<random rant>
I wasn’t sure how to title this post, and “Legit” is the best title I could come up with.
I recently came across a blog post on a real estate web site, after seeing it tweeted out by a well known real estate tweeter that I had a lot of respect for. I’m not going to link to the post as I am so put off by it that I certainly don’t want to give it any link juice. The tweet read something along the lines of “see the top 50 people you should follow in real estate” with a link to the blog post. However, when I clicked on the link I was sorely disappointed! It was like the author didn’t do his homework and actually research the twitter streams of the people on his list. The list was a cliquish group of his friends who happen to be in real estate and attend workshops, conventions and educational events solely for the after party, not to further their career. (Disclaimer…not all of the people on his list are this shallow, only 95% of them are.) Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about the after parties as it is good to network and get to know your peers. But when the person’s twitter stream doesn’t talk about real estate, then why should they be listed on a “50 people you should follow in real estate” list?! I can emphatically say this only because I do know the majority of the people on this list, and I’d be surprised if they were still in the real estate industry two years from now. However, you don’t have to know them personally the way I do, just read their twitter streams and you’ll see for yourself.
So that brings me to the “legit” part. How do you determine whether or not a blog is legit? Should the average home buyer on twitter follow a ridiculous list like the one mentioned above only to find out that the REALTORS® listed are shallow halfwits instead of intelligent professionals? Heck no! I feel sorry for the people who do follow that list and who I really feel sorry for is the blogger/tweeter that wrote the list. His site will lose credibility quickly.
Legitimate blogs can be hard to come by. Remember that. Whether it be a medical blog, industry blog, or *cough* *cough* personal blog ranting about someone else’s poorly written blog, take it with a grain of salt and not for gospel. Do your homework, like I did, and you’ll be able to tell pretty quickly which blogs are too legit to quit and which ones should.
</random rant>
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
One of the beautiful things about the web is the ability for anyone to voice an opinion; this is also its curse. You are right in that every reader needs to know and or research the blogs to trust. Sometimes it is difficult to know that is why it is important to get several opinions backed by as much data as possible. Since I know you well, I have no doubt the research has been done on who’s who.
Reader beware.