@Larry – That’s great. If anyone else wants to vote for JD, leave a comment or email me at rudy [at] trulia dot com

@Glenn – No jail for you….Asking questions is good…Hopefully you received a good answer…

@Sylvia – Thanks for being a part of the Voices family. I agree w/ your advice about not sitting on the sidelines….rather, be a part of it…In some sense, it’s like people who complain about our elected officials yet have never voted – don’t get it……I also agree with you in the sense that more participation by those who “get it” will not only lead by example, but will have a much greater chance of connecting with the home buyers and sellers that are asking questions….

“And Rudy – with the patrol in Trulia – the best way to communicate with an offending agent is to pick up the phone and talk to them about the community rules and actually deleting their irrelevant answers. Yes, we have one recent big time offender for counts, reported but not dealt with, that does not help Trulia image you are trying so hard to protect. It’s sad that I have to go to another forum to point this out ” – You are not pointing anything new out to me or anyone at Trulia Sylvia. In fact, we have been doing much of this either by email or phone where necessary…but thanks again for constructive feedback!

@JD – no need to shout above circling sharks, consumers can hear quite well ya know The fact of the matter is that at the end of the day, no matter what forum or community you participate in, you can only control what you say…..and hope, that by example, others follow the culture and best practices of the leaders in the community. And if you’re still learning, that’s ok too, you should read, read, read way more than you contribute first.

@Deborah – Hello Mrs. Madey:) You have been a great proponent of Voices and your participation has been outstanding. Awesome seeing you in SF too by the way

Your feedback has not fallen on deaf ears. You and others have some pretty loud megaphones so we hear ya loud and clear. Having said that, we have internal moderators on Voices that do a heck of a job. However, the community has just grown so fast, so we rely on the community for feedback in addition to our own efforts. So yes, we’re looking for someone for this role.

I love your example of why participating outside of your geography works, I’ve used this type of example many times before as well, but it’s great to hear it from a successful agent that has made it work for them. Well done! We wish you much continued success.

Rudy
Social Media Guru at Trulia

As a frequent contributor on Voices, I can share much that is good, and much that needs improvement. I have strongly shared my opinions about courtesy, professionalism, and the need for more moderation. I have heard the position statement from Trulia that an online community should largely regulate itself. Upon hearing this, I emphasized the fact that Voices is not about commenting on a concert, dinner, recipie, or clothing style, but quite often the largest financial decision that people make in their lives. There was a time when I thought we would see greater moderation, and it did not materialize. I have since retired my megaphone on this subject.

On the subject of local ………If local expertise is required, it should be left to those who can deliver that information. Many questions are generic. I can cite numerous examples where I got to know agents in other areas because of my involvement with Voices, which subsequently has led to both inbound and outbound referrals. I agree w/ a lot of “problems” on Voices with unprofessional behavior, bashing other agents, and worthless answers. However, I could help a lot of people understand how generic Q & A participation can strengthen relationships between good dedicated Realtors…….and that is something our industry really needs. Voices can play a role in that. It needs more participation from good Realtors, an understanding of using Voices across geograhies in a manner that will benefit consumers, the industry, and Realtors individually (in SEO, local business, and relationships).

I have long asked Trulia to acknowledge that real estate, given the seriousness and financial depth of the transaction needs more moderation than other online forums. There has been a strong desire by Trulia to let it work itself out and let the community regulate itself. I used to write people online and privately and try to help…..but I haven’t been doing that lately either.

Overall, Voices has been a very positive experience for me. Jonathan shared on his blog an example of many experiences I have had with Trulia. People have found me through Google as a result of an out of area quesion that was generic and of interest to the consumer who generated a search.

No time to ck my typing on this….I am late….on my way out the door…..gotta go….please excuse the typos!!!!
Deborah Madey – Broker
New Jersey

http://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Selling/Clarification_on_postlets_com_-50325–

Sylvia

Have to say that I am very relieved to see I am not on that Top Voice board

Sylvia

I have, Sylvia …

http://www.trulia.com/voices/leaderboard/Arizona-4/

I’m fairly selective in what I answer and I don’t leave the Arizona borders (though, as mentioned above, there is a possible benefit to doing so for SEO purposes). As often as not, though, it’s not worth it trying to shout above the circling sharks to provide another answer.

I agree with a lot of what you gals/guys said, and yes, it pains to see people who answer questions for answer’s sake and who reflected poorly upon our profession.

However, being an Internet age, with Google type of search engine, you will encounter those anyway and they are going to reflect poorly on our profession unless we change that image.

What I want to encourage you all to do is to stop standing on the sideline, and be part of it so you can provide the professional image to the consumers.

There are many good agents on Trulia, not all give canned answers, and not all try to hard sell and silicate business (but aren’t we all here to sell Real Estate and build consumer awareness instead of doing charity work?)

I am also guilty of answering out of area questions, and I think I have answered that a few times on Trulia – similar reasons as Deborah Madey.

Consumers are pretty savvy. I have people email me just recently saying that they would consider using me because they don’t feel I am trying to get business.

When you are the ones who provide quality answers, they will sort through the many answers and find you.

When there is more quality agents like yourselves on Trulia, the others will fade and disappear in the background and probably quit because they can’t hold a candle against you and you will stand out. But when you are not part of it, whoever is there is who the consumers will see.

You are all brutally honest, so hope this does not offend you. As you all know, the choice is yours.

And Rudy – with the patrol in Trulia – the best way to communicate with an offending agent is to pick up the phone and talk to them about the community rules and actually deleting their irrelevant answers. Yes, we have one recent big time offender for counts, reported but not dealt with, that does not help Trulia image you are trying so hard to protect. It’s sad that I have to go to another forum to point this out

Sylvia

Well, I guess it it off to jail and banishment.

His side side ain’t Tonto but you can’t have everything.