blog. Thanks!
[...] – Be an expert. Part of being an expert is to have others perceive you to be one. Seth Godin is brilliant, and many (most?) people agree. Blogging in a vacuum is rewarding on one level – that of gaining knowledge. – Be transparent in all that you do. If you are blogging solely to gain business, readers will rapidly discern that. Blog for yourself. – Read voraciously – more than your competition. This knowledge will set you apart for your clients and potential clients. – Get started at Greg’s real estate blog taxonomy and Rain City Guide, the two preeminent real estate blogs in the country. Go from there. – Read RSS feeds. This will make your reading much, much more efficient. – Be honest, in all that you do. When you’re wrong, be wrong graciously and move on. (Being told you’re wrong means that someone’s reading!) – Be passionate about what you do. It shows. – One component of online credibility is how you rank in Google. Write for yourself and your reader(s), but be mindful of the search engines. [...]
What about the resort/vacation home/second home market? It is the fastest growing segment of real estate. There is plenty to write about in buying and selling, enjoying the recreational opportunities, managing from a distance, renting it, and maybe even getting it to cash flow.
[...] So if you are interested in helping head on over to the BloodhoundBlog post on Real Estate Taxonomy to read the list and give Greg your two cents. [...]
[...] Training – Perhaps. Only one franchise that I am aware of (KW) provides innovative training as part of their culture. You can learn an awful lot by reading some some of the best blogs in the RE.net, or by searching a thousand-plus real estate blogs. Stumbling on a conversation in the office about whether it seems more buyers are electing to have radon tests, or if there are any people having home inspectors, or did a home inspector/attorney/Realtor do something recently that was good/bad is much harder and often times, much more valuable. [...]
[...] RE.net: The real estate blogosphere [...]