Okay, I’m looking for an honest answer here: How often do you install an application on your phone without reading the terms of service? If you are like most people, including myself, the answer is probably “all the time.” I’m generally cautious about what I install and use on my phone, but I can’t say that I typically spend much time reading through lengthy terms of service (TOS) on a small screen. This is especially true when I’m loading an app for a particular purpose, one that is on my mind right now.
Instagram lets you filter, frame, and share photos for free, but are you giving away more than you're getting?
Because I love taking photos, one of my current favorite apps is Instagram, which allows me to upload, filter, frame, and share photos with the people who choose to follow me. My photos range from conference snapshots, to photos taken in and around our D.C. office, to pictures of my children’s latest escapades. Instagram also lets me keep up with photos of friends I’ve followed there.
Last spring, Instagram was purchased by Facebook. This week, the company posted new terms of service, set to take effect Jan. 16. According to some sources, the changes to the TOS grant the company the ability to use your photos in ways that you may not have intended, and this has caused a bit of a firestorm. Many users are complaining publicly. Here’s why:
According to an article on CNet.com,
Under the new policy, Facebook claims the perpetual right to license all public Instagram photos to companies or any other organization, including for advertising purposes, which would effectively transform the Web site into the world’s largest stock photo agency.
Without getting too deep in the legalese, the interpretation is that Instagram could take a photo you’ve uploaded and sell it to another company to use, without notifying you. But you don’t necessarily need to delete your account yet. Late yesterday, Instagram issued a reply on their blog, promising to revisit the language of the terms and explaining that their intention was to allow targeted advertising within the site, in much the same way that Facebook operates.
You can choose to make your profile private. Instagram’s current TOS says that their sharing and use is based on your account’s privacy setting; but the new TOS don’t include that language. For now, that will protect your photos. With the dustup about the language change and what their intent is, Instagram may reinsert this language before the January 16th cutoff. If not, you can consider deleting your account before the deadline.
As real estate agents, your big consideration on Instagram comes with any photos you may have taken and posted of your clients’ homes (current or past)—not MLS listing photos, but photos you have taken and shared. I’m sure your sellers wouldn’t want photos of their homes used commercially, so if you are sharing those types of photos, you need to know how and where they could be used. Flickr is a great replacement option, with better privacy settings, and the app now has photo filters, too. I’ve heard you can also get similar results by using the filters in the Hipstamatic app first, and then sharing the photo via Flickr. The Flickr app, like Instagram, is free, but Hipstamatic will cost you a cool 99 cents.
Still, a legitimate question remains: Should you be sharing photos of your listings on a photo-sharing site? Lots of practitioners do it. But it’s your responsibility to protect your photos of clients’ homes on those sites. In general, it’s also a good idea to protect yourself by having written permission from your sellers to take and publicly display and distribute photos of their home. Many listing agreements now include this type of language.
At the end of the day, you need to remember that at times you are using technology as a business person, and not just as a consumer. So protect your clients and yourself by making sure you understand the terms of service of the apps you use.
~Heather
By Todd Carpenter, Director of Digital Engagement, National Association of REALTORS®
I wrote my first blog post about the real estate and mortgage industries on Jan. 27, 2005. Much has changed, but several truths about blogging have remained pretty constant:
1. Knowledge is learned, expertise is imparted.
Take all the training you want. Read every book. Learn from a lifetime of experience. Nobody will really care until you share that knowledge. Until I started my blog, I was just a good account executive for a lender. After I started it, I became an industry expert that other news organizations wanted to quote. People don’t want you to tell them you are an expert. They want you to prove it.
2. Have a business purpose behind every blog post you write.
I’ve written about this before. Beyond proving your own expertise to a reader, a great blog posts also serves additional business purposes. They could be designed to help you network with local businesses, or win in the search engines, or to build a library of FAQs you can reference later. Whatever it is, try to establish a business purpose for your posts before you write them.
3. Social networks come and go, but your Web site is forever.
There’s only one place on the Internet where you get to make all the rules. You get to decide when to ask for the sale. You get to decide if others can advertise next to your content. You get to decide who else gets to comment on your work. Where the platform’s very existence is assured. That’s your own Web site or blog. If you have put all your eggs in a basket where you don’t get to make the rules, what are you going to do when the rules get changed for you? A Web site or blog has to be the hub of all of your digital communications. Continue reading »
By Todd Carpenter, Director of Digital Engagement, National Association of REALTORS®
A friend of mine came to me yesterday asking if I thought it was a good idea to write for a high profile blog/site in the real estate industry. My answer was, “It depends.” You need to ask yourself what you hope to get out of it, and ask that blogger if he can deliver on the return you are working for. Here are some motivations to blog for someone else:
Blogging for pay: I get paid to blog here. It’s part of my job duties at NAR. This isn’t new: I was paid to be a blogger all the way back in 2006. It’s more common than you might imagine. If bloggers want your contributions enough, they may be willing to pay you for your efforts. Don’t buy into the idea that they are doing you some kind of favor. You are more than making up for their generosity with your content. It’s worth asking if they are willing to pay you for your work.
Blogging for your résumé: I wrote for the Inman News blog for a year. The main reason I did it was to be able to put it on my résumé. In this case, Inman paid me in social capital. Depending on your long-term goals, it might be worth it for you to blog to boost your professional credentials. Of course, once you can put it on your résumé and the returns on your efforts start to diminish, you may find that it’s time to move on. Don’t worry about letting that blogger down. If they are paying writers in social capital, they should be used to the turnover. Continue reading »
By Brian Summerfield, Online Editor, REALTOR® Magazine
When I wrote a story in REALTOR® Magazine a couple of years ago about the realities of doing business in social media, I interviewed Jay Thompson, a.k.a., The Phoenix Real Estate Guy. Jay’s been blogging for years, and has generated a ton of business from it.
Back then, he described to me how his former broker didn’t take blogging seriously, dismissing it as playing around instead of conducting real business. While many real estate pros have since come around on the value of blogging, there is still a sense among many of them that it’s not a worthwhile activity, said Chris Smith, co-creator of Tech Savvy Agent, at Inman’s Agent Reboot in Chicago this morning.
“People tell me all the time, ‘I don’t have time to blog, and I don’t know how. I’m going to go be a REALTOR®,’” he said.
Part of the problem is the word itself. “Blogging” tends to conjure up impressions of amateurish writers getting online to flame a politician they don’t like, or provide updates on their cats, or post photos of their vacation to Branson, Mo., with a detailed account of how great Andy Williams was.
If that’s your hang-up, Smith said, just ditch the term. “Lose the word ‘blogging,’” he explained. “I want you to think of it as marketing your business on the Internet.” Continue reading »
By Erica Christoffer, Multimedia Web Producer, REALTOR® Magazine
When considering your Web presence, ask yourself this: Am I interacting with my client base?
If the answer is no, or not quite sure, here are eight tips from the International Builders’ Show Thursday morning session on unleashing the sales power of your Web site (presented by Scott Stroud of Builder Radio Media Network, Rick Storlie of New Home Sales Coach, and Erik Cofield of Buildtopia and Builder1440).
1.) Don’t pay a developer to run your Web site. Make the move to WordPress. You’ll save oodles of dollars, have the ability to update more frequently, and ensure more control over your site.
2.) Start blogging… A LOT! A blog is all about human interaction. Blog regularly and promote your posts via social media.
3.) Stumped on what to blog about? Three ideas: progress of a design or building project, interesting client stories or profiles, and community news or events.
4.) Use negative feedback as an opportunity to shine. If you receive a complaint or unflattering comment, “turn it into a positive,” says Stroud. Respond with an apology and outline a solution. Negative comments can be relevant. Continue reading »
By Erica Christoffer, Multimedia Web Producer, REALTOR® Magazine
From beginners to pros, WordPress Camp had something to offer every blogger at the 2010 REALTORS® Conference & Expo Monday. Technology and marketing experts presented dual-track sessions for novice bloggers and advanced WordPress users.
Blogging has proven to be a valuable tool for real estate professionals to demonstrate industry and community knowledge, as well as express identity and brand. The sessions provided tips to help leverage the medium and connect with potential clients.
“WordPress is a perfect forum for real estate Web sites,” said presenter and co-WordPress Camp organizer Dustin Luther with 4realz. “There’s a lot of talk right now about marketing via social media. But we really wanted to focus on creating a great Web site.”
Presenter Steve Zehngut, from Zeek Interactive, honed in on integrating real estate tools on a WordPress blog.
When choosing a theme – or the overall design of your WordPress Web site – Zehngut recommended Woo Themes, which provides customizable Web designs for $70 to $200.
Zehngut also listed a few must-have plugins for a real estate WordPress site: Continue reading »
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