Miscellaneous :: SoundBiteBlog.com

January 2007 …  A blog is born.

Way back then (seems like ages ago), Rich and I started this venture. We had plenty of ideas, tons of energy and just enough arrogance to believe that people would want to read our questionably erudite prattlings! In the intervening time many things have changed. I pulled away from the blogging crowd and social media, Rich immersed himself in it. Yet, through all the changes, our friendship and mutual respect has survived and grown. SoundBite has become a closet full of articles and memories.

I sit here on the morning of 01-01-10 thinking about what the new year will bring. I am sure I am not alone. The beginning of a new year always has a subtle flirtation to it. Thoughts of what might be in store beckon.

Between us, Rich and I have acquired over 100 years of living. We have yet to aquire 100 years of wisdom. Then again, 2060 is not that far off. When exactly do we become wise? And how do we know when we get there?

Thursday morning coffee this week included a conversation about our homes. We both find ourselves in a similar, somewhat bewildering  situation. The houses seem suddenly quiet. Both of us bought large homes years ago in which to raise families. Now our children are off to explore their lives, rendering the family home quiet. As we were talking, we noticed that each of us has only three people living at home; husband, wife and one child.

I can remember looking forward to some quiet in my life. I often felt that the schedules, appointments, meetings, sports practices and parent-teacher conferences consumed every available hour. Now that all those hectic responsibilities are in the past, I find myself with hours to fill and little idea how to fill them. Maybe it is finally time to discover Golf!

The new year beckons. I have decided that I will commit to only one New Years Resolution … I will enjoy my journey for the journey’s sake alone.

There will be 52 Coffee Thursdays before the next New Year. I look forward to each one. They are a part of my journey too.

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This Friday, December 11th at Pacific Northwest Title in Silverdale, Kitsap area real estate professionals will have the ‘joy’ of being entertained taught by Natalie Danielson of ClockHours.com

Natalie will be facilitating two brand new Social Media classes – one on Blogging Basics, and the other on Twitter. Here is the all the skinny:

• Two brand new 3 clock hour classes
• Tuition :$30.00 for each or both for $55.00 (deal)
• Date : December 11th, 2009
• Time: 1st session Blogging Basics 9:30 – 12:30 pm
• Time : 2nd Session Twenty Questions on Twitter 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Pacific Northwest Title

2021 NW Myhre Road, Suite 300

Silverdale, WA 98383

(360) 692-4141

To register, email:  vickieL@pnwtkitsap.com

Directions to Pacific Northwest Title

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com, ActiveRain, Crabbing in the Hood, Facebook, Twitter, or e-mail:  kitsapagent@gmail.com

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Tags: blogging, clockhours.com, natalie danielson, pacific northwest title, silverdale wa, social media training, twitter

“Social Media is the new Water Cooler.

It’s where People Connect and Interact”

~ Rich Jacobson ~

I had recently published my second article in the series “Developing a Social Media Strategy for Small Business” to my blog over on ActiveRain and wanted my local SBB readers to know about it.

You can find the full article here:

“The ‘WHY’ of Social Media for Small Business”

The article explains some of the basic reasons why using social media makes sense for promoting and growing your business. Much of what I share is born out of my experiences in real estate, but can be easily adapted and applied to other business models.

To access the 1st article in this series, go to:

“Social Media is a Conversation, not an Advertisement”

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com, ActiveRain, Crabbing in the Hood, Facebook, Twitter, or e-mail:  kitsapagent@gmail.com

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Tags: Kitsap County WA real estate, small business in kitsap county wa, social media, social media marketing, social media optimization, social media strategy

Okay, so this is probably the first and only recipe you’ll encounter here on SoundBite. I typically give other real estate agents a hard time for blogging about jokes and recipes. Most consumers want good quality real estate content, not Aunt Betty’s County Fair winning recipe for meat loaf.

However, I’ve been asked enough times that it warrants posting my salsa recipe. There just aren’t enough characters on Twitter to do the recipe justice, and posting to Facebook would simply get lost in the shuffle.

For the most part, fresh ingredients are the key to making good salsa, so don’t cut corners there. Find a local market that excels at good quality produce. Fortunately for us here on the Kitsap Peninsula, we have Central Market in Poulsbo.

Mix the following in a large mixing bowl:

8 – 10 large finely chopped radishes

One bunch of fresh Cilantro – I usually cut-off the top half with just the greens and chop it semi-fine.

6 – 8 cloves of fresh finely chopped garlic – you can use the a tablespoon of the pre-chopped stuff.

1/2 diced Sweet Onion – I prefer Walla Walla sweets…

6 finely sliced green onions

One large Red Bell Pepper, finely chopped

2 large Jalapeno Peppers, finely chopped

4 small to medium vine-ripe tomatoes, chopped semi-fine

Two cans of Rotel Diced Tomatoes with Green Chiles

Two small cans of Tomato Sauce

7 or 8 cranks of freshly ground pepper from a mill

1 teaspoon of sugar

If you want more heat, add another Jalapeno or a habanero.

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional providing empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com and Crabbing in the Hood.

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Tags: Kitsap County WA, recipes, Sparky's World Famous Salsa

Have you jumped on the Twitter bandwagon yet? It’s one of the more popular social networks populating the Internet these days.

I have to confess, when it first came out, I wasn’t all that motivated to check it out. I mean, seriously, what value is there in letting people know that I’m going to the bathroom, what I ate for lunch, or what movie I’m going watch this weekend? All I could think was that people really need to get a life!

Well, Twitter IS life. It allows us to quickly connect within our sphere of fellow Twits by offering up short snippets (limited to 140 characters) into our lives. Conversations on Twitter can also be sent directly to your mobile device.

As a local real estate professional who is fully immersed in today’s social media technology, Twitter offers yet one more viable platform for promoting my business, and expanding my sphere of influence.

In order to relate and interact in our Net Savvy culture, you have to go where the conversations are.

So Ride the Wave of Social Networking, and join Twitter today! It’s fun and it’s FREE!

• Follow SoundBiteBlog on Twitter @soundbiteblog
• Follow Sparky on Twitter @ActiveRich
• Follow Buckwheat on Twitter @frog_blogger

Added by Mark …

Just like Rich, I wondered what the fascination with Twitter was at first. My original question? How can I say anything meaningful in 140 characters? Well, ask yourself this. Have you ever been involved in a series of emails back and forth to a friend when the emails consisted of one or two lines of text?

That’s the niche Twitter fills so well. It’s much quicker to post a short Twitter update than it is to write an email in response to a friend. And, other friends can jump in with their comments as well if they are following you. It’s kind of fun and it’s more efficient than the way I used to do things. I think of it as online text messages.

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Tags: social networks, twitter, web 2.0