While in Austin, I Met a House

posted in: E-Gov, Social Media, Web 3.0, White House | 6

I love Austin, Texas!  Seriously, what’s not to like?  It’s both a powerful capital city and a happening college town with great food, terrific music, historic films and, of course, the craziness of 6th Street!  I have been there several times over the years for work and conferences, as well as a couple visits with close friends who live/work in the area. 

Selling My House the Social Media WayA couple weeks ago, I had the pleasure of making another trip to the “Live Music Capital of the World” (as well as a side visit to Dallas) for work and to visit WE’s Austin office.  On Saturday afternoon, Social Media Club Austin and Waggener Edstrom kindly hosted an event at Scholz Garten to welcome me to their town.  I met some terrific folks, including David J. Neff, who then introduced me to … his house.  

You see, David’s day job is with the American Cancer Society as Director of Web, Film and Interactive Strategy.  So, when it came time to sell his house, of course, he turned to the Internet.  Makes total sense, especially considering the challenges of the current market – why not use social media to help make a sale?  He’s still using a professional realtor to assist with negotiations, mortgage advice and legal paperwork, but he has been quite innovative in his approach thus far. 

First step was to launch a section on his blog to track his progress: Selling My House the Social Media Way. Next, he solicited feedback from friends via LinkedIn then got to work. Now, one can become a fan of his house on Facebook, and “Rate His Space” at HGTV and on Zillow.com. If you leave a question, he promises to answer it or you can just ping him via Twitter: @daveiam.

Also, while in Austin, I had the opportunity to speak at the RightOnline conference hosted by Americans for Prosperity and the Leadership Institute.  At the same time, the DailyKos crowd gathered just across town to hear Speaker Pelosi, Al Gore, Howard Dean and other “progressives” speak at Netroots Nation – even the C-SPAN Campaign 2008 Bus was on hand to cover some of the events. 

I participated in the opening panel at RightOnline along with David All and Matt Sheffield, moderated by Robert Bluey. I discussed some of the Web 2.0 advances that have occurred in the “DotGov” world during my time as White House Internet director – and since. Here’s the video, courtesy of Danny Glover at Eyeblast.tv, and my PowerPoint for those who would like follow along: How the Internet is Changing the Way We Govern

Later that afternoon, I presented during another session entitled Social Networking: Getting Tapped In where I walked through some of the more common social media sites – with an eye toward what may be coming down the road next.

Major thanks to SMC-Austin and WE folks who helped set up, host and attend the Scholz event. Also, I really appreciate those from AFP and LI for their hard work to organize the RightOnline conference.

David, good luck with the house – I’m a huge fan!

Related

In Texas, the Right Boots Up to Gain Strength Online (Washington Post)

In Online Politicking, Republicans Play Catch-Up (Wall Street Journal)

Austin hosts dueling conventions on Internet-era politics (Dallas Morning News)

Almacy is RightOnline. Well, we all are. (David All)

Making progress online at RightOnline (Abby Alger, TechRepublican)

Pictures from Americans For Prosperity-RightOnline-Samsphere Conference, Austin, Texas (Dr. Melissa Clouthier)

Follow David:

CapitalGig founder, Bush 43 White House staffer, digital, media, soccer dad, Edison HS JV Girls Soccer Coach, politics, Phi Delta Theta

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6 Responses

  1. Virginia Miracle

    Very cool. AND very Austin.

    Now, can you give me any tips on DC house buying the social media way? This DC-area house hunt thing is a very serious academic challenge.

  2. David J. Neff

    Dave,
    Thanks so much. Truly a pleasure meeting you in Austin, TX a couple of weeks ago. Thanks so much for helping me with this grand social media experiment!

  3. Mike Chapman

    It was great having you down here, David. Come anytime. I’ve had several people tell me that the meeting with you was their favorite Social Media Club meeting so far. I’ll definitely look you up next time I’m in D.C.

  4. David Wiebe

    Great speech. Can’t believe I just discovered your page. Interesting bit about how your friend is selling his house in the Internet age but would loved to have known whether or not it was effective in a) getting more interest in the house than he would have through conventional means b) getting interest by qualified potential buyers and c) whether he gets his price or more.

    P.S. Love the quotes on “progressives”. Couldn’t you just as easily replaced with “politicians,” or “human beings.”

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