One interesting thing about Web 2.0 is the enhancement of communication between real estate professional and consumers, establashing transparent dialogue that is also of interest to other potential clients.

When we think of communication such as blogs & email, this communication is asyncronous. This means it's not in real-time and dialogue occurs when you can get to it. In Web 2.0, realtime or syncronous communication is the next unchartered wave of the Web 2.0 ocean.

Chat tools could be effective as real-time communications, but there exists a problem of agents (or their assistants) being tied to a computer to chat in real-time.

WEBINARS & ONLINE MEETINGS
Many of you agents and brokers have attended a webinar to listen in on a new product your thinking of purchasing, or have attended a webinar for training of a product you have purchased.

(a) Use by Agents / Brokers
Given realtime communication, agents / brokers could hold online meetings w/ prospective buyers and sellers in their own marketplace. From a Web 2.0 perspective, online meetings still keep that "buffer" consumers enjoy online of not meeting someone in-person until they are ready to conduct business. These meetings could be "scheduled" during evenings when prospective clients can "sit in" from the comfort of their own home.

(b) What to Discuss
Listing Presentations and knowledge on the current market would play into such online presentations. You'd be surprised that you likely have all materials handy to create, for example, a Powerpoint presentation. You could have a series of online meetings targeted to niche consumers, i.e. "First Time HomeBuyers".

(c) Who'd Attend
Besides the agent and prospective consumers, mortgage brokers and even previous clients who can bring "testimonials" to the table, are ideas of who could attend. Having an assistant on hand to take notes, write down questions of consumers where time outside the meeting is required, is also a smart idea. As with any "meeting", a single person such as the agent or broker, must keep things moving and not let anyone person dominate the dialogue.

(d) Marketing Your Online Meetings
Besides your agent website and blog, direct marketing can be used where it makes sense. Consider holding informational webinars for the niche "First-time Home Buyers". You may want to develop flyers and target apartment complexes in your direct marketing, advertising your online meetings and webinars.

(e) Online Meeting Software
Tools like Yugma and Gotomeeting are great tools to assist in sharing your desktop w/ consumers, but also scheduling and pre-registering invites given different packages from such vendors.

In conclusion, Web 2.0 is about creating a dialogue with your current and prospective clients. Realtime chat is of great challenge. Online Meetings are a "scheduled" chat, can be visually stimulating, and inclusive of many prospects when done properly.

There exists a debate (maybe light conversation) on perspectives of "inside" and "outside" blogs. To define what is meant by inside and outside blogs, I'm simply stating that:

-- Inside Blogs - are blogs hosted by real estate professionals where content is for the audience of peers in the real estate industry (agents, brokers, mortgage brokers, technology vendors)...whereas

-- Outside Blogs - are blogs hosted by real estate professionals where content is for the audience of consumers and potential clients.

Does a real estate professional require 2 blogs to best connect with their peers & counterparts and another blog to reach & connect consumers? To best answer that question, I will say "it depends".

What's Happening in the Industry...

What is happening in the real estate, Web 2.0 space are the notable lines being made between inside communication and outside communication.

This is very true of real estate professionals who post articles on their blog and state "Consumers can skip to the next post" or on discussion forums saying "‘Agents only’ or ‘RE professionals only’ or ‘No consumers please’" as found on Trulia Voices Q&A.

ActiveRain currently is driven by "inside" communication (as of today). AR allows Real Estate Professionals to blog about anything. However, much of the content is geared towards professionals talking to other professionals. The majority of content is "inside", where points are assigned to professionals who comment on the "inside" content. Do note, many agents may use an ActiveRain blog for outside communications, linking to their AR blog from their agent website and even marking content for distribution at Localism (AR consumer Q&A site). Limitations to outside communication with today's AR blog is they lack personal branding. Also, comments on AR blogs are driven by other real estate professionals only commenting on "inside" content. ActiveRain is moving towards the development of outside blogs, for an annual fee, as many agents at AR have requested such a service.

RealTown - includes highly customizable blogs that can be used for inside communication with peers, or for use of outside communications with consumers. As this blog platform allows for customization of the look and feel of the blog, it's purpose of inside or outside communications are left to the real estate professional.

Zillow Q&A / Trulia Voices Q&A - Zillow Q&A and Trulia Voices Q&A, following more of a discussion forum format, are "outside" communication venue. Real Estate Professionals can directly communicate with consumers. For some agents, its a reality check on consumers concerns, fears and trepidations in today's market...as its not the same, highly upbeat ("that was a great post") communication as found on "inside" communities such as AR.

Trulia Voices Agent2Agent - Due to requests by real estate professionals, Trulia now has Agent2Agent discussion areas inside Trulia Voices. The importance of community, knowledge-sharing, quick Q&A professionals is commonly desired. In my opinion, such discussion in a discussion forum-like format allows for quicker communication (I.e. "get to the point").

Zolve - has many features that to me, speak to primarily inside communications. With sphere-of-influence, referral features, and its newest "Over Coffee' feature (a Q&A area for real estate professionals), It's primary service is a referral network for real estate professionals. Outside communications are brought forth when real estate professionals elect to "speak" to consumers in their Zolve blog...sometimes using their Zolve blog as their outside blog.

Conclusions

I feel that real estate blogs established by real estate professionals for consumers should remain with majority of content driven for consumers. A small percentage of topics geared towards peers can show breadth & expertise of the real estate professional (in the eyes of the consumer); someone "hip" to not only local real estate industry but having knowledge on the market as a whole. To consumers, this is important. Should real estate professionals strive to have 2 blogs (an inside blog to connect and engage referrals with peers and an outside blog geared towards consumers)? What do you think?