(NOTE FROM FRAN: Sharing some thoughts here from the RealTalk community platform.)

Fran,  I see this happen more and more with writers.  Over a year ago, I corrected another well-known and respected blogger from the Seattle area, Ardell DellaLoggia, who was commenting about Allan Dalton and the Realtor.com senior management team and how they had done little for the company in the 2 years that they had been on board.  I wrote on her ActiveRain blog that if she had done her research, on and off line, she would have learned and wrote that Allan and most of the team had been in place since October 2002 (not 2 years) and that they had made vast improvements for all Realtors and in all aspects of what Realtor.com is today - including the hiring of Dustin Luther.  Instead she discredited them publicly because she was not informed enough to be writing on such a topic - a HUGE MISTAKE - and then did not want to admit her error after our exchanges of providing her new information, instead blaming a date on an online e ntry instead of RESEARCHING and reading the content, attempting to then sweep the error under futile recovery efforts.  This superficial authoring and mistake in disseminating incorrect information or commentary can be very damaging to both writers and their subjects. Writers should only provide commentary about that which they know or have factual information on from reliable sources.  And, if erroneous remarks are made, it is crucial to acknowledge and apologize to the readership for the error.  It's called Responsible Journalism.  I appreciate that you have raised this extremely important issue, Fran, in light of so many in our industry engaging in blogging and writing in general.  By the way, Ardell has since written very favorably about Allan Dalton and the Realtor.com team since then, embracing their ideas and presence.

I have met Dustin - a great guy - and know that he is extremely well respected in the Seattle area for his knowledge and blogging abilities.  He has been a speaker at the Inman Conference.  The remarks offered by Dustin on Saul were irresponsible and Saul deserves better.  Dustin's job entails Managing the Realtor.com Blog.  He accepted this role and responsibility and should have ample time allotted for research before writing on any topic. This is Writing 201.  This has been one of the factors delaying my personal blog for 2 years, in that my time constraints in writing and researching, along with my sense of commitment and responsibility to any readership on such a project has been a bit daunting in conjunction with fulfilling the needs of my real estate clients who have my fiduciary.  I need to be a Realtor first and yet I enjoy the interaction with blogs and writing in general.  I'm just now getting to a point w here I will soon commit to a personal blog and will engage the responsibility and research that accompanies this undertaking. 

Have a great Holiday, everyone!

Becky Boomsma
Coldwell Banker - Franklin Lakes, NJ
201-286-6097, cell phone
Becky@BeckyBoomsma.com
www.BeckyBoomsma.com

Dustin, 

Yesterday was a very busy day in many areas. I am disinclined to shoot from the hip with a scatterbrained response to your comment. That's the approach that got you into trouble on your blog in the first place. 

There is some rich history concerning the evolution of the Web in the real estate industry, and I will endeavor to share it in a thoughtful way. I am sorry if your feelings are hurt, but I am grateful for the opportunity to frame it in an historical perspective, starting today.

I had quite a list of tasks on yesterday's "to do" list, including a festive holiday gathering at the office where I now hang a real estate license. Responding to Dustin Luther was not at the top of my "to do" list yesterday.

Rule #1 in blogging does not require an immediacy that would see me abandon all of my other responsibilities and personal time. I will approach that task shortly after I have some morning coffee and breakfast.

I am a little confused about the word "accusation" insofar as my blog post does not refer to malicious misdeeds; it simply references a slipshod, haphazard, and sloppy presentation of a major crossroads involving two powerhouse companies in the real estate industry.

"If men could learn from history, what lessons it might teach us! But passion and party blind our eyes, and the light which experience gives us is a lantern on the stern which shines only on the waves behind." -- Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Dustin,

Here you go again! And now you are publicly accusing me of lying? Are you kidding? A lie is a deliberate statement that is untrue. Your comment is approaching slander.

You have NOT checked your facts and you have not been to RealTown, obviously, where there is current and evolving cutting edge tech in blogs, community development, and profile pages, single sign-on tech with federated partners, and much more.

There is cutting edge use of advanced communication devices that reaches and services tens of thousands of community members in numerous venues. Today's article was not written for you ... it was written for a larger audience and for some reason you CHOOSE to ignore the big picture.

I stand by every single word I said, with continued good wishes for a happy holiday for you and your family. I suggest that you take a walk and take some very deep breaths. Treat this like an intelligent dialogue ...  not an attack.

You are welcome to call me if you would like to discuss. My cell # is 484-554-6001.

I wrote an article today in RealTown that references Saul Klein and his contributions to the real estate industry, in terms of technology and social capital and trust. It is pertinent information in the context of this blog post and in the comments that follow.

http://tinyurl.com/2n7jhp

Jay,

When I moved a comment from one venue to another there was no intent to suggest that Dustin was still at Move ... you can hardly expect that everyone in the rank and file in the real estate industry is watching Dustin's every move. I did not edit the comment, I merely shared it.

My problem with your use of the word "accuse" is the tenor of the word and the fact that it is generally associated with intentional wrongdoing.

If there is some confusion in the ranks about Dustin's job responsibilities at his former place of employment, you have done nothing to shed light on what those responsibilities were. It is helpful to clarify the facts when you see a mistake, and better form than admonish and run.

I'm not altogether clear about the scope of his responsibilities at Move ... I have never seen a job description ... and therefore I have no way to assess his performance or his contribution to the real estate Web community in that position.

I think that Becky made some very salient points in a post that was reasonable, fair, and issued with a large measure of dignity and respect. She is a class act. Consistently.

Best wishes for a wonderful holiday. 

Gone Fishing for Christmas. Will return after that! Any anger, vitriole, or nonsense deposited here in the meantime will just have to wait and simmer until I get back.

;-)

Happy Holiday!

So DL Twittered the big news, huh? To a vast audience of a hundred or so people. Silly.  Here's my tweet response:

http://tinyurl.com/2vzzp5

You can find me on numerous blogs and the article platform of RealTown ... I have made a very conscious choice to spend most of my time on platforms where there is fertile ground for serious thought ... not address every bit of silly conjecture and speculation and rumor mongering in the RE net. I will leave that playground to others who seem to enjoy it more than I do.

I think that if you will take a look at today's news and RISMedia's assessement of tech innovation at RealTown, it will put to rest silly notions put forward by persons with less experience and tech savvy. http://tinyurl.com/33g3td

Then again, perhaps not. Enjoy your day doing whatever it is that rocks your boat!