Wow! John, I am blown away. nobody gets me, until this post today. I will not only add you to my blogroll but will probably have to sleep with this under my pillow. I will never win an award but I do what I do for my business and it really works for me. I try to spread the word through the tomato but no one gets it, unitl now. Thanks so much!

John,

Thanks for the recognition, and for the kind words about our real estate blogging goddess. We’re lucky to have her and to have such readers as yourself. In fact, we love having you come by – your no nonsense attitude has always made for the ‘other side of the coin’ look into what we discuss.
See you in the Trenches.

Well, thanks to both of you. Actually, Jim, truth to tell I’m much more pro-blogging than I let on, I just think it needs to be understood as a subset of SEO and business web development rather than its inevitable conclusion. I know that you teach it with a view to its business benefits as well, so I apologize if sometimes my fights with the broader Web 2.0 community’s puerile technolphilia and tight-assed cliquishness sometimes spill over into TomatoLand. And thanks for being so tolerant of what at times I’m sure can be pretty abrasive.

Believe me, Theresa, having seen your blog and your success in the local market, I feel also like I’ve met someone who finally gets me as well. This is writing, and yes, it’s a creative outlet and all, but it is at bottom a commercial enterprise. It’s always a pleasure to meet with professional colleagues who are doing similar things, though I often feel like that’s a mighty small list.

John,

I’ve been following your comments since you called yourself a ludite on the Tomato, then I see what you are doing, and it is obvious you are a posser. Meaning, you have a great blog and website.

I started our Tucson Real Estate in The News to be exactly what you and Teresa are doing. When I started blogging I thought that was what all real estate blogs would be. Then I started reading the blogs and they weren’t about their local markets at all.

There would be an occasional post about the local market but for the most part it was about other things involved in real estate. I found it a struggle to find a blog like yours and Teresa’s.

I decided ours was going to stick to the topic, Tucson Real Estate. I wanted to talk about other things involved in real estate blogging so I started a second blog called the Real Estate Blog Lab. I trying and post things of interest and help to RE bloggers. It is my way of trying to give something back to the RE blogging community.

Now I read that localism is the big thing for 2007. But I wonder if most RE bloggers really get it at all. I aspire to have a blog that is the definative source for all things RE in Tucson and you are one of the models I try and follow.

From what I read in a lot of your comments, you like to be the devil’s advocate. Actually, I find you quite knowledgeable about RE websites and blogging.

Thanks for your voice in the RE blogging community. I appreciate what you have to offer and how you keep your blog on track and on message.

Wow, Dave, what a nice post and compliment. That’s the first time I’ve ever been called a “poser” and enjoyed it!

At the risk of defending myself against what wasn’t an attack to begin with, let me clarify. I’m not so much a poser as someone who honestly loathes real estate blogging as it’s come to be practiced — as a puerile, elitist, anti-professional boys club characterized by rapturous technophilic glossolalia and arrogant pedantic quasi-postmodern pseudo-consumerism.

Oh well, maybe “clarify” in the context of that paragraph was self-serving. Pontificate is probably more like it.

“Transparency”? Puh-lease. I didn’t need NAR’s Code of Ethics to make me ethical, I started in the business that way. As for transparency, that newfangled, invisble man’s goal is not even a meager subsitute for your noble goal of being a definitive local resource. Definitive. Solid. Apparent. Substantial. Substantive. All of these I take to be excellent antonyms for transparent.

Thank me for my voice? My gosh, Dave, thank YOU for coming in here along with Theresa and making me feel that my modest goals of making a living and creating opportunity for my agents while helping others enjoy the benefits of home ownership actually resonate with some of my colleagues.

Devil’s advocate? No. I’ve met him and his client, though, and didn’t particularly care for either of them.

I agree completely that Teresa Boardman is one of *the best* “local content” bloggers. Having her post on my blog was a true highlight and honor. And the honorable Mr. Smith who commented above me has one of the best local content blogs in Arizona, my stomping ground. (And his Blab — the Blog Lab — is a beauty).

I do have to disagree with you just a bit though. Your (strong) implication that blogging about a a non-real estate subject such as the iPhone makes one unprofessional or childish is, to be simplistic, wrong. I posted a video about the iPhone. How that makes me a “puerile” “anti-professional” member of a “tight-assed clique” is simply beyond my comprehension.

I won’t lose any sleep over it though. The number of off-line comments I got about that very post from non-real estate related readers proves unequivocally that they didn’t see it like you do. And I have a far greater opportunity to sell them a house than I do you.

My blog is quite a mixture of local content, content targeted to real estate professionals, and completely random musings. I’m sure some expert would say it “lacks focus”. That I can accept. But “anti-professional”? Gimme a break.

Well, Jay, you’re right, I painted this thread with too broad a brush, and it certainly wasn’t my intention to smear paint on you, and that was a dumb thing to do, and I apologize.

If it helps at all, it was neither your post nor your blog that I was talking about. I had some pretty specific puerile anti-professional tight-assed clique miscreants in mind throughout this colorful tirade, and none of them were you.

Not that that excuses me, of course, when the bullet flew threw your window. So again, I’m glad it was only a metaphorical bullet and no Jay Thompsons were harmed in the filming of this blog. And I apologize again.

And now I don’t know whether I’m painting or shooting pistols. Dang. Speaking of “not related to real estate”.

I’ve followed up with some well-deserved strike tagging, Jay. Thanks again for pointing this out.

John – apology readily accepted. And appreciated. It takes a lot of character to publicly admit you may have slipped across the line. And I’ll publicly admit I was being too sensitive and probably should have just let it slide right by.

You’ve got great stuff here JL, had you in my feed reader for awhile now. Keep up the great work!

Wow, thanks. It’s so nice to have comments. I’m going to enjoy my 15 seconds of fame riding Teresa’s 15 hours of it. I’ll never enjoy the cult following she has, but it sure is nice to have a few kind pals checking in.