C Tann-Starr's Outside Blog

The Outside Blog Minion Report

Friday, February 27, 2009

Carolyn Tann-Starr on Type E Social Networking and Tiffany & Co.

Josef Katz Trump U Interview of Margaret Rome     Tiffany.com     ClubChaosAgents.com     TannStarr.com

The Tiffany Blue Box is a very distinct, vibrant, custom shade selected from a wide spectrum of hues available for reproduction in the early 1800's. This signature blue was introduced to patrons in 1837 shortly after the company was formed on September 18th of the same year. The founders, Charles Lewis Tiffany and John B. Young, had a vision for their future and part of that vision was (a) non-negotiable prices, (b) quality, (c) excellence, (d) reputation management and (e) creating a distinctive product whose creative design, craftsmanship and elegance would speak for itself.

Their personalities shaped their work and their work ethic stamped their signatures on the quality of their lives. When one thinks Tiffany & Co one has an expectation that they are going to be in for an extraordinary and well deserved treat. Their collection is awesome. I have yet to meet a single soul who has ever opened one of those blue boxes and not been delighted with the contents presented inside.

When the little minions were born their Godfather, Joe A. Galarza, presented each with a stunning collectible in a little blue box. We were all delighted. It became a new tradition in our home that for very special occasions and important milestones, the wee people would receive a gift in the spirit of those founders who marked their careers by starting at excellence rather than aspiring to it. All children have challenges ahead of them but how you inspire them when they are young will carry with them and color how they accept, deal with and challenge life one day at a time. If they are comfortable with themselves, they will always do their very best and be comfortable with the results. We don't always get what we want, but we can be happy where we are if we choose to be happy and pleased.

Being the best that you can be should be your measuring stick, not the accomplishments of others. Do not compare yourself with what is going on around you, for you are not that other person, you are you. Only you can decide how much effort your life is worth. Only you can pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start all over again. Only you can reinvent yourself. Only you.

Here's my favorite Tiffany quote: "Since 1837, Tiffany & Co. has been the world's premier jeweler and America's house of design." I don't know what they will say about me and my artwork when I pass on, but my creativity is my passion. I create distinctive works of design and I bet several years from now people wont remember that I was a real estate agent, or a law enforcement officer, or a writer, or a paralegal. I bet they will remember I was an artist because art is my life. It's my personality. It's who I am and what I do. It spills into everything. Even my social networking habits. Turns out I do "Type E Social Networking." How cool is that? Very! (LOL)

I can't speak for anyone else, because I don't know the results of your test, but I can speak about me. I'm a Type E personality. Of course, it is a spectrum, just like any other psychological measurement, but it got me wondering what else I didn't know about myself, failed to realize, or just plain ignored. I am in the middle of my own personal bit of reinvention. That's why I migrated from law enforcement to real estate (LOL). Regardless of the employment title, fact is, you are what you do, not where you work and what your title is. You can change jobs in a blink of an eye. Changing you is a bit more difficult.

If you have time, click the link for the Margaret Rome podcast interview, go check out her site and take the Type E test. The results may or may not surprise you. If you're an Active Rain member, feel free to post the results in Josef's comment section if you'd like to share them. We're curious to see how many Club Chaos members are Type E personalities. Inquiring minds really would like to know more about my Type E peeps (LOL).

I'm in shock. I can't believe I can't log in.

Google has always been that one constant since I started playing on the Internet. I always access Google, at least, I USED TO always access Google (LOL). I've been getting 502 Proxy Errors all morning that ask me to "try again in 30 seconds." Well, it's been an hour... WTF?

I'm on a time table here. I have to get my messages before I go out to drop the kids at school and freeze my a$$ off doing my turtle run. I have an expectation and feel strangely lost at the prospect of having to stop fooling around in the street to find a computer to see what's on the agenda for the day. I usually know what's cooking in advance (LOL). It's a lovely 24 degrees and we are having a particularly colorful sunrise, so off I go to amuse myself with the Nikon.

I've lots of runs I haven't posted yet, but just because I haven't been talking about them lately doesn't mean I'm not cooking them up and doing them. Yes, I actually save turtle runs for a "rainy day" (LOL). 

I can't stand the thought of not being able to read my email... I feel incomplete, as if I'm missing something... How geek is that? Very. ;-)

The Outside Blog Minion Report

Monday, February 23, 2009

Club Chaos Agents     Ward Nasse Gallery     TannStarr.com

A picture is worth a thousand words... but what do you do when you own thousands of photographs? My private collection may be an oxymoron (LOL). Most readers would assume this is a rhetorical question; however, I assure you it is not. When ever I go through the files I always feel as if I am about to have a Dr. Seuss moment for one could get lost playing in there if he or she is not very careful (and the fact of the matter is my friends frequently do).

We are so into eye candy, we can spend an entire day just hunting around for something beautiful to obsess over and capture for later use. I don't know how your friends feel about your photographs, but my friends go wild because I take very interesting pictures and they always want to know how my shots come out "like that" when theirs look so much different. We can talk about focal points, film, digital cameras and lens apertures for hours on end. Do you know why? It's because we are passionate about our photography. Talking about Photoshop is not something the average person in the street would want to hear about, but I do and frequently read text books on the subject. God wired artist differently on purpose, HE stamped our DNA with that extra wire that helps us see the world differently through our mind, will and emotions. We're "gifted." Our left and right side of the brain function very differently. We've got that switch we can flick to channel our creativity.

There are so many ways to define passion. Each definition has an intimate meaning for the person experiencing it, but it's an intangible quantification internalized that one may not always be able to articulate to another person who has no interest or appreciation for the gift set before them.

Every work of art is a gift of expression. If you don't have a meeting of the minds, you will not experience the meeting of the soul. You will risk missing the very quality that makes the work beautiful.

Artist are people who want you to see what they see how they see it, not necessarily how it really is. If realistic in the rendering, then it is the detail and point of view we obsess over, manipulating the colors, textures and contrasts as best we can to share a special moment in time that will never quite ever be exactly the same because time marches on and the moment has passed. The more unique the imagine, the happier we become. That's why I love creating paintings. I start with nothing and turn it into something and people are always amazed at what it is I am able to make them see.   

Part of my passion for creativity is enjoying the reaction of surprise when a patron observes a work of art for the very first time. To transform what people can define into something they can embrace and admire but not articulate makes the effort worth while. When I create a portrait I am trying to catch my subject's personality. I am looking for a quirk or expression that makes them unique and readily identified to anyone who knows what that look means. The ability to read people means one has the ability to recognize when a friend is smiling nicely or giving you a smirk or a secret, sly smile. Why do you think the Mona Lisa is so famous? It's because the artist captured the essence of her smile...

Will I publish my photography and painting collections? Maybe... maybe not. It depends upon the project and I will quite happily confess to being in Copyright Heaven because I have taken a photo, sketched and/or painted just about every category of item, person, cityscape, landscape, seascape, fauna as well as traveled to interesting geographical locations throughout the tri-state area. My sketch books are getting marked up by the two year old, so I think it's time for me to start preparing for another gallery show. I am way overdue and need to move some of this inventory because the little minions have already disposed of 22 paintings while "fixing" them (LOL). I am in the middle of 15 new paintings and I may be giving AR an exclusive sneak peak as I roll along with my projects. After all, a few of my blogging buddies are this years Gallery Guide victims (LMAO). Not everyone is going to be able to fly into New York for the show. :-)

My passion is art and I am always an artist. It colors how I think and everything that I do. It's a lovely gift from God and I think I am so passionate about it because when ever I create something out of nothing I always find myself thinking HE does that... I'm taking after my Daddy in Heaven... What a lovely feeling.  :-) 

The Outside Blog Minion Report

Sunday, February 22, 2009

ClubChaosAgents.com     TannStarr.com     CreativeHomeExpressions.com    HemmingwaysGrill.com

Carolyn Tann-Starr on Kathy Passarette and The Power of Social Media

Ever been to Hemingway's in Wantagh, New York? What an awesome place to make a reservation if you find yourself in Nassau county. I am sooo into foodie paradise spots and this place is Spanking-A if you'd like to have a business meeting in a family friendly restaurant. Kathy P and I were taking quite a chance picking a new restaurant to meet a client in, but the recommendation came from someone who assured us it would be well worth the ride, so we met there and I have to say how glad I am that we took her advice.

What a lovely bit of atmosphere to get comfortable in and conduct pleasure with business. Yes, the pleasure came first. I love doing restaurant reviews and routinely invite my clients and friends to dine with me so we can try various aspects of the menus and spend some quality time together. I hate wasting food, am a bit old school and believe if you are going to experiment with the menu you must order multiple meals and get a few opinions other than your own. It is a wonderful way to mix business with pleasure, but have the pleasure first so your mind will be so much more relaxed to enjoy the business at hand afterward (LOL).

For those who don't mix the two, that's fine. Feel free to do the business dinners of your choice people, but I'm just sayin' it's a lot more fun the other way... Happy clients give happy referrals, but I digress ;-)

Hemingway's is intimately lit and the candle light makes for some very nice eye candy. If you have something you need to read for a business presentation, make sure you make a 4:30 PM dinner reservation so you can enjoy the sun slowly setting and not have to take out a flashlight to see (LOL). Well, I did say it was intimate lighting, now didn't I? It's a great place to take a date (hint, hint) so if you enjoy a fine dining experience, go to Hemingway's. You will not be disappointed.

The staff were very kind and attentive to our every need, plus the chef specials were awesome selections. We're going back to try out more of the menu when the weather improves and to see what the new chef specials will be. Some dishes are seasonal and I always love a chef who likes to mix it up. This one is a master at making you wish you'd ordered three meals just so you could taste something spectacular. Our hostess rattled off so many wonderful choices I almost did not read the menu. The place fills up quickly, so do yourself a favor and make a reservation. Especially for a Saturday night. Seriously!

You do not want to miss what could be a very a lovely evening for your and your family. Trust me. The food was that good. The desert even better (LOL). You want to know what also helped to seal the deal in selecting this place besides my never ending curiosity for the next great place to eat? It has a lovely website. There is nothing like social media to back up a word of mouth recommendation to make me drive to another county to enjoy a meal and do a hyper-local restaurant review (LOL).

Which brings us to talking point #2: Do not squander your social media people. Seriously. :-) 

I just left a blog post littered with a few of my diatribes in protest and response to an attack upon a very talented writer I love to read. I found myself thinking I would not want to do business with someone who left a bad taste in my virtual mouth. None of us are perfect, we all make mistakes, but this writer kept coming back again and again to cause havoc. He didn't attempt to mend one fence or offer an olive branch and I realized just how important the ability to blog and speak your mind really is. These are not paid endorsements, these are stories of where we go, what we do, what we think and who we love to associate with. (Or avoid - LOL) When someone recommends another professional or vendor for something, it also places our blogger's butt on the line and affects our credibility as well. You are going to test the veracity of our statements to see if you agree or disagree. It's okay to agree to disagree, but when I say do not squander your social media, I mean this... quite seriously.

Talking point #3: You can only make a first impression once. There are no do overs in this category. Hemingway's gets the Mama Minion thumbs up! I am soooo gonna bring the little minions back here with Big Daddy Minion first chance I get (LOL). They have a fireplace. Very cool. I want to sit over there next time. I'm hoping to have another Active Rain road trip and think a few talented friends would love to experience the atmosphere of an American Bar and Grill. In case you haven't noticed, Realtors are very visual people. Look what we do for a living: we research, inspect, film, photograph, compare and tour properties (LOL). :-)

BTW, one of the benefits of having talented friends who use social media is that when you have a client who is looking for a specific type of help, you can instantly help them. You can send them to their professional websites for an overview of their business. You can send them newspaper and magazine articles. You can send them to their Active Rain Real Estate Network profile so they can check out their blog posts and learn something more about who they are through the comments people leave and the interactions developing in the growing conversational threads. You can also tell a lot by the comments people make in response to what you've written. Blogging is unique because you get instant gratification and a business record to document a hit or a miss (LOL). Every time you read a post, it makes a first impression, so bloggers who post weekly are giving you a tremendous amount of information about themselves and their businesses. I am a chatty, wordy entrepreneur, so you may get a lot more information than you originally bargained for (LOL).

Talking point #4: When entrepreneurs diligently maintain an interactive on-line presence, current clients and potential new customers can discover the personal common denominators that can help them make the decision to hire other professionals linked-in with their current contractors. Blogging to showcase other vendors and professionals (e.g. link love) will always influence your client's perception of you and what you can and can not do for them. By reading my blog posts my readers already know that I have designers and stagers that I think are wonderful, so they do not hesitate when they decide to hire one to look out for their best interests. They have an expectation that I have my Club Chaos Active Rain Team in place to cover all of their home-buying needs. The builders. The re-modelers. The interior designers. The stagers. The mortgage brokers. The appraisers. The inspectors. The attorneys. My friends are all there and they are ready, willing and able to help. I have the most fun when my readers have done their homework, know who I play and work with and also know that all it takes is one e-mail or a phone call from me to get the project started. I will not work with everyone and everyone will not work with me. That is life, but it is always nice to know you have people you can count on. The designer/stager I introduced my client to is a woman I can count on. I love bragging about her  because she makes my life a lot easier and brings so much more to my business model than I can articulate. Kathy Passarette is awesome and she is very active in the social media circles so feel free to look her up if you need some work done. :-)

Talking point # 5: When your clients have already contracted with you because of your on-line presence, they have a higher expectation of service than when they walk in off the street to ask questions of a stranger. When people become familiar or comfortable with a writer, they always approach the project differently because they have a perception of what it would be like to deal with you in reality. It's not just a business transaction to them or a brush with cyberlebrity. You are a potential new friend helping to solve their problems that they are happy to pay your retainer/commission. You are someone they are about to spend some quality time with because your original content made an impression on them to the point where they picked up the phone and called you. They have an infant's trust in you because they already have tried a part of you out and like what they know. Working with you means they would like to know more. How you treat them will determine exactly what you will and wont get out of the relationship once the initial transaction is concluded.

Talking point #6: Do not think for one minute that you are not in a new relationship. You are. Each one is different and can open new doors for more relationships with brand new contacts if you do well cultivating the ones you have and don't take a single moment for granted.

Perfect example: It was our bog posts that made this business meeting happen last night, so if blogging on Active Rain is not part of your business plan, you may want to reconsider your position. You never know where your social media connections may lead, so don't squander them, they are more precious than gold. R. E. Mills is a wonderful client who discovered me on-line and retained my services through a buyer's brokerage agreement to help her find and purchase a home. Since I openly chat about my business model (70% Buyers Brokerage, 15% Listing Agent, 15% Rental Agent) and love bragging about what a great job my friends do and/or how talented I think they are, I have been connecting on-line with people (like Ms. Mills) who do not just need my services as a Realtor but they also want to work with my friends.

I repeat: they do not just want my services. They have an expectation that I am going to be bringing my friends and their marvelous expertise along. Do you know why? It's not just because I blog about them in cyberspace or fool around on Twitter about how our day is going, I also brag about them in real life. I print out their blog posts and take them along with me. When I want to show someone an example of what it is that they can have done, I showcase the people I know who can do it. When I show a home I always say, "there is no such thing as a perfect home. What makes it your home is what you decide to do to it to put your personal stamp on your new space."

I am an artist and am very big on imagination. When your client is comfortable enough with you to start talking about what they have always imagined wanting and you know a stager who is an interior designer or a builder who does re-modeling, you can give them their dream home within the foundation of what it is they can afford to buy if you take the time to help them budget for a few treats. A little paint, some accents, a few new pieces of furniture or art (and carpentry) can go a long way when your friends are talented... Before and after pictures can go a long way with the unimaginative (LOL).

Whether Notary, Artistic, or Realty related, people usually contact me through Active Rain, Ward-Nasse, Twitter, Facebook, TannStarr.com, REMAX People Realty, by word of mouth and my favorite search engine: Google.

How do your clients find you? What do they think of your blog posts?

Mine never know what they're going to get, which is exactly the way I like it (LOL).

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=12139329&ch=4226716&src=news

The President's Home Affordability Plan is available for download from the White House. There were a couple of moments in the Press Conference where I was laughing my a$$ off. Click the link to check out the video on this. Very interesting indeed. Seriously! You definitely should check this out. It's worth the watch (LOL). 

I like reading The White House Blog. Have you tried it out? You should. O laid out the four keys of the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan (Here's the O quotes): "1. Refinancing help for four to five million homeowners who receive their mortgages through Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac; 2. New incentives for lenders to modify the terms of sub-prime loans at risk of default and foreclosure; 3. Steps to keep mortgage rates low for millions of middle class families looking to secure new mortgages and 4. Additional reforms designed to help families stay in their homes." You can read the entire article here.

Make sure you check out all four links provided at the end. :-) 

If You Pump Money Into A Recession, What Happens When The Money Runs Out?

I have been asking this question all week and people keep looking at me like I'm stupid. Maybe I am, but I think it is a legitimate question. If you don't think so, can you answer my stupid question for me anyway so I can move on to the next stupid question and stop obsessing about this one?

Not being independently wealthy, inquiring minds would like to know the friggin' answer. Seriously! After all, we're doing an awful lot of socialistic things and I understand the short term potential for stimulation, but what of the long haul? I'm in this for the long run and so are my little minions, who will be footing this bill at Heaven knows what personal income tax rate.

So far, it seems we're putting spending-band-aids on open financial-arteries and it is only a matter of time before the lifeblood of the country runs out.

Biblically speaking, where are we in the end game? People everywhere are debating about the signs of the times. Are we gonna knock ourselves out of the prophetic box with experimentation and squabbling about theoreticals in politics? Are we going to legislate God and common sense out of the equation? Am I really stupid, or is my version of common sense making you incredibly uncomfortable?

I remember being taught if you don't work, you don't eat. I remember being taught to care for orphans and widows. I remember being taught that communities are reasonable for their localities. So far, we've bailed out big businesses while orphans and widows are loosing the roofs over their heads. I am busting my a$$ working three jobs to make ends meet and try to get an education and you guys are gonna give away mad money to people living in the street? Well hell, how do you pick 'em? Let me know so I can stake out my corner with a TV box and grub along for my lunch money too. This is the perfect time for praying people to start praying. If we don't pray for our leaders they are going to squabble and squander us into the freaking ground with feel good ideas that have no basis for sustaining the life of anyone.

What's the skinny on the latest operation? Why aren't you cleaning them up, training them and giving them a job? Economists are starting to howl because a crap load of money for the homeless to lunch aint stimulating a damn thing except special interest projects. When the money people start shaking their heads, what's a non-CPA kinda gal like me supposed to think? We all know that I have a mouth and can think on my own just fine, but I am an advocate of hiring professionals and getting the heck out of their way so they can do their jobs.

Who the hell are we hiring to help fix this mess? 'Tis madness...

We can't do politics as usual, people. It's becoming too damn expensive... You want to help the homeless then really help them and stop pulling my chain with legislative stupidity. Mini-rant done for the day.

TannStarr.com      ClubChaosAgents.com     Carolyn Tann-Starr

It appears my miniature photographs at this link were not what a few of you were expecting. Here's a more detailed shot. Can you see it now? (LOL) Just teasing. :-)

I keep thinking I should do a small coffee book on this. I have a lot of nice photographs of Shea Stadium. Okay, maybe a couple of hundred (LOL). It's bittersweet to see this coming apart tier by tier and I've certainly spoken a lot on the subject at hand. I feel as if I am losing a good friend. I know it is just a building, but that's the way that I feel. I hope I get to make some nice memories at Citi Field, but the fact of the matter is it will never house the history or displace my childhood memories of Shea...

Time to embrace the change... It may take a few weeks. I'm in mourning over my favorite stadium.

The Outside Blog Minion Report

TannStarr.com    ClubChaosAgents.com

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Carolyn Tann-Starr on IDJ Now

http://www.idjnow.com

Little Minion TV is shopping for pro audio video equipment and have found the perfect neighborhood vendor: IDJ Now. What a cool store. I had to run an errand for a friend in AZ and it turned out to be quite a treat. I am such a techno-geek. I love the smell of new equipment the same way some guys love that new car smell.

BTW, I'm a Sony, Korg, Roland, JBL kinda gal and this store has a wide variety of products to select from.

They have two locations open 7 days a week:

1015 Sunrise Highway, West Babylon, New York 11704

181-24 Horace Harding Expressway, Fresh Meadows, NY 11365

I'm wondering what would happen if I let my little dudes have a strobe and mirrored ball for their room. Gigglefest will never be the same again (LOL). Of course, I'll have to run that by Kathy Passarette, after all, I am on the waiting list for an interior design makeover by my favorite stager. Until April, it's look but don't touch the sexy noise making merchandise. Of course, you have no such restriction. Check out their website and go shopping. Betcha have lots of fun on-line and even more if you actually show up at one of the stores. The sales staff are very knowledgeable and quite engaging.

I enjoyed my Fresh Meadows visit a lot and am looking forward to doing business with this firm. I might just stop by to say hello. They are just that nice. :-)

I'm a bit distracted today because my clients are such interesting and downright fascinating people. I've never had a buyer sign a contract with a mortgage in place, then kick the mortgage to the curb to get a new one weeks before closing. Makes me nervous... I'm sure I'll get over it. I tend to get over a lot of things especially if I have no choice in the matter (LOL).

I think if I could improve my interest rate I might gamble and go for it too... but what do I know... after all, this is new...  I've no idea if doing this is a good or bad idea. I guess it depends upon the circumstances. What say you?

BTW, the Minion Blur has a little girlfriend. Oooo - how very sweet... she's a pretty cute kid, a bit high pitched and wordy too. He actually dances for her since he's speech delayed and seems determined to share everything. What a handsome little flirt he's turning out to be. I can't wait for the weather to improve so I can film the extended version of this candy cane courtship and save it for the electronic-embarrassment-scrapbook to use during his teenage years. You know your almost three year olds with the short attention spans are "somewhat serious" when they actually trade the candy back and forth out of their mouths without fighting for a turn or the whole piece.

Eeeeeew. Toddler affection can make you go "hmm" when you're not screaming, "OMG - quit it!" (LOL). Hey, don't get mad at me. You know you want leverage over you kids when they get older. Seriously! I bet your parents have embarrassing photo album pictures of you. Mine certainly do (LMAO).

Who knew scrapbooks would go all live and digital on us? How very cool and extremely useful. :-)

Took the little buggers to my fave spot to watch the demolition of Shea Stadium again. It is disappearing at an alarming rate. I know that one day soon it will be completely gone, so I try to visit as often as possible to keep up on their progress. I keep wondering what my last eye candy shot will be and if I will be there for the final walk through and watch when it will be no more... I am going to really miss this place. I wonder if I will have the nerve to watch when that last wall falls...

On November 6, 2008 a few snide comments inspired me to write "A Perception Of Value." Now I find that I am inspired to revisit the concept once again. This time it is not in defense of myself but in defense of this Network. No one is perfect, but as far as businesses go, AR has been pretty transparent about most things they had no obligation to disclose. This company has continually given us insight into what they believe is best for their business model. We have been a quasi-non-voting-blog-partner from day one. Collectively, we may even have become somewhat accustomed to influencing a tremendous amount of their decision making because they were always kind to ask for feedback and input from the members. Problem is, some writers are confusing the concept of influence with the concept of right. We have no right to force these people to adopt an unprofitable business plan because the concept of a firm making a profit by adapting it's business model to survive, prosper and grow is unpalatable to some who have the cyber-welfare mentality that they are entitled to everything free. The Active Rain Real Estate Network is a business and we, regardless of our personal preferences, should never once forget that fact. If it fails, we failed it because its business is to service us THE MEMBERS USING THE SERVICE and we either value their work or we don't.

There are some people who claim they understand this concept; however their comments give me reasonable cause to believe that they do not. You don't have to take my word for it. Go read Active Brad's post and see for yourself. There are plenty of unrealistic gripes for you to chose from so I don't need to quote a single one. Choose your own and go write your own blog posts. In direct response to all, I am going to briefly put a few of you in remembrance of some simple accounting principles regarding the argument at hand because I believe if I just stick with the facts then the majority of you will have very little to attack me for. However, I do expect to be attacked which is why I'm writing this in B-switch mode. Yes, some of you flipped it. If you don't like my attitude simply stop reading and move on. I am not here for everyone, I am here for some. I have never been here for everyone, I am not that type of writer. You will not get an apology from me for what I have to say, and I mean every word of it in spades.

I learned my lesson from the previous "Localism" and "Land Rush" lynchings so I will not go down that virtual road again. The Vigilante of Nay Sayers are back and I absolutely refuse to join that crowd because the fact of the matter is you speculating people have no idea what other people are willing to pay or not pay for a valuable service. Of course there is value here. That's why some of you are so angry. People sometimes have no respect for free simply because it is free and the lack of monetary value sometimes diminishes any sense of urgency. As a direct result some people failed to make the best use of the tools at hand while they were available at no cost to the user. My private e-mails reveal that some members leveraged themselves into a comfort zone under the erroneous belief they had "all the time in the world" to eventually use the AR tools they were taking for granted. Why don't you people deal with the fact that you were slow to set up and maximize your accounts. You now realize that you blew it and hypothetically you, from the words coming out of your own mouths, are turning people away from the very vehicle that served so many so well. Rather than being hell bent on poisoning potential new bloggers minds with your vehemence in opposition to the pricing scheme you may have to partake of, why not just politely ask them to consider a discount for the unintended tardy or look for Group Founders who are recruiting writers for their Team Blogs? I have 36 writers and I don't charge them anything. Go Google the term "Club Chaos." Our Team Blog and our Active Rain Group are both on page 1. My writers are being discovered by people who are not even looking for us and they're sticking around because we fascinate them. They never know what they're going to get when they tune into either home page. Life is more than market reports, people. The goal of blogging is to be found and Active Rain gives us global exposure.

I am a REMAX agent. I have a REMAX website I pay $30 per month for like clockwork. It sure as hell does not let me syndicate a damn thing and has generated less viable leads than Active Rain. Meanwhile, my AR dashboard lets me re-blog my friends and total complete strangers, lets me send posts to Localism, my individual Outside Blog, my Team Blog and any 5 groups of my choice out of 5,287 available and you think $29 is too much? We also have Active Rain Channels at our disposal that each run with its own level of Topic SEO and you want to bail or discourage someone from joining? Seriously... I am sooooooo deleting my potty mouth thoughts about you right now... 

It's time for your accounting lesson my negative friend and I am going to start by quoting Wikipedia:

"In finance, rate of return (ROR), also known as return on investment (ROI), rate of profit or sometimes just return, is the ratio of money gained or lost (realized or unrealized) on an investment relative to the amount of money invested. The amount of money gained or lost may be referred to as interest, profit/loss, gain/loss, or net income/loss. The money invested may be referred to as the asset, capital, principal, or the cost basis of the investment. ROI is usually expressed as a percentage rather than a fraction. ROI does not indicate how long an investment is held. However, ROI is most often stated as an annual or annualized rate of return, and it is most often stated for a calendar or fiscal year. In this article, "ROI" indicates an annual or annualized rate of return, unless otherwise noted. ROI can be used to compare returns on investments where the moneys gained or lost are not easily compared using monetary values. For instance, a $1,000 investment that earns $50 in interest generates more cash than a $100 investment that earns $20 in interest, but the $100 investment earns a higher return on investment. * $50/$1,000 = 5% ROI * $20/$100 = 20% ROI." You can read the entire explanation in the Wiki article here.

The Significance of the Active Rain Rate Of Return:

Basic Membership (Members Only) = free access to 135,115+ professional members to learn from and network with (but not being able to syndicate into the public time-line where consumers and non-member businesses can discover you).

$29/Month = potential access to 2 Million Public hits per day x 30 days (60+ Million consumers and businesses for pennies on the dollar daily)

$79/Month Team Blog / AR Links (10 friends @ $7.90, 5 friends at $15.80, or pick a ratio of your choice and split the fee = potential access to 60+ Million consumers/businesses)

Ability to be re-blogged by multiple crazy people like me with mad Google juice to an individual and team blog (priceless)

Being in the position to accept an invitation, or multiple invitations by the owners of team blogs to be a contributing writer for free or reduced fee (priceless)

Having your blog linked to by Inman and other reputable companies because of something you wrote on AR (priceless)

Having the press quote you as an authority (priceless)

Having a member of the public retain your services because they like your Active Rain blog (priceless)

Getting to write the fees off on your taxes because you are advertising and marketing your business means it really didn't cost you much in the end, now did it? Still want to bitch about having to pay a nominal fee? Seriously? Cool. Stop whining and walk away. More Google juice for the rest of us who appreciate everything AR has done and is continuing to do to help us grow our businesses together. The people not complaining understand the value of the business model at hand. We think enough of ourselves to borrow the $7 dollars a week to make it happen if we have to.

I feel better. My mini-rant is done. Carry on with your squabbling if you must. Free Speech is a right but running their business into the ground is not.

I was poking around trying to find something interesting for the wee ones to do and I ran across this website: http://www.livemonarch.com/free-milkweed-seeds.htm

On this site they state they (1) are a National Foundation (2) dedicated to protecting and restoring butterfly habitats across North America and (3) you can get a tax write off for donating and helping them out. How cool is that? Very. They also report that they grow caterpillar food plants hydroponically (no soil) and don't use "artificial diets."

It's a simple site, direct and to the point. I think I like them. I've never written off a non-profit-butterfly before (LOL). This should be very interesting... :-)

The Outside Blog Minion Report

Monday, February 16, 2009

TannStarr.com     ClubChaosAgents.com

The Gateway National Recreation Center is awesome! It has a lot of cool think and do recreational spots to enjoy with your family. The little minions and I love visiting along the New York City shorelines and one of our favorite spots is Canarsie Pier in Kings County. Canarsie Pier is part of Jamaica Bay (the Brooklyn/Queens shoreline). Canarsie Pier is also part of the U.S. National Park Service. 

Wikipedia has a great article on Canarsie in general that you can read here and you can get more relevant family event information if you select this link for the PDF to the GNRC Guide For Jamaica Bay.

Here's a little Club Chaos eye candy of the ice minions playing in the snow. We were hoping to hang out and watch the ships sailing but it was way too cold to stay out and play. Maybe next time we'll collect some nice sailing shots for you. We're always hanging around the Gateway. It's a nice place to visit.

Geez, puh-leeze! Don't do it! Don't even think about doing it (LOL). Everything you want to know about Wordy C, Chaotic Mama, @CTannStarr, Mama Minion, C, Carol and Carolyn can be found here:

http://twitter.com/CTannStarr

06/14/2008 http://activerain.com/blogsview/551081/C-got-a-MeMe-wheeee

06/19/2008 (Members Only) http://activerain.com/blogsview/557806/Hello-Wacked-Hello-Jacked-Very-nice-to-meet-you

06/27/2008 http://activerain.com/blogsview/569619/Smile-Who-me

06/28/2008 (Members Only) http://activerain.com/blogsview/569891/Club-Chaos-Staplers-and-Restraining-Orders

06/30/2008 (Members Only) http://activerain.com/blogsview/572704/Club-Chaos-B-Switch-Do-You-Know-Me

07/05/2008 http://activerain.com/blogsview/580116/A-Best-Moment-In-Life

07/26/2008 http://activerain.com/blogsview/609960/I-Love-Being-A-Work-At-Home-Mom-WAHM

08/07/2008 http://activerain.com/blogsview/630396/A-Look-Between-Brothers

09/07/2008 http://activerain.com/blogsview/679004/My-On-Line-Legacy-will-be-very-small-but-very-important

09/07/2008 (Members Only) http://activerain.com/blogsview/678503/My-Monster-Truck-MeMe-with-a-Tann-Starr-Twist

09/11/2008 (Members Only) http://activerain.com/blogsview/686740/Oh-my-word-Ive-been-tagged-again-The-Tann-Starr-MeMe-Chronicles

10/22/2008 (Members Only) http://activerain.com/blogsview/752878/The-Triple-Threat-Behind-The-CC-Throne

11/19/2008 http://activerain.com/blogsview/797582/Ive-Been-Tagged-For-A-Book-MeMe-I-get-To-Pick-5-New-MeMe-Victims-LOL

11/21/2008 http://activerain.com/blogsview/801525/6-Useless-Facts-Trivial-Habits-Of-Stupid-People-That-Make-MeMe-An-Evil-Btch

11/23/2008 http://activerain.com/blogsview/804504/When-Your-Toaster-Starts-Ringing-You-Know-You-Are-In-Trouble

12/05/2008 http://activerain.com/blogsview/823110/You-People-Are-Evil-LOL-Just-Because-I-Love-You-The-Mangigian-Wordy-Version-

12/10/2008 (Members Only) http://activerain.com/blogsview/829482/Okay-This-Is-The-Part-Of-The-Show-Where-Carol-Writes-Another-Mini-Rant-Blog-Post-LMAO

01/04/2009 http://activerain.com/blogsview/767397/Tann-Starr-Year-In-Review-Or-Triple-Meme-From-Hell

01/22/2009 http://activerain.com/blogsview/895623/Toasted-Tossed-and-Toileted-I-Need-A-Minion-Proof-Cell-Phone-Seriously

02/10/2009 http://activerain.com/blogsview/925779/Do-You-Really-Want-25-Facts-Every-5-Days-Seriously-Geez-You-People-Are-Soooo-Greedy-LOL

02/12/2009 http://activerain.com/blogsview/931372/My-kind-of-crazy-The-Bucket-List-Facebook-Meme

02/14/2009 http://activerain.com/blogsview/934010/Amanda-Durbin-Hall-Queen-of-the-Chaos-Tribe-Facebook-45-Meme-With-A-Tann-Starr-Twist

Play nice in the electronic sand box and stop tagging me for Memes. I think I share an awful lot, don't you? Can you give a blogger a break? I'd like to make it to the end of the month at least. Seriously. :-)

I have to go show my listing later and was contemplating taking Winter pictures of it. I must admit I like the Fall photographs so much better because it is truly a gorgeous neighborhood. It is a little bit gray outside today, so maybe I'll take more pictures tomorrow or on a sunny day.

I am so looking forward to Spring. :-)

BTW, this is a 2 Bedroom Co-Op, Attached, Unit Floor #1, Development: Parkway Village Model: Garden Apt, 5.0 rooms, 2 Bedrooms , 1 Full Bath, School Community District 28, Year Built: 1946, Construction: Brick.

Refer to MLS Number 2131447.

http://www.TannStarr.com

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The Outside Blog Minion Report

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Carolyn Tann-Starr on Elizabeth Weintraub

I love reading Elizabeth Weintraub's About.com Home Buying / Selling blog. She's an awesome Realtor and will give you excellent advice regarding a wide variety of home buying and selling  issues.

In "What Is Wrong With Buy and Bail?" Elizabeth walks us through a hypothetical example of the lengths some homeowners will go to in order to purchase a new home just before going into default on the home they already own. She explains what happens when a borrower falsifies his or her loan documentation and/or deliberately fabricates misstatements on a mortgage loan application. That is mortgage fraud. Mortgage fraud may happen: (1) when a borrower withholds information (EW's example: such as a deliberate intent to stop making payments to another creditor) or (2) falsifies information, "either of which would cause the new lender to reject the loan if the lender knew about it." It is a fascinating read and highly recommended.

In "How To Do A Short Sale" Elizabeth explains the various ways home-owners may actually lose a home and reveals the fact that there is a mechanism a percentage of sellers can use to divest of their properties in a manner that does not completely destroy his or her credit. If you are, or know of an owner, who can no longer afford to maintain his or her mortgage payments or keep them current, one option to avoid bankruptcy or foreclosure is called a "short sale." BTW, she has a new book on this subject that I predict will make the NY Times Bestselling List. It's that good... I am looking forward to writing a OBMR review... 

Elizabeth and I are in complete agreement regarding not hiring an agent that does not have your best interest at heart. In "Are You Ready To Make A Purchase Order?" "Making a purchase offer and actually buying a home are generally two different actions, but home buyers sometimes confuse the two..." Wanna know more? Click on the link. I think you'll enjoy reading her post on the subject.

My favorite ClubChaosAgents.com Team Blog posts:

1. Swindlers and Crooks are Ubiquitous in the Sacramento Short Sale Market

2. Where's That Pot of Gold at the End of the Foreclosure Rainbow?

3. The Time Has Come, the Walrus Said, to Buy a New Cell Phone

4. Paying Attention to Your Intuition Will Rarely Steer You Wrong

5. Sacramento Home Sellers' Privacy Violated by a Buyer's Agent

If you are not subscribed to Elizabeth you may want to reconsider your position. You will never be disappointed. She is an excellent read.

I love when someone introduces me to a new blogger who is kind enough to make some of her work available for a re-blog. Sally Dunbar has some great advice for buyers and sellers. Make sure you click the link to her blog and stop by to say hello. There's nothing like a kind comment from the readers to encourage us writers to keep writing. :-)

If you make an appointment to show your home to a potential buyer, don't smoke.

If you make an appointment to show your home to a potential buyer, please do not smoke.

Why am I repeating myself? Because I could have sold a beautiful home that was priced right and had approximately $23K of equity available. Only problem is the sellers smoke and they tried to hide the smell by burning scented candles instead of opening the windows to air it out. The scented candles were tainted by the smell of the aforementioned cigarette smoke, so the home wound up smelling funky and stuffy instead of pleasant.

It was a lovely home. It had plenty of storage. Lots of nice original features... They even did tasteful upgrades. The sellers have nice neighbors and we learned quite a bit about them during our visit. My buyer didn't notice all the points of order because she was too busy being distracted by the gentle, sad and poignant monologue of what the family used to do in each room. The sellers where placing it on the market because they suffered the tragic loss of a son whose senseless murder made the newspapers. We had no idea when we made the appointment that this was the family because the listing agent failed to bring their mourning status to our attention.

We understood they were in mourning only after we arrived at the home (and I was horrified that my appointment caused them to stop what they were doing to rush home to meet us). When we realized what had transpired, we tried to view the home as swiftly as possible so they could get on with their day, except the parents are beautiful people and they just wanted to talk about their handsome boy who died much too young...

So we stayed, politely and silently choking on the "fumes" while expressing our sorrow for their tragic loss. We saw the backyard (translated: fresh air), went back into the home to quietly choke some more, then eventually left. My eyes were burning while en-route to my car. While parked, we commented on the fact that our clothes now smelled funny before driving off. Cigarettes and candles was not the conversation I wanted to be having with my buyer. We are truly sorry for their loss and hope if other agents read this they may carefully caution their sellers to air the home out before letting buyers in if they smoke.

I can not change a first impression.

If you make an appointment to show your home to a potential buyer, please don't smoke. Seriously...