tivoli said:
Calling all realtors/investors
- Thread starter kirstenOn30A
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Frankly, I've always been treated very well by realtors, including the two realtors I worked with in SoWal (thank you to them, I'm happy and found a great fit for a vacation place) and in my home town (twice). So, my experience is that realtors, like people in any other business, do good work and, in general, serve us and their communities well. Sure, there are people who try to take advantage of people in any field, but in general, I like to hear what realtors say about an area, particularly the future of an area. Of course, I know there will be biases, but I like to learn what I can and I hope I'm wise enough to keep the biases that every profession has in perspective when making decisions. People, in general, deserve respect and, as I've said before on this board, stereotyping people rarely leads to anything productive for anyone. It's just way too simplistic for my taste.
The problem is that quite frequently when someone disagrees with you on this board, they attack you personally instead of disagreeing with your point of view. I have best friends with whom I strongly disagree on many issues, but I would never attack them personally. Some people on this board don't roll like that, and it's just not civil.goofer44 said:
For example, recently I made a not-well-thought-out comment on another thread. We're not publishing for a professional journal - hell, this is just a message board - but when you make a mistake, some people are just ready to pounce. Someone even rudely and sarcastically tried to put me down by calling me "Mrs. Ph.D." Well, I wasn't pretending to be an expert on that subject or an expert on *every* subject - my expertise is only in math and computer science. Again, I made the mistake of making a post (a) on an area in which I have no expertise (not that this is a prerequisite for this board) and (b) which was not well thought out. I apologized profusely, and still I got a sarcastic reply.
It's easy to fire off a post. Yes, I have made posts I have regretted, but I am known as a person with integrity. If I have inadvertently offended you and not apologized, please accept my sincere apologies.
As an aside, I've learned from my uneducated mother that people love to put down Ph.D.'s - she does it to me all of the time - it makes her feel superior because she is intimidated by it. Frankly, I don't feel superior because I have a Ph.D. - rather, I was just stupid enough to stay in school long enough to get one. And that only makes me have expertise in one small area of my discipline, not expertise in all of the world's knowledge. BOTTOM LINE: I AIN'T NO SMARTER THAN NOBODY. I JUST GOT ME A PIECE OF PAPER THAT SAYS I BE A DOCTOR.
Go to your rooms, now! 
... and take the sandbox fight with you.
Come on grown ups. This thread is supposed to be about the Wallstreet Journal's negative publicity and what "our" reaction should be to the bad press going around regarding SoWal. Any suggestions, as Kirstenon30A asks? Do you write a protest letter defending the beauty here or let nature shine through the ink on the paper? Should rental agents and owners of rental units be more concerned than a second home owners or year round residents who don't rent? Should Realtors and Brokers step up to the plate and pay and say, buy here, we love this place and you will too? etc.
Care to share?
... and take the sandbox fight with you. Come on grown ups. This thread is supposed to be about the Wallstreet Journal's negative publicity and what "our" reaction should be to the bad press going around regarding SoWal. Any suggestions, as Kirstenon30A asks? Do you write a protest letter defending the beauty here or let nature shine through the ink on the paper? Should rental agents and owners of rental units be more concerned than a second home owners or year round residents who don't rent? Should Realtors and Brokers step up to the plate and pay and say, buy here, we love this place and you will too? etc.
Care to share?
Smiling JOe said:Go to your rooms, now!
Come on grown ups. This thread is supposed to be about the Wallstreet Journal's negative publicity and what "our" reaction should be to the bad press going around regarding SoWal. Any suggestions, as Kirstenon30A ask? Do you write a protest letter defending the beauty here or let nature shine through the ink on the paper? Should rental agents and owners of rental units be more concerned than a second home owners or year round residents who don't rent? Should Realtors and Brokers step up to the plate and pay and say, buy here, we love this place and you will too? etc.
Care to share?
Well said, SJ. Some of the drivel posted here is getting tiresome. :roll: But back to the original subject of the post, I'm happy to say that in the Sunday Travel section of the Indianapolis paper, there was a very positive article about the beaches of South Walton. The article stressed the beauty of the white sand and the interesting architecture along 30-A. Panhandle beaches don't often get a mention in Midwest papers--it's usually Sanibel and Naples that grab our press. Perhaps this will be the start of some recognition for SoWal as more and more Midwesterners discover it and word gets out. It was, after all, a Sunday article about Seaside nearly 20 years ago that got me interested in SoWal.
SJ: My reason for getting in the sandbox is that I wanted to be sure that we don't drive people who are well-intentioned away through sarcasm and insults and trivializing their sincerely felt concerns. (I try to teach my kids not to stand by and watch someone get trampled, so I was simply trying to do the same). That said, let's move on to trying to address the issue that was raised:
Here's what I said earlier on this thread (I only had a few minutes before work this morning, but I couldn't resist...):
"I have to go to work now so can't reply now with specific ideas (other than get the boardwalks up quickly after storms and/or have the kind of boardwalks that can be pulled up before a storm is predicted). I think my comments would have to do more with protecting many of the good things we already have (bike trail, nature, parks, etc.), managing traffic, life guards in some areas (which we'll have), supporting local businesses including restaurants/galleries/taxis/physicians. I also think having more books of all kinds about the area published (with the great photos by our growing number of photographers in this area) would be useful (e.g. history, cookbooks, poetry, photographs, children's books, etc.)."
To build and preserve loyalty to SoWal, people need to find meaningful connections to the area. So collecting and telling the history of the area will be important so people feel connected to the past. Even a history of the hurricanes, along with stories and photos, would be fascinating. The history of hurricanes seems to tell several things: (1) the area and the people in it are resilient; (2) nature has many types of beauty (a cliff and dark beach can be as beautiful as a white sand dune if that's what Mother Nature intends for a while); (3) people help each other out when faced with a crisis (For example, Criolla's offering a free picnic to the workers who worked so hard during the hurricane -- they also opened it up to passerbys and collected donations for the Red Cross). In short, the stories told about SoWal should make people feel proud to be a part of it.
So, this suggests that realtors would want to tell stories that get the kind of people who serve the community best here. For example, if we tell "buy and flip" stories, we get investors. If we tell, "this is a special places to love and preserve and build memories in", we get people who will want to connect to the area. I was told "this is a special place" stories (but then again, I actually got to buy my little piece of heaven here by "buy and flip" people...).
And, of course, stories can be published in many different places, so from a marketing perspective, collecting and publishing stories serves us well.
SJ: Since you wanted to get us on track again (thank you), what do you think?
.
Here's what I said earlier on this thread (I only had a few minutes before work this morning, but I couldn't resist...):
"I have to go to work now so can't reply now with specific ideas (other than get the boardwalks up quickly after storms and/or have the kind of boardwalks that can be pulled up before a storm is predicted). I think my comments would have to do more with protecting many of the good things we already have (bike trail, nature, parks, etc.), managing traffic, life guards in some areas (which we'll have), supporting local businesses including restaurants/galleries/taxis/physicians. I also think having more books of all kinds about the area published (with the great photos by our growing number of photographers in this area) would be useful (e.g. history, cookbooks, poetry, photographs, children's books, etc.)."
To build and preserve loyalty to SoWal, people need to find meaningful connections to the area. So collecting and telling the history of the area will be important so people feel connected to the past. Even a history of the hurricanes, along with stories and photos, would be fascinating. The history of hurricanes seems to tell several things: (1) the area and the people in it are resilient; (2) nature has many types of beauty (a cliff and dark beach can be as beautiful as a white sand dune if that's what Mother Nature intends for a while); (3) people help each other out when faced with a crisis (For example, Criolla's offering a free picnic to the workers who worked so hard during the hurricane -- they also opened it up to passerbys and collected donations for the Red Cross). In short, the stories told about SoWal should make people feel proud to be a part of it.
So, this suggests that realtors would want to tell stories that get the kind of people who serve the community best here. For example, if we tell "buy and flip" stories, we get investors. If we tell, "this is a special places to love and preserve and build memories in", we get people who will want to connect to the area. I was told "this is a special place" stories (but then again, I actually got to buy my little piece of heaven here by "buy and flip" people...).
And, of course, stories can be published in many different places, so from a marketing perspective, collecting and publishing stories serves us well.
SJ: Since you wanted to get us on track again (thank you), what do you think?
.
:clap_1: :clap_1: You tell em SJ. I agree with Beach Runner though, however, I don't think people that do the attacking necessarily mean to "attack" - some definitely do and some don't. They just have their own opinions and are entitled to them.Smiling JOe said:Go to your rooms, now!
Come on grown ups. This thread is supposed to be about the Wallstreet Journal's negative publicity and what "our" reaction should be to the bad press going around regarding SoWal. Any suggestions, as Kirstenon30A asks? Do you write a protest letter defending the beauty here or let nature shine through the ink on the paper? Should rental agents and owners of rental units be more concerned than a second home owners or year round residents who don't rent? Should Realtors and Brokers step up to the plate and pay and say, buy here, we love this place and you will too? etc.
Care to share?
BTW just noitced your new avatar SJ - very peaceful