This was a big week in beagledom, what with Uno winning top honors at the Westminster Dog Show. If there had been an obese beagle category, I’m sure Tobey would have come out ahead as well. But I can report he’s proud to be of the same breed, the same company.We’re told as puppies children that we’re judged by the company we keep, rightly or wrongly.
This often makes it difficult to take an objective view of those close to us and leaves us taking a stance in defense of the indefensible. There’s a marketing conference taking place here in the Valley in a couple of months. You may have read about it elsewhere. I’m not attending.
If Brian was the apparent lead for the conference I would have considered purchasing a ticket. Brian has a proven track record of successful Internet marketing and I gladly would pay to hear how he’s done what he’s done. But if it is Brian’s conference, it’s impossible to tell for all the baying coming from the Bloodhound in between another round of personal attacks against those who dare have an independent thought.
You can read all about the latest flare-up of the ongoing cold war between sellsius and Greg elsewhere, along with the inevitable (and tardy) pleas for peace and cordiality; there is no need to rehash them here.
Rather, I suggest this. If this marketing conference is Brian’s baby, the time has come to take a visible lead and separate it from the Bloodhound. If you attach yourself to such an explosive personality, getting hit by blowback is inevitable. And that’s a shame.
To my mind, this conference will be defined as much by those leading lights of the real estate blogosphere who do not attend as by those who do. My hope is to meet up in person with some attendees for a beer or seven before the event; a $150 social hour’s not my cup of tea. In fact, as I learned at my first brokerage, the best learning often comes over a beer and not in a class. That’s especially true depending on the instructor.
Of course, the leading lights aren’t the target audience as they already have learned how to build their business on the Internet. So maybe their absence can be dismissed easily by some. But to others, the silence will be deafening.
