Terry, sorry you feel I besmirched your reputation. Perhaps you might want to consider the probability of that happening when you first besmirch the reputation of an entire state….

Terry-Here are some main points you are missing:
1. Jay was making the point that you were on a network that has a main goal of real estate related content. When he looked back through, there wasn’t really anything related to what the goals of the network has in your posts. So the stuff you were contributing was actually hurting the overall effectiveness of the network & the 170,000+ members. When you write your political rants it dilutes down the density of RE related stuff and makes the Google juice less potent.

2. The second point he is making is that if someone makes blanket statements that includes an entire state & wants to try to portray the article as facts, then it is really important to have the content to cite. This is the only credibility you have when making generalized statements about an entire state. If there was some post, some newspaper article, or something else that backed up your point, then not as many would have been offended.

Here are some more thoughts of my own:

1. Going for shock & awe is sometimes an effective tool for marketing. However insulting others normally doesn’t gain many new friends or business dealings. I am sure the reason you blogged on AR was because you were hoping for more biz. If not, then I guess you just had a lot of time on your hands & liked arguing with others. But if the first assumption is true, then softer approaches will normally bring better results. You can say the same things, but as I was constantly told once by a boss: “A grain of sugar goes a whole lot farther than a grain of salt.”

2. I agree 100% with Jay’s points about being on another network. One of the main principles of AR & rules is that you should not personally attack others. While you didn’t call out one person in specific, you called out an entire state which IMO is just as bad if not worse.

3. I also agree with another statement that was made in the beginning post. If you want to have a place to control & say your rants & things, I would strongly suggest investing in your own blogging platform like wordpress or blogger. Because if you go to other networks, they will probably give you the same result as AR, a banishment. Unless of course you find a political platform to use.

One other thing for both Terry & Chris, one thing that both of you misunderstand is that Jay didn’t just single out Terry. And he wasn’t bashing AR or the other content on there. As he stated, he was one of the original members of AR. Probably knows as much about the network as I do or anyone else that has or currently works there. Also, he is probably one of the most well respected bloggers in the Real Estate industry. If I would dare to say it, I would call him an authority on it.

This all came about because he harnessed the focus when he began blogging and because of that, it has made him a rather successful agent, broker, owner in Phoenix, AZ.

Lastly, I want to pose this question: The time that was spent writing all these political posts that had nothing to do with home staging, real estate, or anything related to the industry, do you honestly feel that they brought you the maximum return on investment? OR do you feel that if the posts were focused on these type of topics instead they might bring greater results. My guess is that it would have brought much more income to your pocket as well as a whole lot less nights of stressful commenting & arguments with others online.

So in closing, please realize, this isn’t a personal attack, it is more a learning experience that Jay has tried to share with others in the industry that look up to him. Unfortunately, you were just the person that gave him the material to use.

“If any of you had any idea about AR…”

Well, there we go again. Actually, I do know quite a bit about AR. I was one of the first members of AR and, not that it matters one iota, wrote the first blog post of substance on AR.

Just because there are other off-topic posts there doesn’t make what you wrote appropriate.

And you have no idea what news sources I subscribe to.

Chris – I agree with you that off-topic posts help keep a blog from being boring. Ironically I gave a presentation today at the Denver RE WordCamp and off-topic posts were a main component of that presentation.

But caustic, offensive posts don’t have any place on a network that thousands of people belong to (in my opinion). If Terry wants to rant, more power to her. I just happen to think she should do it on her own blog, not what is effectively a community platform. You and Terry obviously disagree. And there is nothing wrong with that.

I no longer live in Texas, so I can’t argue to the “Facts” in what Terry wrote. I did notice when it was published that Terry had absolutely no links to any of these ‘”facts” and when I asked here about that in a comment, was attacked.

If a blogger is going to post “facts”, they should cite the source of said facts. Otherwise there is zero credibility and while it could indeed be factual, it comes off sounding like a rant. Making further attacks on commenters just for aksing for links to the sources also tends to make people feel it’s an unfounded rant.

What’s amazing to me is that none of you are discussing the actual post… the Texas School Board altering history books. Public school books are already (as admitted even by those who write them) very vague and incomplete, and to make them even more so is a horrible thing. Thoughts on the actual point of the post? Or just comments on the one sentence? Personally I would have been much more direct with that line and said, “No wonder some vile bigots in Texas are so ignorant.” I may have even named them, as they repeatedly did to her in their blogs.

I am baffled that one sentence would bring on such a response. I am from California, I love California. I don’t get offended when someone says something about California. I certainly wouldn’t tweet and reblog them. I guess I just don’t get it.

That’s really all that can be said. Using the wrong platform to destroy business relationships is really all she accomplished. And most likely, (and hopefully we might add), her business will suffer for it. AR is no place for completely off-topic rants and stereotypes of people.

Thanks for capturing the entire post before it came down.