Back in January, I had the opportunity to ask a few questions of Dennis Crowley – CEO of the current belle of the social media start up ball. Particularly this year, Foursquare’s location based service has been attracting mounting attention and has exploded from a few hundred thousand to more than 1 million users in the past few months, with a “check-in” happening every second.  Wow!

The possibilities now for combining the real estate buying experience with augmented reality and other location based content is immense. We are currently looking at strategies for incorporating this sort of technology enabler into our lifestyle brand value proposition.

Ideas for the “next generation brokerage” come from everywhere – view the video below to see my interview where I captured a few more.

[Photo courtesy of DennisCrowley.com & FourSquare.com]

This week, we received new insight into the ever-important echo-boomer generation or the Gen Y’s. A study of prestige brand rankings showed that this group interacts with brands online, via social networking sites and is signing up for email newsletters. This gives us a better idea of how we can be marketing to this group successfully. But regardless of how you market, the first and most important step, according to an article in Technorati, is to establish trust with the consumer. We all need to think about ways to build trust that will encourage positive word-of-mouth around our services. Let us know your ideas!

Now for some more fun tools…If you have a lot of consumers asking about the market, Cha Cha allows anyone to set up profile pages to answer questions directly from fans and others on social networking sites and mobile devices. What an interesting way to interact during this very confusing real estate market! Another site, HootSuite, has added new features for companies engaged in Facebook and Twitter campaigns, including assigning and sharing tasks so multiple people can work on a campaign at once. A great way to stay organized! But, for those on Twitter, remember the site is not without its bugs. Also this week, piggybacking on all of the “like” (and “unlike”) Facebook news, FourSquare has added its own “like” buttons. Just one more marketing channel!

And finally, have any fun trips planned this summer? If you’re going far from home, and don’t know the native language, Google Goggles may be a cool tool to help you sound like a local! Have fun!

As many of you know it is important to distinguish between your personal and company Twitter accounts. For those of you with company accounts, here are some easy-to-follow tips on how to effectively align your tweets with what your followers (i.e. consumers) are expecting.

In other news, if you feel like everything is centered on your community these days, you’re not alone. In addition to some recent localized advertising and marketing offerings, which we’ve mentioned in previous blogs, a new partnership between CNN and Outside.in, an aggregator of local blogs, is providing hyper-local news and weather information on the media giant’s website. We should expect to see other partnerships arise with Outside.in in the near future. Just think of what a service like this could do to your own website or blog!

Looking for a way to keep folks engaged? Encourage the adoption of iPhones. Although the percentage of users may be small as compared to smart phones in general, iPhone users tend to be much more engaged on mobile platforms, including news outlets. What a great way to ensure your agents are “in the know.”

Speaking of engagement, a reporter from AdWeek recently noticed a sharp decrease in the use of taglines from major brands, which he thinks is a disgrace to the industry because consumers become less engaged in brands. We agree it’s important to define a brand with specific words and communicate these with your consumers, whether that means a tagline or not. You should think about what those words are for your brand and how consumers can know what you stand for.

We have talked a lot about greening the home over the past weeks, but what about greening the things you already have in your home by creatively recycling them? Mashable offers eight ways to repurpose technologies. My personal favorite: turning an old computer into an aquarium. These tips could also work in the office!

Lastly, for all of those who doubted the success of the iPad, Apple this week announced it has sold 1 million devices so far. Not bad for just a month on the market!

In other news, online video advertising has shown tremendous growth lately, as 94 percent of ad agencies plan to increase spending in the medium this year. This is perhaps a smart move, as another survey showed online video ads have a 65 percent general recall, as compared to 46 percent for TV ads. Considering online is often less expensive and can allow for specific audience targeting, it could be a good opportunity for some of you.

As with all things, the key to social networking is consistency. Even CEO’s will need to know how to use this growing form of communication effectively by 2025. According to Forrester Research, no excuses CEOs. For those of you who consider yourself social media savvy, how do you keep up with it?

In the past, I have talked a lot about the baby boomer and echo boomer demographics. But what about the middle boomer? The demographic, aged 52-58 years, has not yet felt “old” age set in and still has enormous spending power: one-third of the group has achieved or is on track to achieve their retirement goals and another one-third is only somewhat behind on their retirement goals, given the recession. For those of you in retirement states, what are you doing to attract and cater to this important, yet often neglected, group?

According to a national study, 48 percent of Americans age 12 and older are now a member of at least one social network. Although this may not seem shocking, the percentage has doubled in the last two years, from 24 percent in 2008. If we continue at this pace, in 2012 nearly 100 percent of Americans will be on social networks. This is a number we should pay attention to!

With more young people waiting to marry and divorce rates remaining high, the single consumer is a viable and growing group. This is an important demographic for us to consider! Also an important demographic are those looking to make more sustainable home decisions, especially with the 40^th anniversary of Earth Day this week. We can help by encouraging consumers to take advantage of energy efficiency tax credits, use green wall coverings or organic fabrics, and more. Have you had any green luck lately?

Perhaps it is because Twitter has become a part of my life. It runs in the background on my computer screen each day for hours, Tweetdeck pop ups interrupt my concentration every minute or so, Twextme text messages notify me whenever someone mentions me in a Tweet. and my email inbox contains emails notifying me of new followers seemingly every time I look at it. The reality is Twitter has managed to intertwine himself into my day to day routine when just four years ago he didn’t even exist.  Amazing.

And I’m not alone. Twitter is averaging over 50 million Tweets per day and last summer the word “Twitter” was entered into the Collins English Dictionary. Not bad for a toddler.

Do you remember your first Tweet? Remember that mixture of excitement and fear. Will I look silly? Who cares? What am I doing?

What about the first time someone retweeted you or mentioned you in a Tweet? Did you let out a little squeal of joy?

For me, Twitter has become a communication vehicle. I engage, build and maintain relationships every day in 140 characters. I would rather get a DM (direct message) on Twitter from you then an email. I would rather send you a DM then type you an email. I’d be quite happy if 140 characters became the new email limit actually.

I can engage in conversations with multiple people and follow along with multiple conversations easily and quickly on Twitter. This is much easier then arranging a conference call or sending out a mass communication. A simple Twitter search can bring me up to speed on what a person is doing or what the community is thinking on a particular topic. This type of real time knowledge is powerful and extremely important.

I also absorb the majority of my current events and pop culture on Twitter. My entire life I’ve heard people reflect on remembering where they were when they heard JFK had died. I’ll tell the story of reading about Michael Jackson’s death in a Tweet for decades to come, as well as Britney Murphy or most recently John Forsythe (who was no relation, but a great actor).

So Twitter, now that you are 4 years old, what do you have planned for us next? You’ve got millions of us hooked, we can’t seem to go an hour without you, every new kid on the block wants to play with you, and you’ve developed a powerful personaility. The question is, how will you manage to further entrance yourself in our lives?

One of the main problems we are facing in the industry is a lack of optimism. One of the main worries is the eminent withdrawal of the government from the housing industry in the coming months. Many shudder to think of what the future of the industry will be without President Obama’s helping hand, like the plan announced last week to infuse $1.5 billion into the hardest hit housing markets. We have discussed this in great depth, but only because it is one of the most important issues on our industry today. Let us know your thoughts on the looming departure of the government from our industry.

The group that seems to be the positive bunch lately is home builders. The disconnect between home builders and the housing market is not surprising, as we have seen similar divides in years past, as many of you know. There is some data that may help you be optimistic as well: although home prices are still falling, it is at a slower rate than when compared to a year earlier. The numbers prove that, according to The Wall Street Journal, “the floor beneath home prices might be wobbly, but it is unlikely to collapse.” Other encouraging data shows that fewer homeowners are falling behind on their home loans and nationwide housing affordability closed out 2009 at its highest level in 18 years. Although it was not written about in this exact way, other good news was reported on in The Wall Street Journal that bargain hunters are having a hard time finding foreclosures in desirable neighborhoods. For me, I take the glass half full view of the slowing of some foreclosures.

A lot of people are making the best of their situation: There is an increase of people moving in their families, creating a demand for multi-generational housing. With the extra hands around, it is not surprising that 13 percent more homeowners will remodel in the next 12 months, a recent survey showed. And these homeowners are doing everything from upgrading to greener features to painting their living rooms.

Moving away from the real estate industry… It turns out that direct email marketing works. Here are eight reasons why and a simple way from BlueSkyFactory.com to make them more effective: a great subject line. What is the most creative subject line you have ever used?

It remains to be seen how Twitter will integrate an advertising platform, but let’s keep our fingers crossed that it will be hyper-local, which would offer many benefits for our industry. If this option comes available, do you think you would use it?

Two mega brands reinforced key pillars of our industry this week. Pepsi discussed the importance of brands talking with consumers, not talking at them. The two-way dialogue should guide all of our social media initiatives, its SVP and chief consumer engagement officer said. If you are not already doing this, you should follow suit. Additionally, high rankings in trust and recommendations named Amazon the top performing brand in the country. As real estate agents, we should strive to build this same kind of trust and offer meaningful recommendations every day. Do it the Amazon way!

Two last items of interest… Mashable provided tips on creating a Facebook landing page for your business. Check it out! And, for those of you who are not iPhone users, there is a new Google Earth for Android App, which allows users to view complex scenes of 3D imagery, terrain, roads, and other layers. Have fun exploring!

All of these efforts are to help the 2.4 million borrowers expected to lose their homes this year, with the biggest blows in states like California, Florida and Nevada, where home prices have dropped the most. The looming exit of the government in the real estate market has experts wondering how severe the effect will be, especially for these borrowers. What do you expect?

One in five people believe their home’s value increased during 2009, according to a Zillow survey. In reality, 28 percent of home’s values increased last year. Turns out, it’s a little better out there than we think!

NAR this week recognized the autonomy of today’s homeowner with the launch of HouseLogic, a Web site designed to help homeowners plan and organize their home projects as well as offer  home improvement advice and how-to’s, among other things. For those who want a hands-on experience, however, a duo in California opened a DIY Academy, where homeowners can learn everything from hanging drywall and installing crown molding to painting and wiring. As homeowners increasingly consider renovating their homes, we may see these types of schools pop up across the country. Anything like this in your area?

As these DIYers understand, for all the talk about digital and online interaction, it is still nice to have the one-on-one experience. While it may seem as ancient as a hand-written letter in the email age, there are plenty of valid arguments on the value of open-houses, including further engaging consumers and agents alike. What do you think is the biggest benefit for hosting open houses?

In advertising news… We have come a long way since Hot Wired ran the first banner ad in 1994. Now we can get as targeted and localized as you want, thanks to advertising exchanges like Google’s DoubleClick and others. Banner ads are still a great tool for the real estate industry. We should keep a close eye on this medium as Jon Brod, the executive vice president of AOL Ventures, believes “online local is the largest commercial opportunity yet to be won.” I bet leaders will start to emerge this year.

Following on the heels of Google’s Buzz announcement, Microsoft announced integration plans this week with Facebook and MySpace for its Outlook Social Connector. Thoughts? Do you plan to use either?

Speaking of, I know a lot of you are concerned with the ROI on social media efforts. Let’s be honest, being active in social media takes hard work and it is sometimes difficult to see the payoff. Fortune 500 companies are also wrestling with this same issue. Yet, we have to remember that the most important thing about communicating with consumers is talking to them where they already are. And I bet a lot of your audience is online. The effort is worth it!

This week I have been busy cheering on both of my “home countries,” Canada and the United States, as the world’s best athletes battle on the slopes of Vancouver at the XXI Olympic Winter Games. Besides the competition, there is a lot to be said about the advertising opportunities available on this world stage. Many brands, including Procter & Gamble, tied the launch of campaigns to the lighting of the torch, leading to one of the most concentrated periods of big-name marketing efforts in years. Although your companies’ soapboxes will likely never allow you to be as “loud” as these mega-brands, we can take an important lesson from these brands: talk to your consumers when they will be listening. If the Olympic Games are inspiring more than just your branding and you’re looking to hit the slopes and challenge the likes of gold medalist Lindsay Vonn, there are new interesting (and cool) GPS ski gloves that could navigate you safely. I might have to get myself a pair!

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are finally coming to the rescue as they announced plans this week to ramp up purchases of some $200 billion “delinquent” home loans they’ve guaranteed. This is good news for the increasing number of borrowers (10 percent increase last month) who are reaching this mark. It’s not to say, though, that Fannie and Freddie are off the hook, as the agencies are still expected to need more money from the government.

In related news, activists and investors this week agreed that principal reductions are the best incentive for borrowers to ensure they continue making monthly mortgage payments. Big banks, Fannie and Freddie, and the Obama administration generally have resisted shrinking what borrowers owe since the Treasury Department is worried that if some borrowers get their principals reduced, even borrowers who aren’t behind will stop paying unless they get the same break. For those homeowners who are not fortunate enough to have government assistance and are facing foreclosure, mortgage lenders are trying to arrange smoother departures. The hope is this move will tremendously discourage people from trashing the homes on their way out. Good news for us in real estate who will eventually sell these homes.

In signs of a market turnaround, foreclosure filings were down 10 percent last month, according to RealtyTrac. Although we need to remember that foreclosures are still 15 percent higher than in January 2009, this decrease shows signs of life for our 2010 market. Another thing to be optimistic about: home builders are ramping up construction in anticipation of a buying surge caused by the tax credit. What a wonderful vote of confidence!

This week, there was further validation on something that Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate has been saying for a while: 96 percent of Realtors believe buyers react better to fully-stage homes than vacant ones. On a similar note, new numbers reveal a 13 percent increase in the number of homeowners who say they will remodel in the next year. This could mean one of two things: people are planning to stay in their homes for a long time and want to update or people are making investments in their homes now in order sell them in a few years. What do you think?

One thing is for certain, any future home sellers or buyers will use the Internet as a tool. According to NAR, only 2 percent of home buyers used the Internet ten years ago when finding a home, yet today that number is around 90 percent. It makes you wonder what marginal technology home buyers are using today that will become the common practice in another decade. Any predictions?

Given the recent numbers that show Twitter membership is dwindling, people will likely argue the site will not be the home search companion in ten years. What do you predict for the platform’s future? A resurgence of growth and popularity or will it become the next Second Life, a social-media ghost town? In a social media league all its own, Facebook shows no signs of slowing down. It boasted this week more than 100 million active mobile users worldwide. That number is far below the site’s more than 300 million members. Wow.

Further proving social media’s complement to a brand experience, a survey of nearly 10,000 visitors to the 40 biggest U.S. retail sites found 56 percent of shoppers “friend,” “follow” or “subscribe” to a retailer on a social networking site. This is important to keep in mind as you consider your overall brand and its interaction with consumers. While we’re on the social media topic, what do you think about the new Google Buzz? Anyone plan to use it?

Brands were flocking to Foursquare this week, the location-based social network, as a bevy of new partnerships were announced. As ambassadors of our communities, brokers and agents should embrace the Foursquare concept to help virally promote new places and businesses in your area. Also focused on the hyper-local, Web-developer Outside.in can help you create a targeted, local ad on newspaper Web sites. This may be worth looking into as you plan your “New Year” marketing efforts.

Lastly, this week is arguably the most important of the year for advertisers, with just over half (51 percent) of people enjoying the Super Bowl more for the ads than the game. According to critics and consumers, among the best were from Doritos, Google, Snickers and Dove. What was your favorite?

Protection of Personal Identifiable Information – Paraphrased from the US Department of Labor web site http://www.dol.gov/dol/ppii.htm, Personal Identifiable Information (PII) is defined as:

“Any representation of information that permits the identity of an individual to whom the information applies to be reasonably inferred by either direct or indirect means. Further, PII is defined as information: (i) that directly identifies an individual (e.g., name, address, social security number or other identifying number or code, telephone number, email address, etc.) or (ii) by which an agency intends to identify specific individuals in conjunction with other data elements, i.e., indirect identification…Additionally, information permitting the physical or online contacting of a specific individual is the same as personally identifiable information. This information can be maintained in either paper, electronic or other media.

The loss of PII can result in substantial harm to individuals, including identity theft or other fraudulent use of the information. Because employees and contractors may have access to personal identifiable information concerning individuals and other sensitive data, we have a special responsibility to protect that information from loss and misuse.”

According to the ‘Swanepoel TRENDS Report’, the following eleven considerations are specifically key in the protection of data in a real estate business environment.

1. Location of any paper information
2. Mail and special delivery procedures
3. Mortgage and pre-qualification information
4. Access to office and home computers including staff and encryption
5. Paperless transactions and encryption
6. Archived data on backup tapes
7. Natural disaster and terrorist attacks
8. Employee access
9. Vendor access and sharing of information
10. Virus protection and unauthorized use
11. Notification systems

The Swanepoel Report goes on to cite several points to consider when reassessing risk. If you feel that your company needs to revisit the area of risk mitigation, the points that follow are recommended by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (acfe.org).

1. Only hold the personal data that you need
2. Keep all personal data secure
3. Don’t over promise, but adhere to the customer security program you commit to
4. Make data security a priority with your employees
5. Require vendors to sign nondisclosure agreements
6. Test your plan periodically
7. Plan for the worst-case scenario!

There is no question that identity theft has become rampant in our society. As real estate professionals, we must recognize the enormous body of sensitive consumer information held within our data collection systems. Since protecting personal information is of great concern to consumers and with issues of proper business ethics at play, it is clear that every professional real estate organization must have a strong risk mitigation plan in effect.