Say hello to BloodhoundBlog.net, free WordPress Multi-user weblogs for real estate professionals.
We talked about doing this in Orlando, at the scenius on Swallow Hill Road. Where we started was with the idea of WordPress blogs for the CyberProfessionals to practice on.
We saw that the right system could serve the same function for any novice bloggers — including all of the folks on Active Rain looking to make the leap to WordPress weblogging.
And BloodhoundBlog.net can also be a space for BloodhoundBlog Unchained instructors to help their students get their homework together before coming to Phoenix.
Will this be your last word in real estate weblogging? It can be, but that strikes me as a poor idea. What we’re offering is a free weblogging platform where real estate professionals can learn and grow, ultimately to go off and set up their own WordPress.org weblogs.
And you had better know this is an Unchained weblogging world: You can import content from a host of blogging platforms, and everything you do on BloodhoundBlog.net is easily exported when you’re ready to move on.
If you want to go ahead and get started, just go to BloodhoundBlog.net and set up a new blog. It’s fast, easy and fun.
Still here? Who should set up a BloodhoundBlog.net weblog?
- Stone newbies. If you want to learn to weblog, you might as well start with the best software, among people who can help you develop the best possible practices.
- Intermediate bloggers. If you’ve been toying with Active Rain or with real estate forums, it might be time to put away childish things. The work you do with us will transfer easily to a full-blown WordPress.org weblog.
- Kindred spirits. If you want to build a community of like minds, the price of doing so here can’t be beat.
- Adhocracy activists. A weblog is the perfect means of coordinating, for example, the Wine-Tasting Realtors of Biloxi.
- Teachers of lessons profound and arcane — starting with the slave-drivers of BloodhoundBlog Unchained in Phoenix.
How can we do this? We have the horsepower — dawgpower — that’s how. Even so, we’re not letting you all the way off the leash. There are plug-ins, but only at the macro level. You won’t be able to install you own, although I’ll listen to appeals for good plug-ins that work well in the WP-Mu environment. Same for themes. We have about 15 to start with, but you should feel free to recommend more. They’re not risk-free — Brian Brady has already crashed one — but they’re less risky than plug-ins. In a BloodhoundBlog.net weblog, you’re limited to naming your posts Bloodhound-style, with numbers. When you move your content, you can do what you want, and keyword-based naming should help you beat your old posts in the search engines. Finally, you’ll be constrained by our Terms of Service, which basically say, “Don’t be a jackass.”
We’ve talked about starting a forum, and this is something we may do, eventually. But a weblog creates its own management structure — “for each one spot shall prove Beloved over all” — plus we think it is the best kind of social media marketing most real estate professionals can do. BloodhoundBlog.net is a place where you can learn to do it for free.
Technorati Tags: blogging, BloodhoundBlog Unchained, real estate, real estate marketing, technology
Brian Brady says:
http://mortgagebroker.bloodhoundblog.net/
Set up in less than an hour (including the imported blog posts from Typepad). I have NO technical skills so its a testament user-friendly platforms
November 17, 2008 — 3:45 pm
Steven Leung says:
Awesome, I just signed up for one. Sometimes you just want to focus on the content, and hosted platforms like this one are perfect for that.
November 17, 2008 — 4:56 pm
genuinechris johnson says:
you might ass well lern with the best softwre…
November 17, 2008 — 5:05 pm
Ann Cummings says:
Hmm, I’ve been toying with the idea of giving wordpress.org a try, this might just be the kick I need to get going.
It was great to hear you, Brian and Eric speak at the CyberProfessionals breakfast!
November 17, 2008 — 5:19 pm
Steven Leung says:
I should probably clarify and say that I’ve been programming and customizing WordPress blogs for several years now.
But, that said, it’s great to participate in hosted platforms like this one, especially for people who have plenty of platforms to maintain and want to focus on the community and content as opposed to maintenance.
Wow that’s a lot of words to say something I should have said right the first time 🙂
November 17, 2008 — 5:33 pm
Kam Hubbard says:
Thank you! I’ve signed up for one of these free blogs. Time to develop my real estate blogging skill.
November 17, 2008 — 6:43 pm
Cheryl Johnson says:
Very cool idea. Thanks! Even if I can’t hack the stylesheet. I am, instead, demonstrating my grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed> 🙂
Here are a couple simple themes that might be good candidates:
http://www.themelab.com/2007/08/09/free-release-3-glossy-black/
http://spaceninja.com/dojo/
November 17, 2008 — 8:11 pm
Kristal Kraft says:
Dear Bloodhound ~ Please help me I am confused. You offer free WordPress blogs and let people leave if they want too.
Why would they want to leave? Do you bite? Or are these sites merely for practice until we can learn how to fly on our own?
kk
November 17, 2008 — 9:19 pm
Greg Swann says:
> Here are a couple simple themes that might be good candidates:
Done. Glossy Black looks nice. I’m finally moving presenceofmind.net over to a SplendorQuest.com account, and I may use that for the theme.
Here’s one for you. I’ll document this stuff going forward, but we’re running the Grunion plug-in on all BHB.net blogs. This means you can insert a contact form into a post just by adding the code [contact-form]. Responses will be emailed to the post’s author, just like that. Slicker than whale snot.
November 17, 2008 — 10:33 pm
Greg Swann says:
> I’ve been toying with the idea of giving wordpress.org a try, this might just be the kick I need to get going.
Indeed. Tell the other CyberProfessionals. We wanted to build a place for them to get their hands dirty, if they wanted to.
> It was great to hear you, Brian and Eric speak at the CyberProfessionals breakfast!
It was a total thrill for us, too. We walked out like the opening credits for Entourage.
November 17, 2008 — 10:36 pm
Greg Swann says:
> Time to develop my real estate blogging skill.
Good on ya, Kam. Here’s to your success!
November 17, 2008 — 10:40 pm
Greg Swann says:
> Why would they want to leave? Do you bite? Or are these sites merely for practice until we can learn how to fly on our own?
Either which. My advice wold be for people to work toward their own WordPress.org blogs, but if they don’t wanna, they don’t gotta.
But: If you do elect to go, WP-Mu makes it wicked easy to take your entire content database with you to any other WordPress weblog. Several bogs could be merged into one, for that matter. I hate the whole idea of people being trapped by vendors, even vendors-at-no-charge, so we won’t do anything like that.
I’ll go you one better: If we can get it to work, you’ll be able to syndicate your AR content by RSS feed: Write there and your new content would also show up as new posts on your BHB.net blog automatically.
You’ll always find me on the side of the subversives, so I’m doing what I can to make it easy to manage an orderly escape from sites that might try to handcuff you with your content.
November 17, 2008 — 10:50 pm
Thomas Johnson says:
There you go again. Dancing on bridges!
http://www.erasold4sure.com/blog-erahoustoncom.asp?p=60
November 18, 2008 — 12:09 am
teresa boardman says:
I am confused. I thought wordpress was already free. I have to agree that Active Rain is just for practice and it is a shame that some of the best writers out there are afraid of having an “outie” type blog and stick with the “innie” because they believe that Active Rain has magical power.
November 18, 2008 — 6:17 am
Russell Volk says:
I’ve been thinking of getting a WP blog for a while now. I think that will be my new years resolution.
November 18, 2008 — 8:47 am
Barry Cunningham says:
“some of the best writers out there” ???
Thanks for the clarification. I thought they were actually interested in selling houses. I was wondering but with so much being written on this blog and that blog and so many blather filled community blogs I was wondering if many were even interested in actually selling houses anymore.
Now we know.
p.s. by the way…have you seen what some of these “writers” are actually writing about? Wow!
November 18, 2008 — 10:26 am
Kam Hubbard says:
WordPress theme suggestion: http://diythemes.com/thesis
November 18, 2008 — 10:45 am
apella says:
Greg,
Bravo! Bravo! Hats off to you and what your doing! 🙂
November 18, 2008 — 4:25 pm
Kevin Tomlinson-Miami Beach Real Estate says:
Greg,
Is Joe from Sellsius setting up his blog?
November 18, 2008 — 6:18 pm
Erin Snyder Oakley says:
I just started one. It is a great opportunity for me to start a new blog and practice some techniques I’m learning while still working on my main website’s blog. Thanks!
November 18, 2008 — 6:19 pm
Kevin Tomlinson-Miami Beach Real Estate says:
To Barry Cunningham
ARDELL, Laurie Manny and I were just speaking about that this week.
November 18, 2008 — 6:31 pm
Kevin Tomlinson-Miami Beach Real Estate says:
I just got a filthy direct tweet from LAURIE MANNY asking why her name wasn’t it caps as well.
Well, Laurie here it is:
LAURIE MANNY
November 18, 2008 — 6:44 pm
Laurie Manny says:
Nice Kevin. 2 days ago he asks me to marry him today he is doing drugs again. Kevin I told you to lighten up on those lil blue ones.
November 18, 2008 — 6:45 pm
Kevin Tomlinson-Miami Beach Real Estate says:
VICODIN ARE NOT BLUE
November 18, 2008 — 6:46 pm
Kevin Tomlinson-Miami Beach Real Estate says:
LAURIE’s ALWAYS LURKING IN BLOODHOUND YOU JUST DON’T SEE HER.
November 18, 2008 — 6:47 pm
Laurie Manny says:
SMACK!!!!!!!!!!11
November 18, 2008 — 6:48 pm
Kevin Tomlinson-Miami Beach Real Estate says:
Laurie,
Don’t flamebait me.
November 18, 2008 — 6:49 pm
Laurie Manny says:
Sticking my tongue out at you!
November 18, 2008 — 6:53 pm
Greg Swann says:
> WordPress theme suggestion: http://diythemes.com/thesis
Should have been more specific. I’ll be happy to install any freeware theme you run across. Or, of you want to buy Thesis, I can make it available to you alone.
November 18, 2008 — 7:38 pm
Barry Cunningham says:
Kevin..would have loved to hear that conversation…
November 18, 2008 — 9:19 pm
Kevin Tomlinson-Miami Beach Real Estate says:
It was very basic and I’m sure you could imagine what was discussed.
November 18, 2008 — 9:43 pm
ardell dellaloggia says:
Kev,
“I was wondering if many were even interested in actually selling houses anymore.”
We don’t sell houses. We represent people who buy and sell houses.
November 18, 2008 — 10:11 pm
Kevin Tomlinson-Miami Beach Real Estate says:
ARDELL,
You know I have no scruples….I’ll sell houses, fake designer bags…It’s a recession, you know.
November 19, 2008 — 8:59 am
Barry Bevis says:
Just signed up and wrote my first post…
http://bevisrealty.bloodhoundblog.net/
I’m going to use it to chronicle my experience starting a new Brokerage.
Only issue- I tried to play with Permalinks and now they don’t work. Even reset them to a “Common Setting” Thoughts?? Point me to some help?
You did let the newbies in!
November 20, 2008 — 8:31 am
Greg Swann says:
> I tried to play with Permalinks and now they don’t work. Even reset them to a “Common Setting” Thoughts?? Point me to some help?
Reset back to Default, the top choice. I’m sorry for this limitation, but it’s the only way WPMu wants to honor virtual hosting.
November 20, 2008 — 8:55 am
Cindy DiCianni says:
Thanks Greg! I’ve never worked on Word Press. Love any tips!!
November 20, 2008 — 8:37 pm
Brad Coy says:
Just an FYI. The above theme I used “Rusty Grunge” does not remove the theme designers name… unless there’s a hitch that I missed. It has since been changed to “Green Light”
November 23, 2008 — 1:30 pm