I love widgets and plug ins that are useful and fun!  If you have a self hosted wordpress blog or website you might want to check this out!

SexyBookMarks.net

Sexy Bookmarks..are literally sexy…they are large enough to see and are very good looking…they move…kinda dance on your page…the best part of the plug in..its probably the first bookmarking plug in that really goes well with any template…those sexy bookmarks really connect to your blog…making your blog posts very sexy!

You can read more from the makers and download it too!

Now look below…aren’t my bookmarks  sexy?

I love my wordpress site but I admit..my first love is blogger..its a very easy platform to maneuver..and also very easy to edit.

Sure doesn’t hurt the strong connection between google and blogger as in SEO…and all the tools and features combined in one place…meaning adsense, feedburner and being able to add useful widgets very easily.

Many times my blogger site will appear on top of the search engines…I feed all of my other blogs into my blogger sites….and post there on occasion. I haven’t updated my sites in a while…but recently have been working on another…

Operation Warrior Support

Looking for widgets I was happy to see so many useful widgets and with easy installs…and in most instances..all I had to do was log into my blogger account and hit the plus sign for the widget I wanted to add once I found the best source for the widgets that I wanted.

While there are many worthwhile sites to get the installs from I found the best site ever…all the  links to install my favorite widgets directly to your blog in one place…TheMintBlogger.com.

Sometimes I lack discipline in regards to writing..can’t stand talking to myself but more importantly I have something to say and I want it to be heard…I admit I like an audience and the interaction.

I long for more connections…prefer word of mouth marketing over the hard sell and that is a big reason why I love social networking.

For many of my brilliant real estate friends..they started their own blogs years ago…and I stuck with social networking.   Some questioned…some shook their heads and some thought maybe she doesn’t have a clue.

Little did people know..I trained agents just the opposite…get your own blog going...even if its just photos… because the down side of social networking sites are:

• You can spend countless hours of socializing without making a dime.
• There is sometimes too much drama on social networks
• Eventually you will have to pay and it will be difficult to give up.
• You are creating additional traffic to a site that does not belong to you.
• For some social networks… there seems to be a certain mindset and if you do not agree…you can and will get into heated battles.

I didn’t really look at it in this light…because I love people!

The upside of social networking sites are tremendous if you are social and many of these benefits would include:

• Growing your sphere of influence
• Referral Business
• Like Minds
• Several pats on the back and sometimes several slaps.
• Endless Opportunities

I can’t say that I have been anti-social these days…just socializing very different.  I admit…time is money…including the time I spend on social network sites and the time I spend in my business.

For the past few months I have been working on my own blog…its just little Ole me and the computer scientist honoring my request for changes in my template…added tools and features.

I can honestly say…I really love my own personal blog even if it gets a little lonely…but it hasn’t been lonely at all.  It’s a myth…there is the big bold blogosphere out there…and many people globally want to connect.  I admit its an amazing feeling…when someone contacts to me outside of my social network sites and social circles.

Now with the responsibility to drive traffic to my own site..I am working quite differently..

• Studying SEO and using the correct tags and key words.
• With moderating every one of my comments
• And watching the numbers closely on technorati and alexa
• Posting more frequently here than anywhere else
• Managing my time it takes to write each post

So in comparing social network sites vs. my own blog…the social network sites that I belong to are just that...my social network sites…

As for my own blog…its really not that different as a matter of fact it has become quite social…..it seems to generate more emails…phone calls from total strangers outside of the real estate realm.

I admit I got another call from a first time homebuyer today..yeah baby..I’m on a roll!  And when I asked them where did they find me…it wasn’t my social networks it wasn’t my site…

It was google…and my own personal map using the words..Daytona Beach Real Estate Agent..and then it lead them to my real estate website…my social networks…and then to this blog… and the proof is in the pudding…by connecting all of these sources my little blog…has become quite a social network and very social!

Contributing Writer: Midori Miller is a Real Estate Trainer and writes and trains Real Estate Training and assists sellers in short sale situations.  Midori is a Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker , License # BK645709 at CENTURY 21 Sundance Realty and a member of the Daytona Area Association of REALTORS.

Recently I have been applying for gigs..as much as I love real estate I tend to enjoy technology too.  With the necessity to fill in the gaps of income..I thought I would give it a shot, heck I do it just about everyday why not get paid for doing it.

One thing I have found..when applying for these online gigs..you must be careful and do your homework.  Scam…spam…phishing!

Just as an employer who is seeking to hire new employees often times do background checks..the same should apply to some of the many companies who require you to apply online.

Many of the job sites and  gig sites have the same problem…we freely give our personal information to only be sent to either another job site or get spammed to death…but the worst part is for someone who is desperate to find employment..you may end up getting scammed.

This should not be happening..especially for those seeking serious employment/gigs.

Today I applied for what I thought to be a dream gig..one of my favorite past-times…blogging...it was a strange thing but I decided to go ahead and do some research on the company.  Little did I know…if you google them they were known for scamming…for spamming and phishing.

As I read more about the company…I found out they had changed their name and the story goes beyond scamming…spamming and phishing.

Moral of the story: If you are in serious need of work..before you send your resume out online...research the company…otherwise you might wake up to an overloaded email box or someone taking your personal information and have a field day with it.

Is the best use of the internet?

It’s pretty easy when you enjoy it..when you fully understand it and reaped the benefits over and over again.  People ask me all the time,  how do you find the time?

Here are a few tips to keep the momentum going!

1.  Carry a pad in your pocket and if a topic, thought or idea comes to mind…write it down and take a few notes.  Sometimes those thoughts are forgotten because of everyday life.

2.  Once you have some free time and you want to get a jump start..put these thoughts into draft.  Edit at your leisure or when you have some time and post them.  I have about 12 posts in draft that are half way complete and if I have blog fog…I use one of those posts.  Trust me it happens so don’t waste good thoughts.

3.  Set up a blogging schedule…I like to post 2x’s a day if I can….once in the morning and once in the evening…or have a minimum number of visits works very well for me.  That means if my goals are to have 800  readers in a day between all of my blogs,  I might have to get  out a few extra posts.   Yes if you are blogging for business set some goals.

4.  Blog posts do not have to be just words, they can be a video or picture.   I like to post a wide variety so readers do not get bored!  I want them to stay. 

The more you do..the better you become…the more habit forming it becomes and the blogging habit becomes a part of your work day.

Yes I sometimes have a very long work day but I know the rewards will be splattered all over net FOREVER!  Cached on the Web!

And you have to ask?  How do you find time to blog?

Well just like anything else in business its a juggling act….a juggling act that is scheduled!

These are the top 5 social networking sites…are you there yet?  If not..you should!  And if you are on other sites..well that’s good too!

1.  Facebook-one of my personal favorites

2.  Myspace.com

3.  Twitter

4.  Flixster

5.  Linkedin.com

My personal favorite social network….Activerain!

10 serious offenses that  occur in real estate blogging everyday..watch your back..your words are cached on the net forever!

• Talking real estate commissions-Sherman AntiTrust Act
• Fair Housing Violations in words
  
• Defamation of Character
  
• Inaccurate Information without a retraction or correction!
• Code of Ethics Violations
• Real Estate Marketing rules
  
• Libel
• Violation of your own company policy and procedure manual
• Corporate Violation such as using incorrect logo’s or abbreviations of company name.
• Plagiarism
  

Ask yourself a few questions?

• Would you say or do this to someone in the same room?
• What would your broker say about what you write if you are not a broker yourself?
• If someone googled your name would you be proud of what you have placed on the net?

Are you blogging for notoriety or are you blogging for business?  You might gain a few fans but you also may lose some..can you afford to any business?