This is a *great* topic Drew, and Vanessa’s post was fabulous.

I put an awful lot out there for people to see. I do my best to keep politics out of my blog (successfully, most of the time), but *almost* anything else is fair game. My lovely bride has metered a few of my posts, usually when I get on a rant about something non-real estate realted. My blog after all, is an extension of our business, so I try to keep that in mind. (though I’ve been told by some well meaning experts that I should be “more professional” on the blog…)

One taboo is slaming other agents. Oh, I may slam what some *do*, but no names, brokerages, etc.

I’ve beed *torched* a couple of times in comments on my own blog. I don’t delete them. I am what I am–not afraid to say what I think, or let others voice what they think. I’ve probably lost more than one potential client by showing my true colors, but on the other hand, I suspect I’ve gained more than I’ve lost.

Great topic Drew. I don’t have the answers here but my personal experience is that keeping separate persona’s doesn’t work well. One of the things I find fascinating about the Real Estate industry is how publicly Realtors live their lives – and because of that, I think people from this industry are more likely to “get it” than most. I’d love to hear from the experienced agents here about the lessons they’ve learned about living a very public life.

Great topic. It’s a fact that most people have really no idea what the true reach and impact of what they put into “cyberspace” is. Anonymity? In my opinion there is no such thing on the net.

The concept of keeping multiple personalities on the web seems like too much work to me. It could perceived as disingenuous even if it was done in an attempt to protect one’s personal space.

If your persona is your brand, you should take great care in how you expose that brand on the web. Realtors are bound to a code of ethics and in some cases, laws. Taking care to stay within those confines should be a paramount consideration before engaging in communities on the web. It shouldn’t be a deterrent to doing so, but brushing up on the rules before jumping head first into web 2.0 would probably be a wise decision.

Reputation management is an issue that has come up a few times in the RE.net. It’s been suggested that using Google Alerts is a good way to track the conversations about yourself and your business online. You may not always like what you see, but at least you’ll know its out there.

I may be “old-school” in this area but I’ve never considered any approach other than being completely transparent in my online persona. I always use my real name in forums and areas where I contribute… maybe that’s naive of me. I think Michael is right, your persona is your brand and you need to take great care in how you develop and expose that brand online.

I like to Google my name regularly to remind myself of all the places I show up and check what I said. So far I’ve managed to not say anything I’m ashamed of. It always amazes me that every comment I’ve made in the last 5 or so years show up.

I think personal branding is certainly another topic that directly relates to this post. I wrote about it on my personal blog almost a year ago – http://www.drewmeyersinsights.com/2006/10/07/personal-branding-with-a-blog/ – but maybe I’ll do a GeekEstate post on personal branding that is targeted at real estate professionals.

How much of yourself do you put out there online? I put my heart and soul online and normally both my professional and personal opinions.

Do you edit yourself? I am myself, although you will never see me cursing like a sailor in a post or comments! 🙂

Are you being truly authentic? Absolutely, why hide your feelings on an issue, debate is just that, debate. I do shield my family and children though, so I guess that goes with this and editing.

Is your life fair game if you put yourself out there? I don’t think your offline life or business should be attacked unless you use them as a measure against something- then you open yourself up to a subjective rebuttal.

How far is too far? I’ve always felt like I try to stay within the lines the author has drawn in their post. I appreciate the same in return.

Alot of folks ask me why I only use my initials when writing- that’s easy. In our business we aren’t about face marketing, we are building a brand with a personality, not a face. It is our policy that we want our brand to be managed as carefully as your own personal name- it keeps agents in line, focused, and brings about better client service. If the brand is damaged by your bad service, we take it very seriously. We also aren’t here blogging to impress our local market. We blog because we genuinly care about our industry- it is not our goal to further our own careers but more to promote the profession as a whole.

Fantastic post by the way- with the community transparency debate heating up, I have a feeling there will be many more conversations like this one.

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