Unplug, Unsubscribe, Unfollow – Advice from the Enforcer By: Jonathan Dalton
During my tenure as a writer at Agent Genius I had developed a fairly specific role – that of the enforcer. As I told Teresa earlier this week, I was like the Minnesota Wild's Derek Boogard – if there was someone being roughed up, I stepped and joined in the defense. And if there seemed to be an excess of stupidity on display elsewhere in the real estate blogging world, I usually waded into those frays as well.Just as in hockey, the enforcer can exist within this well-defined niche. But it's an often uncomfortable existence As one-time Coyotes enforcer Jim McKenzie put it after a fight, I often was the meat in an idiot sandwich. Not that I'm myself an idiot, but rather that the role in itself was pointless. Others would nod in agreement, glad that someone said what no one else would but, like the players on the bench tapping their sticks against the boards, that's as far as it ever got. And I'd soon find myself alone with my thoughts in my own personal penalty box.
As such, being the enforcer isn't good for the soul. And so I retired my skates and my gloves and left to focus on my own blog and my own business. Remaining on the sidelines isn't always easy, especially when faced with the volume of silliness I've seen this week. Setting aside the constant barrage of snake oil salesmen trying to sell you and the other residents of Passamaquody either something you don't need or something they're not qualified to teach, this past week has been rife would allegedly profound proclamations that have little basis in fact and have absolutely no real correlation to the business of real estate.
Before I retired I would have written a 1,000-word missive condemning each weenie-worthy statement. Instead, I provide you with this simple advice. If you follow it, I can guarantee you'll not only save your own sanity but find yourself with more time to focus on what matters in real estate – closed escrows or, as Jeff Brown wisely puts it (to the revulsion of my allusion-deprived 10-year-old) skinned cats.
When a so-called expert tweets that you shouldn't be hired as a real estate agent unless you own an iPhone, unfollow.
When you run across a superficial article that tells you how unprofessional you are for dressing appropriate to the clients with whom you're working, unsubscribe.
When your decision to follow someone on Twitter is met with an auto DM explaining how this person can expand your business in ways never imagined, unfollow.
When you run across a month-long series of infomercials promoting marketing techniques that lead to the same results (or less) than you already have, unsubscribe.
And when you can't take it anymore, when your b.s. meter overfloweth and your RSS reader is acting as a dementor sucking away your very soul, unplug.
Because while it's really nice to have an enforcer take care of the messes for you, they'll continue to happen until everyone voted with their "un" buttons and demands better from the RE.net.
Thanks Jonathan, for saying it on the weenie, the blog of mass destruction cleverly disguised as a hot dog stand.
I unsubscribe to much, but never, ever the Weenie! Great advice Enforcer.
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Hi Jon, I miss your enforcer roll but sometimes it is time to move on.
I guess I was on the bench tapping my stick!!!
how about someone saying “cupholders” which makes absolutely no sense and is totally out of context? 😉