Thomas Kirk has made a wonderful Real Estate Show to raise money for a charity he believes in. I especially like his Show because it walks us through the process of how his neighbors, the Johnsons, first became involved in the charity.

In the Details of his Show, Thomas tells how the Johnsons attended an Aaron Tippin concert. They saw him put together a bike on stage, then donate it to Toys for Tots. The idea hooked them, but good.

The wonderful thing about giving is that most people WANT to give, but sometimes they just need to be told HOW. The Johnsons saw this act of kindness and wanted to keep it going. When you view the Show, I think you’ll see they’re doing a fine job of it.

Thomas is helping to spread this news as well, through Real Estate Shows and the power of the internet. Online, there are less than six degrees of separation between us all. You can get to anyone and everyone, if only your message is one that people will want to spread. Thomas’ message is of hope and kindness, sent in an email with a gentle request to pass it on. His email reminds us that this is no chain letter and you won’t be cursed if you let it slide, but think of how many you might help if you do pass it on?

Yes, I think people DO want to reach out and help, especially where children are involved. I think this is a powerful message that will spread far beyond Thomas’ regular marketing area. I think there will be a LOT of smiling children this Christmas, thanks to the Johnsons and Thomas Kirk. (And Aaron Tippin. And all those people helping in the Show. And all the people who pass it on …. )

I don’t mind saying it, Fall is my favorite season. Let those other seasons be jealous, they just can’t compete.

I get to pull out my jeans, sweaters and boots again. I get to go to high school football games and drink hot chocolate while pretending to watch the game. (Instead I’m enjoying talking to my husband, and smiling because when I was the one in high school I didn’t get to go home with my sweetie. Yes, being a grown up has its moments.)

Fall is all about HOME.

It’s cuddling on the couch under an afghan, with good book and a fat cat. It’s a pile of crunchy brown leaves that you just know the kids and dogs will run through, and you don’t even care. In fact, you’ll probably join them. It’s sweet little Trick-or-Treaters on your doorstep, each one cuter than the last. It’s having your family around the table Thanksgiving Day and knowing that is the thing you are most thankful for of all. It’s so much about slowing down and enjoying life that we even move the clocks back, just to have back that hour we sacrificed to spring.

It’s that good.

I feel bad for those people down south who have great weather all year. They miss Fall.

Pat Mullikin probably knows just what I’m talking about. She made the Real Estate Show below, and it made me fall a little more in love with this season. I didn’t even know that was possible! Pat works in a team with her sons Ben and Martin, showing once again that real estate can be a perfect family business.

Pat is a self-professed Real Estate Shows junkie. She says, “I often get a phone call or email from a Seller shortly after I’ve emailed their show to them. Some of the comments… “We have tears in our eyes” “You captured the feeling of our home” “I’m choked up” “We want to buy our house back.” I know, Pat!!

She’s even letting us in on a great service – some of the pictures from this gorgeous Show are from DreamsTime.com, a website for royalty-free stock photos that are very reasonably priced. (Using stock photos like this can be a great way to illustrate a point or an idea you want to get across, sometimes we just don’t have original photos that cover everything we want to say.)

I think you’ll agree with us, whether Fall is your favorite or not – this is a gorgeous Show!! Thanks for sharing it with us, Pat. You guys watch this, then go make your own Fall Show. :o)

I’m a Realtor and a blogger, but above all I’m a Mom.

You’d think those first two might get in the way of my “real” parenting job, but lately I’ve been finding that they can all work together sometimes.

I’ve been trying to build up my internet presence through my blog. This helps me to be found through search engines, making me look like even more of a local expert. I know that people don’t want to just read about something, they want to SEE it, too.

So I’m grabbing my family and we’re taking a few short day trips.

Yes, sometimes they whine a little. But they get into the spirit of it quickly and we end up enjoying the time out. My kids are surprised to find that they learn about a lot of the places we’ve been to in school, but actually being there and seeing it brings it to life in a whole new way.

I’m happy to have fresh, interesting content for my blogs… but I’m sure I’ll be happier with the family memories we’ve built while I was “working.”

Here’s one of our Real Estate Shows from this weekend.

The truth is worth digging for, even if the ground is hard and your shovel is dull.

Late last night I put up a post entitled, “Craigslist Delivers Viewers In Large Numbers.” It was based on server data that I collected over a week ago and I had been staring at ever since. The numbers indicated more incoming links from Craigslist than Realtor.com and Trulia and other Web 2.0 search portals. The numbers were so cartoonishly disproportionate that they left me scratching my head and asking a lot of questions.

So I decided to put the numbers up and ask the questions in public.

The answers, in part, were staring me right in the face and I was just too close to the data to see them. Jeff Weir, from Tour The Triad, pointed out what is now obvious about the numbers. The way Craiglsist displays information automatically generates a referring link, because all of the information is being pulled from our servers. This is not true of Realtor.com or Trulia. They provide a good deal of information about a home that is coming from their servers, not ours.

So I pulled the post down.

I’m not interested in sensationalism or jumping to conclusions based on opinions. And I’m definitely not interested in making false claims about anything. The numbers, interpreted incorrectly, could have cast a bad light on Realtor.com, Trulia and others. I’ve never pulled a post down before, but I want to be accurate. Even if I look stupid (like a dull shovel) in the process.

The way Craigslist pulls data from our servers doesn’t answer all of the questions, however. For example, why are the number of referring hits so low for Trulia and other Web 2.0 portals? But more importantly, the questions that need to be answered may never be answered by looking at anyone’s server logs, let alone ours. They can only be answered by you, the real estate agent.

If one website generates more traffic than another, what does that mean?

• What are the likely effects on visits to the home?
• What is the likely impact on contacts with the listing agent?
• Does this increase the likelihood of sales or new client prospects?
• Does this mean anything to the bottom line?

I’d love to find out. For that, I’m going to need some help.

If you post listings to all of the above, Realtor.com, Craigslist, Trulia, etc., I’d like to hear from you. Which sites are moving the needle for you? Tell us what is working and what is not working and why. I think the information is worth digging for.

Every year around this time we send out an email with a link to a Real Estate Show using stock photos to create a greeting.

Last year this was our Halloween Greeting Show, utilizing some of our Halloween music and these stock photos. It’s still a great idea to grab some stock images, like these creative commons pumpkin images from Flickr, and create a greeting with your own personal message.

But why not take it one step further?

The embedded show below was created from photos I took in a 10 minute drive around my neighborhood. It should be noted that the photo taking was hampered by high winds and smoke, but I think I was still able to create an example you can use for inspiration. The objective is to highlight the place YOU live and work. Your goal should be to connect with the people in your neighborhood, town or city on a more personal level. Stock photos can’t do that.

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So, take a quick drive around your own neighborhood and take some photos. You never know, you might meet some of the neighbors in the process. If so, tell them exactly what you’re doing and get their email address! Then use those photos to create your own Halloween greeting Show. Since you can make as many as you wish, you could even make one for each area you farm. We’ve got some scary Halloween music to choose from as well, so don’t be afraid (no pun intended) to snap some of the more ghoulish decorations.

This year, make it personal!