This is a continuation of last month’s post. In fact, until book #2 is published, it is likely that most of my monthly posts will be a progress report toward that goal.
The world economy has progressed from an agrarian to an industrial to a digital society. In chronological order, here is a list of the launch dates of the digital age:
- 10/29/1969: Internet
- 04/01/1976: Apple
- 11/20/1985: Microsoft
- 08/06/1991: World Wide Web
- 12/03/1992: SMS message (texting)
- 07/05/1994: Amazon
- 09/27/1998: Google
- 05/05/2003: LinkedIn (Microsoft)
- 02/17/2004: Facebook
- 02/14/2005: YouTube (Google)
- 03/xx/2010: Pinterest
- 10/06/2010: Instagram (Facebook)
- 09/xx/2016: TikTok
- 03/21/2018: Twitter
Few of us had heard of Facebook in 2004, the year I chose to leave my employer to become my own boss. Then came YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter. Within the last two decades, at warp speed, the majority of the world has become connected through social media.
I have been focused on investing in real estate since leaving Chrysler. Through the ages, people have always needed and will continue to need a roof over their heads. As a business, real estate is as solid as it can get – at least in countries where individuals are free to own properties if they so choose. Yet, or perhaps because of it, real estate is no exception to being impacted greatly by social media.
For a long time, I resisted paying attention to Facebook and other social media. I used to think, “Who has the time to pay attention to all these people?” About a month ago, however, it was made abundantly clear to me that if I wanted to get my “mess turned into a message” out, then I needed to get with it. So, I began paying attention.
I re-reviewed the section on social media within the Knowledge Broker Blueprint (KBB) program. The last time, I zipped through everything to gain cursory knowledge. This time, the focus was on implementing Facebook as a business tool.
Last month, when I started out, I had 80 “friends.” I needed to add more. First, I began accepting “friend requests” that were already sitting in my inbox. Then I made “friend requests” myself if they and I had at least one mutual “friend” among real estate investors. As of this posting, the number of Facebook “friends” jumped by over 700.
Increasing the number of “friends” on Facebook turned out to be a relatively painless process. The best part? I reconnected with a dear friend from eons ago. The higher number of “friends” should help implement the next step as well. We’ll see!
Happy investing!
