Neighborhood wiki's for Real Estate - How to find one, set one up today
By: Steven Groves, Executive Conversations
The answer I have for you - don't do it...
Let's back up a minute - what is a wiki? Wikipedia (a wiki itself) defines it as "A wiki is computer software that allows users to easily create, edit and link web pages. Wiki's are often used to create collaborative websites, [and] power community websites..."
WikiBus1 I like that idea and, for an Agent2.0, I can think of no better way to connect to the local community than by using a wiki - I've started at least one at pbwiki.com and use Wikipedia regularly as well as the wiki for PodcampAZ. (which has a real estate tech presentation in it BTW)
Even with the power of pbwiki, I cannot imagine how a real estate professional could find the time and indulge in the education to build and maintain a wiki for their sales area. The hassle of setting one up may well outweigh the benefits.
P2_Neighborhoods_Logo When I talked to another real estate marketing colleague about the use of social media by real estate professionals, we chatted about the adoption rate of the various social media tools. What we settled on was that that agents SHOULD involve themselves with tools that connect them to their prospects and clients - other real estate professionals are not buying houses from them, but they do connect and refer relocation clients.
We started with a professional website, a blog. These can take a lot of time by themselves. A neighborhood wiki fell pretty far down the ladder - so then it is not that you do not want a wiki for your neighborhood, but the hassle...
How about 50,000 wiki's already set up? Already targeting the neighborhood, already connecting 530,750 users? Now that sounds interesting...
As I spoke today with Jeff Tomlin / Point2 Technologies, we hit on the adoption rate of the Point2 Neighborhoods application at Facebook; they hit the 530,750 mark today according to Adonomics, a company that follows such things - and that placed them at 121 out of 6466 Facebook applications.
I realized that the wiki question I've been looking after may already be answered - well sort of.
The neighborhoods application already has a page for every one of the 50,000 geo-defined neighborhoods in all the US and Canada. Will it serve the wiki function - well better than not at all and second, the consumer is already there... IDG reported that Facebook is now at 47M users and TechCrunch has looked at their data and declared that not quite 1/2 of them are 35+ in age.
This is the prime demographic for home buyers! So where might a savvy Agent2.0 go to work a neighborhood wiki - to paraphrase Horace Greenley, 'Go to Facebook young, man, go to Facebook..."