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Hopefully, by now we all can agree that social media has given consumers the most powerful voice they have ever had. And it’s universally accepted that word of mouth has always been considered the very best form of advertising. Since Facebook’s “Like” button was introduced in the spring of 2010, users can now show their approval of others’ photos, articles, ideas, discoveries, videos, products and services with just one simple click. In fact, it is estimated that Facebook’s “Like” button now gets more than one billion clicks per day!

The media world has changed in a very fundamental way in the past five years. In the old paradigm, the gatekeepers held the keys to the kingdom. Publishers and editors in print, program directors in radio, and producers on television got to decide what the rest of us read, listened to and watched. There was a bottleneck on information in media, and unless you had great contacts, or got very lucky, you were going to be ignored.

Real estate professionals invest a lot of time, effort and money into marketing themselves, “but when it comes to video, it’s not all about you,” says Stephen Schweickart, co-founder and CEO of VScreen, an Internet video services provider within the real estate

In a perfect world, “work” and “home” would balance out neatly. We’d work from 8 to 5 each day, take an hour-long lunch, and then come home and spend uninterrupted time with our families. But for those of us here in the wake of the Great Recession, firmly entrenched in an “always on” society, this notion seems hopelessly outdated. Most of us are working longer, more stressful hours, and work is spilling over into evenings and weekends. No wonder a recent survey of North American employees found that 87 percent of respondents say their work/life balance (or lack thereof) is negatively affecting their health.

Several years ago, when I was managing an insurance office, I was interviewing a perspective sales rep who I felt had great potential as an agent. Throughout the interviewing process she was articulate, impeccably dressed and demonstrated excellent people skills; I was convinced that I had found a real superstar. Shortly after she was hired, my new agent invited me to attend her son's high school football game. When the referee called a questionable foul on her son, my superstar jumped to her feet and let loose with a flurry of curse words that would make a sailor blush. Everyone, literally within shouting distance, was as shocked as I was to hear such profanity come out of her mouth.

This week’s headlines from the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® include: a personalized brochure emphasizing the benefits of working with a REALTOR®; September-only super savings from REALTOR Benefits® Program Partner, Dell; and RPR

We all know the mantra...you have to change to survive these days. That said, how many people are stuck in the old paradigms and not doing enough of the right things because they are afraid of upsetting the people around them?

Greg Rand (@gsrand), CEO of OwnAmerica, the host of Rand on Real Estate on 770 WABC, asks the question "Why didn't the Great Recession happen 10years ago today?" The circumstances were ripe for a major recession. We were already in a minor recession; endured the evaporation ...

In my column last month, I chronicled the harrowing sequence of events that led to my epiphany and examination of the concept of mental preparedness. People are regularly faced with adversity and unpredictable challenges. One of the key differentiating variables amongst people is how we handle and adapt to these events. Although you cannot plan for every possible event, you always need to be prepared.

Most real estate professionals find hiring assistants challenging. There is a process, however, that increases the odds of hiring the best possible candidate. Step 1: Job Profile – Skills and Style You are destined to hire badly unless you are clear on the job profile. That is, the skills that will be required and personal style that is best suited for the job.

In today’s world, we’re constantly sabotaged by nonproductive energy wasters. There are emails to read. Facebook statuses to update. Receipts to locate for that already-late expense report. Dishes to be washed. Files to be organized. And on, and on, and on. These are the easy, albeit often unproductive, tasks that make us feel good. They may not get you any closer to accomplishing your greater goals, but at least you’ve checked a couple of things off your to-do list.

We have all had the experience of throwing a stone in a pond and watching the waves ripple across the surface in ever expanding, concentric circles. Just as a ripple hits the shoreline, your reputation for the quality and quantity of service you render precedes you in your marketplace. Whether you're aware of it or not, there's an active "word-of-mouth campaign" going on about you in your community. So the real question isn't whether or not people are talking about you, but more importantly, what are they saying?

As a culture, we are infatuated with “magic pill” cures that can solve many of life’s problems. Weight loss, chronic pain, get-rich-quick businesses, fantastic abs and, yes, even the “recruiting pill.” Brokers today are growing in many ways and, those

Last month, Steve Murray, president of Real Trends Inc., and Ian Morris, CEO of Market Leader, released a book focused specifically on what the real estate industry will look like over the next five years. The book, Game Plan, takes into account a significant amount of research as well as interviews with many of you about your current business and vision for what’s ahead. Murray and Morris then offer 10 trends that they expect to see come to fruition over the next five years, with a specific “game plan” to help real estate agents, brokers, and franchises succeed.

(EMC)—Although Admiral David Farragut had a long and distinguished career in the U.S. Navy, he's best known for a single order he gave at the Battle of Mobile Bay on the Gulf Coast of Alabama. Farragut ordered his ships to attack the port, but when one ship