Thinking Blogger Award

Posted by John Lockwood on February 29th, 2008

callout_1 Wow. Hard on the heels of Inman’s nomination as one of the real estate blogosphere’s five least influential bloggers (no — I made that up — the truth is they never heard of me), Kathy T. over at Shak and Jill was nice enough to present Purva and I with our very own Thinking Blogger Award.

See, you thought we were just another C-list collection of market updates, but NOOOO, it turns out we’re actually “whimsical, informative, funny, and interesting.”

I should put that in bolder print so those of you who don’t read me can not see it.

That sure beats our last review, which accused us of being “uninformed, carcinogenic, dimwitted and fascist.”

No, I made that up, too. Inman never heard of me. Really.

Anyway, that’s the good news. The bad news is that there’s a bit of a chain letter aspect to the award — or at least, a sort of obligation to pass it on. I don’t usually go for that sort of thing, but today I was whining about that brick Inman threw at my window (no seriously, they didn’t), and Purva said “Well, gee, you depressed, egomaniacal dullard, at least you won the thinking blogger award!”

So today I have to come up with five blogs that have made me think and pass the award along, otherwise I break the chain and a Voodoo practitioner from the Dominican Republic will come after me with small animal bones and the blood of a chicken.

image

So without further ado, five blogs that have made me think. And remember you winners, you have to acknowledge this post and pass it along! Well, no, really you don’t have to do anything, but it’d be cool if you did.

Problogger
Yeah, I know, everyone links to Problogger, but that’s because his work is really, really good. If you want to improve your blog, the ideas he presents are a must read.

The Great Seduction
On the opposite scale of the popularity contest from Darren Rowse is the Web 2.0 critic, Andrew Keene. You might say that John Lockwood is to RE.net as Andrew Keene is to Web 2.0 in general. It’s not that he’s my Luddite hero or anything, but I do sense a bit of kindred spirit.

Sacramento Real Estate Gal
I don’t know if it’s cheating or not to mention Purva, since she’s an author here, but what the heck. In addition to her important role as my co-author and only friend, it’s a pleasure to enjoy her clarity of thought and optimism for real estate. She also really helps out the recruiting cause by saying nice things about the company — and it’s always good to be appreciated.

The Real Estate Blog Lab
So many of what pass for “real estate technology” blogs strike me as cheerleader pieces for gadgets I could care less about. “It’s a lockbox key AND an MP3 player”. Sorry, don’t need one. Dave Smith’s Real Estate Blog Lab is different. It really is a lab — a sort of Wordpress user’s journal that makes a fascinating ongoing experiment in blogging techniques.

The Housechick Blog
It seems to me that Kelly Koehler is one of the few people who has mastered the art of writing a real estate blog that her real estate customers would find interesting and informative. This blog successfully blends the local with the universal. Plus, how can you not like someone who calls herself the Housechick?

It’s Leap Year Day Eve — Can You Feel The Excitement?

Posted by John Lockwood on February 28th, 2008

How long does Buying a Home Take?

Posted by Sacramento Real Estate Gal - Purva Brown on February 28th, 2008

Real Estate in El Dorado County — January Market Update

Posted by John Lockwood on February 26th, 2008

Sacramento Area Foreclosures, Short Sales, Condos, etc. etc.

Posted by John Lockwood on February 25th, 2008

Does my Realtor get a Referral Fee from my Lender?

Posted by Sacramento Real Estate Gal - Purva Brown on February 24th, 2008

Comment Policy

Posted by John Lockwood on February 24th, 2008

What a Neat Idea

Posted by John Lockwood on February 24th, 2008

Where Are We Headed?

Posted by John Lockwood on February 23rd, 2008

What is Private Mortgage Insurance?

Posted by Sacramento Real Estate Gal - Purva Brown on February 22nd, 2008

What about Creative Financing?

Posted by Sacramento Real Estate Gal - Purva Brown on February 21st, 2008

Can I Buy a House on a Credit Card?

Posted by Sacramento Real Estate Gal - Purva Brown on February 20th, 2008

Who’s Afraid of the RE.net?

Posted by John Lockwood on February 19th, 2008

Mortgage Shopping: Why are there So Many Kinds of Mortgages?

Posted by Sacramento Real Estate Gal - Purva Brown on February 19th, 2008

Can I Put Closing Costs on a Credit Card?

Posted by Sacramento Real Estate Gal - Purva Brown on February 18th, 2008

What are Closing Costs?

Posted by Sacramento Real Estate Gal - Purva Brown on February 17th, 2008

Do I Really Need a Down Payment?

Posted by Sacramento Real Estate Gal - Purva Brown on February 16th, 2008

The Ten Dollar Hat, the Five Cent Head, and the Voicemail They Rode In On

Posted by John Lockwood on February 15th, 2008

Mortgage Shopping: How Do They Know What I Can Afford?

Posted by Sacramento Real Estate Gal - Purva Brown on February 14th, 2008

Mortgage Shopping: What Mortgage Should I Get?

Posted by Sacramento Real Estate Gal - Purva Brown on February 13th, 2008

How Much are Sacramento County Short Sales / Bank Foreclosures Discounted?

Posted by John Lockwood on February 12th, 2008

5 Ways to Know How much House you can Buy

Posted by Sacramento Real Estate Gal - Purva Brown on February 11th, 2008

Mortgage Shopping: Should I Head to my Bank?

Posted by Sacramento Real Estate Gal - Purva Brown on February 10th, 2008

When Should I Start Shopping for a Mortgage?

Posted by Sacramento Real Estate Gal - Purva Brown on February 9th, 2008

Tornado Relief

Posted by John Lockwood on February 8th, 2008

Sacramento County Real Estate - Market Update January, Part II

Posted by John Lockwood on February 7th, 2008

Sacramento Real Estate Market - January 2008 - Part I

Posted by John Lockwood on February 6th, 2008

Mortgage Shopping - Where do I Get a Mortgage Broker?

Posted by Sacramento Real Estate Gal - Purva Brown on February 5th, 2008

Bad MLS Photo of the Day

Posted by John Lockwood on February 4th, 2008

I Have Bad Credit - what do I do?

Posted by Sacramento Real Estate Gal - Purva Brown on February 3rd, 2008