The lessons are A-Z. For example, your thoughtful post here has provided a felt safe-harbour forum/voice, for some who want to share, but don’t want to swim around in the choppy comment waters of the original post. Interesting stuff.

Thanks.

Several times during the reading of the posts and comments I have wanted to jump out of my suit with self-righteous indignation and join in the rumble. I have been able to close Google Reader, count to 10, and go do something else.

That is great progress for me.

Without that approach it would be boring and I wouldn’t waste my time reading guarded, politically correct at all times responses. I can go to all of our “company” websites and newsletters for that kind of dialogue.

That being said, on Twitter I keep a filter on how I respond to anyone.

First time at your blog. Being that I’m new to the real estate community, I don’t know too much about Gregg or Todd, nor am I choosing sides.

I do have an advertising degree and am active in the advertising and social media community. I’d just like to point out that yes, to some degree, agents are always at work.

Over on agentgenius, I used the example of @scottmonty. Scott is the Ford social media manager and a huge figure for Ford Motor Company. You better believe what he says from his own twitter account is reflective of Ford. Does that mean if he said something offensive that Ford would get sued? Probably not, but Scott would have to answer to Ford. Scott hasn’t done anything like this, he’s a great social media manager and I only use him as an example.

I feel like Todd should handle his account the same way. Disclaimer or not, he is the social media manager of a large organization and his social media networks need to keep PR concepts in mind.

Again, no opinion of who is right or wrong in the whole debacle, just that it’s silly to think your “personal” twitter account has no reflection on the brand you represent.

You need to watch what you say no matter where you are. I wouldn’t bad mouth a real estate transaction in a crowded coffee house lest I be overheard. That is how I treat Twitter.

Granted, I am bit more irreverant than many, but I try to focus on the positive, upbeat types of posts. When snarky I am never specific or personal.

My policy is this: if I would say it at a party, I will say it on Twitter. For me that leaves a lot of wiggle room, but I think it deliniates the ground.

What happened this weekend seems to be a tempest in a teapot with a lot of name calling, finger pointing, misunderstanding and egos involved. I didn’t respond to ANY of those posts because I don’t want to stir the bee’s nest on an issue that already has too many spoons in the pot.

Now that I have mixed every metaphor I have thought of, I think I will end my comment ;)

We keep talking about this because there IS so much to the story. First, on the human level, this story is as old as time: one human getting frustrated/offended by another and railing against that person in some public forum. The interesting difference today is that rant was recorded and remains accessible worldwide. The potential damage (to the reputation of both flamer and flamed) is far greater than would have been the case if the same things had been said in a bar 50 years ago. [I say "in a bar" and you reference people tweeting under the influence but, to be clear, I do not believe Greg was drunk on anything but anger.]

I still have questions about the accusations: 1) is there some grain of truth in Greg’s general complaints, 2) was there some other tweet, aside from the reciprocal linking tweet, that was deleted?

Another interesting piece: Todd’s response was extremely measured, very diplomatic, and nicely timed. In my view, he limited damage significantly by having an effective response. I found Hahn’s response to Swann equally effective in favor of the flamed.

To answer your hypothetical question from my broker perspective: if I ever saw one of my agent’s tweeting, “Great, another overpriced listing” or complaining about our clients in ANY fashion whether they are tweeting from the desk I pay for at the office or in their bed at night, I’d go ballistic.

Another question that doesn’t get discussed much is the public perspective of how much time agents actually spend on social networking sites. Is this the most effective use of my time if I have 5 homeowners who are anxiously awaiting offers so they can move on with their lives? Am I really working if I’m on twitter and facebook 4 hours/day? If I have so much free time to tweet and facebook, how busy am I actually working on my real estate transactions, or am I one of those agents who just puts the property on MLS and then waits for closing day so I can cash in.

No real order here, just musings, I’d done now *mwa*

That’s not a good thing if you are PAID to promote a brand…and continue to make enemies and public guffaws.

That late night fun has started the conversation with many new people. Those conversations were then revisited and reinforced in the “sober” dawn the following day. It’s how I roll and I am ok with it.

Looking at the other side of the coin – might I have also alienated a potential client without knowing it?

The conversation continues…