When I started blogging in November 2007, I realized how important it was to read other blogs to learn how to do it right.
I learned about RSS and signed up for bloglines, and started adding blogs to my reader.
Athol Kay’s blog and his Bad MLS Photo of the Day series quickly became my favorite blog. If I didn’t have time to read any other posts, I always made sure I stopped by his blog to see his latest addition. He taught me the value of humor in blogging and that pictures really do speak louder than words.
Sadly, Athol decided to get out of real estate and stopped adding to his Bad MLS Photo of the Day series in July 2008.
When I started my copycat photo series, I honored Athol’s request to name my posts something different. I sporadically posted to my A Bad Picture can Keep Your Home from Selling series if I had time or found a really bad picture, but focused most of my blog posts on tips for home buyers and sellers.
A year after I starting blogging, I was ready to graduate from my blog with training wheels (Point 2 template websites) to a grown up blog.
I combined my website and blog into one site and moved it to WordPress. I got a new shot of enthusiasm and started taking community pictures and posting them on Flickr and on my Market Report pages. Then I stumbled on a post about BarCamp St. Louis…and my online life changed forever. I met Todd Jordan and he took me under his wing. He showed me how to use Twitter and a whole new world opened up. I’ve been to 2 Tweetups and am making new friends every day.
Then I posted a new Bad Picture post and got wonderful feedback from people all over the world via Twitter. Since Athol isn’t posting to his site anymore, I decided to change the name of my series in honor of his work and make it more than just an occasional post.
(UPDATE: Effective 12/09, the Bad MLS Photo of the Day posts have been removed from this site after I received an email from the President of the St. Louis MLS association. Read more about why I took them down…)
My focus is still real estate and selling homes, but I’m learning a better way to network. I’m meeting people who will be my future friends & clients, and connecting with tons of tech people who can help me with the stuff I don’t understand (like how to back up this blog…thanks Jeff!).
Top 10 Bad MLS Photo’s from Athol’s Blog:
I believe in giving credit where it is due, so I wanted to share with you how my Bad Photo of the Day series started and some of my favorite posts from Athol’s site.
Enjoy.
- “I would smash my head into the wall every time I tried to get out of bed”
- “It’s best to be really clear about which toilet is connected to the plumbing”
- “Is that a handgun on the counter?”
- “Staged for a kidnapping?”
- “Throw raw meat into backyard and run for it”
- “Getting naked in front of 75,000 cars per day”
- “The entire block is willing to chip in for closing costs”
- “No caption required”
- “Owners son home on house arrest”
- “Worst hide and seek player ever”
UPDATE: Sorry, but Athol’s blog has been archived and can’t be accessed anymore. It’s a shame, but I’ve eliminated all of the links to his site since broken links are bad for my website…and they don’t go anywhere any more.
10936 Manchester Road St. Louis, MO, 63122 USA
admin@archcityhomes.com • 314-677-6538
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I always find it amusing to see houses that have fire damage and people actually go through the trouble of posting interior shots. I’m talking fire damage, not smoke, not water, but you’re tearing down the house anyway why bother damage. Seriously, why go through the effort. Wish I would have saved that one…
Andrew’s last blog post..What they don’t teach in High School
I agree with you totally. All a teardown house needs is a picture of the exterior and the lot. With very clear comments that the house is a teardown.
Karen,
I like this post. You’ve given good credit to several folks, but also went beyond that to really honor someone else’s work.
Thanks for the mention. I’m so glad you chose to dive in as you have. You’re quickly becoming a well known person in the St. Louis arena and beyond for the way you communicate online and off.
Cheers!
Todd/@tojosan
Todd Jordan’s last blog post..Postcards Ho!
Todd,
Glad you liked the post. Thanks for being such a great guide for me into the world of Twitter. I hope to pay it forward by promoting others and giving credit to those that inspire me and help me in my travels in the social media world.